100 Greatest WWE Matches Of All Time (Ranked)
13. Bret Hart vs. British Bulldog (SummerSlam 1992)
No-one truly wrestles an entire match by themselves (unless you're Kenny Omega against a doll, of course!), but Bret Hart came mighty close at SummerSlam 1992. Domestic business was plummeting at the time, so Vince McMahon took his WWF operation across the Atlantic Ocean and headed to London, England for the biggest pay-per-view of the summer months.
The old Wembley Stadium welcomed the company with open arms, and McMahon placed UK hero Davey Boy Smith in the main event slot opposite Hart. This was a victory for the wider Hart clan as a whole, but also for the cherished Intercontinental Title. Then, disaster struck - The British Bulldog informed Bret that he'd been on a drug-fuelled bender with Jim Neidhart and others for days, so he was in no fit shape to work the 25 minute scorcher they'd mapped out.
Hart's leadership skills kicked into overdrive. He carried Davey through the bout even when Bulldog forgot parts of it or was sucking wind badly. By the end, it's remarkable that Smith had enough energy to work the final few moments and pin the 'Hitman' for a match (and title) winning moment few would ever forget. To this day, Bret considers SummerSlam '92 one of his greatest personal achievements, loss or not.
Over 80,000 cheered wildly as Bulldog clutched the IC belt and likely regretted some of those late nights with the 'Anvil' on the road. It's frankly astonishing that this headliner turned out to be one of the greatest WWE matches of all time. Bret must've been fearing the worst when Davey confided his physical and mental state pre-match.
A victory for professionalism then. On one side of the ring, at least.