10 Things You Didn't Know About WWE Payback

3. The Hitman's Last Ever Sharpshooter

Cody Rhodes payback
WWE

Payback 2016 has the honour of playing host to Bret Hart's final-ever Sharpshooter.

Of course, Hart called time on his career back in 2000 due to concussion issues stemming from his Starrcade '99 match with Bill Goldberg. Still, the Hitman would come out of retirement in 2010 to face Vince McMahon in that 'spectacle' at WrestleMania XXVI, before several further in-ring outings across the rest of the year and into 2011.

Even after Bret's final match - teaming with John Cena to defeat Alberto Del Rio and Ricardo Rodriguez on a September 2011 Raw - there was still occasional physicality from the Excellence of Execution in subsequent years, such as putting the Sharpshooter on Damien Sandow on a 2014 episode of WWE Main Event.

As it stands, though, the final ever Sharpshooter of Bret Hart's career belongs to Payback 2016, where the WWE Hall of Famer was in the corner of his niece Natalya as she challenged Charlotte Flair for the WWE Women's Title. With Flair having her father in her corner, Bret was there to neutralise the Nature Boy.

Natalya would get screwed on that night, but at least post-match she and Bret got to lock in simultaneous Sharpshooters, in turn standing as Bret Hart's final application of the move.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.