10 WWE Stars Loved For The Wrong Match
7. Bret Hart
Loved for: Bret Hart Vs. Steve Austin, WrestleMania 13
Fought between two men at the peak of their immense powers, shifting in alignment but united in quality, Hart Vs. Austin excellently executed a hugely ambitious story, one so profoundly brilliant that it rendered virtually every other heel turn somewhat cartoonish. Hart didn't suddenly beg off, or alter his DNA overnight. He simply wrestled his own game with the added zeal of a man disrespected. It is remembered as the genesis point of Austin's main event run - but it was Hart who knew to blade Austin and put him over with the most heroic, badass, indelible - and literal - slice of imagery.
Deserves as much, if not more credit for: Bret Hart Vs. British Bulldog, SummerSlam 1992
An inferior match, to be sure, this was nonetheless the superior performance - arguably the greatest one-man show in the entire history of the industry. Bulldog, to use a wrestling euphemism, turned up to Wembley - Wembley - in no condition to perform. "I'm fooked," was his way of putting it. A summer-long crack binge converged to create complete memory loss. Hart had to walk Davey Boy through the match move by move, even facial expression by facial expression, obscuring intense concentration under immense pressure. He literally carried a broomstick to a classic.
This match acts as a micro metaphor for Hart's macro contribution to the company; the WWF was a knackered beast at the time, too, with Hart's superb in-ring performances retaining fans in an era in which growth wasn't possible.