10 Wrestling Matches That Broke All The Rules
9. Bret Hart Vs. Roddy Piper - WWF WrestleMania VIII
A match that broke one formal rule and catalysed its own, indirect butterfly effect, Bret Hart Vs. Roddy Piper was a real testament to the Hitman's credentials as a worker.
He famously bladed with such impressive sleight of hand that he worked management into writing it off as an accident. The claret poured from the telltale forehead, and he still worked 'em. In circumventing the ban on blading, Hart broke an actual rule here, but his approach to laying out the match impressed Piper to an extent that he broke a more informal rule of his own: he did the job, clean, without any self-preserving bullsh*t, convinced that Hart's genius sense of craft would protect him.
The layout was exceptional: Hart framed himself as the superior technician by outclassing Piper's arm drags with fractionally more distance, more power. Piper in response fought dirty, and Hart willingly sunk to that level in an absorbing departure from the binary dynamic of a WWF match.
Hart's performance sparked something in Vince McMahon, who gradually convinced himself of Hart's WWF Champion credentials. It ultimately led to Vince breaking the rule of Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage, as Hart became the face of the New Generation.