15 Things You Didn't Know About WrestleMania (1995 - 2004)

11. WrestleMania 13 - Austin Trusted Bret To Produce The Colour

In what was arguably the best and most influential match in WrestleMania history. Bret Hart once again proved his worth to the company when he helped take Stone Cold Steve Austin to the next level in their near-perfect Submission Match at WrestleMania 13. These two men had been involved in a heated blood-feud stemming back to the Fall of '96 and the plan was for their dispute to boil over come March 23, 1997. Bret knew the bout would need a bit of blood in order to reach the level that the two combatants wanted it to reach, but there was only one problem - Austin had never bladed before. During the match, to the credit of both, the consummate professional Bret performed a perfect incision right on Austin's forehead so quickly and so secretly that no one knew a blade job had taken place. The blood lead to one of the most famous images in company history when, after being locked in the Sharpshooter, Austin would be shown with blood masking his face, dripping through his teeth as he tried unsuccessfully to fight out of The Hitman's finishing manuever. Had it not been for Bret Hart, the match may have come off very different and the success that the company enjoyed during the Attitude Era (Austin's rise as top babyface can be traced back to this very moment) might have never happened.