10 Wrestling Matches Ruined By One Botch
7. Stone Cold Steve Austin Vs. Owen Hart - WWE SummerSlam 1997
The use of the word 'ruined' is a divisive one. This has gone down in history as one of the most important and memorable matches of all time, but that has nothing to do with the match itself. That memory is almost exclusively based on the near-tragic circumstances of the ending, and the series of events it set in motion that eventually made Stone Cold Steve Austin the biggest star in wrestling. It also ensured his early retirement. Did the botch ruin the match? It ruined Austin's neck, that's for sure.
Owen Hart and Steve Austin were at the peak of their powers in 1997, two men with the world at their feet, making the WWE Intercontinental Championship the über-credible title that people lust for even today. Their SummerSlam 1997 title match was well on its way to becoming an all-time classic when Hart hit Austin with that piledriver, stopping time and the match simultaneously.
Ever the professional (aside from the slightly unprofessional execution of the piledriver just moments earlier), Hart stalled for time as Austin desperately clung onto whatever sentience he had, eventually working towards the weakest roll-up in wrestling history and a victory for the stricken babyface. All memory of the match itself was obliterated in a botch that would ring loud through pro wrestling history.
Nobody remembers the intensity of the match; only the travesty of the piledriver.