10 WWE Stars Who Got Over After Huge WrestleMania Performances

4. Owen Hart - WrestleMania X

Prior to WrestleMania X, Owen Hart was a perennial midcard competitor with little in the way of upward mobility. He was a solid hand who could not escape irrelevancy. Then came a memorable angle at the 1993 Survivor Series where he was the only member of the Hart family eliminated during a match against Shawn Michaels and The Knights. He was irate, frustrated, and tired of living in the shadow of his decorated brother.

After smoothing things over during the holidays, Owen betrayed The Hitman at the Royal Rumble, completing a heel turn that led to one of the greatest sibling rivalries in wrestling. At The Showcase of the Immortals, Bret and Owen kicked things off with one of the most anticipated bouts on the entire card. Owen, like an assassin, targeted the knee of his older brother. He worked it over for the majority of the bout, undoubtedly hoping to not only wear him down to beat him then and there but to also hurt his chances of capturing the WWE Title later in the night.

The injured limb certainly hampered Bret, limiting his mobility. But late, he mounted a comeback and after catching his spoiled brat of a brother with a boot to the face, it looked like he would score the win with a victory roll. Except Owen had scouted him countless times and knew what was coming. He had seen The Hitman use the same maneuver to defeat Bam Bam Bigelow at King of the Ring and countered it, sitting his weight down on the shoulders of his opponent for the monumental upset victory.

The win catapulted Owen into the main event scene. Suddenly, he was a legitimate threat to Bret, establishing himself immediately before his brother went on to win the WWE Championship from Yokozuna later in the night. Best of all, fans suddenly bought him in that role. He would headline shows throughout the remainder of 1994 while remaining an elite performer for WWE until his tragic death in 1999.