12 Stone Cold Steve Austin Moments That Were Genuinely Savage
9. The Bret Hart Ambulance Attack
During this feud, the careers of two ironic wrestlers were headed in opposite directions. Bret's was destined towards an untimely close, whilst Austin's was gathering increasing momentum. Though this is a shame from one angle, at least in 1997, the clash between The Hitman and The Rattlesnake brought out the best in both talents.
Not long after the legendary blood-drenched double turn of Wrestlemania 13, the two were locked in a street fight during a Raw show in 1997. The match ended with Bret immobilised on a stretcher, and flanked by his brothers while he was wheeled off stage to an ambulance.
When Austin emerged from the driver's seat to issue a second beating, it was genuinely shocking, more so than the similar, far more comical segments with Vince McMahon in later years. Bret was a better actor than McMahon, and played the part with a notable level of seriousness and vulnerability. Segments of this violent nature had not yet been in abundance, and the vengeful act appeared cold even for Steve. Thus, this was an unexpected and gripping point in this turbulent storyline of the then infant Attitude Era.