10 Most Shocking WrestleMania Turns

2. Bret Hart/Stone Cold Steve Austin (WrestleMania 13)

trish kiss
WWE.com

Though there are many crucial, era-defining moments within the Bret Hart/Stone Cold Steve Austin WrestleMania 13 masterpiece, the double turn is most fondly remembered, and rightfully so.

The culmination of a long, slow-burning rage exploding from 'The Hitman' and a Austin's anti-hero demeanour providing the ideal foil, the turn was completed in the match but represented several months of intense character work typical of Bret's innate grasp of nuances within professional wrestling. As Bret had morphed into a whining version of his former self (with some justification), Stone Cold had kept his head down in a relentless pursuit of supremacy within WWE, which ultimately required the destruction of 'The Hitman'.

With neither abandoning the hearts of their characters in the match, the official turn was saved for the post-script, where Bret kicked at Austin whilst he lay bloodied and passed out after an ungodly spell in Hart's match-winning Sharpshooter.

Eventually peeling off 'The Rattlesnake' and backing down from a fairer fight with referee Ken Shamrock, 'The Hitman' left the match to a torrent of abuse, whilst the heroic Austin later rose solo to his feet bathed in adoration from the fierce Chicago crowd.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett