30. Bret Hart Vs. The Undertaker Vs. Vader Vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin (In Your House: Final Four)
An outside-the-box concept that would see a restart of the Royal Rumble's final four (fake Diesel excluded), following Austin's dishonest win at the 1997 gauntlet. After Shawn Michaels infamously vacated the WWF Championship the Thursday before the show, the four way battle would now take place with the gold at stake. One month before Steve Austin's renowned blade job at WrestleMania, Vader spilled much of his own blood in the match's early stages, and the image made for a gruesome cover of RAW Magazine. Hart prevailed after dumping Undertaker over the ropes (a stipulated mode of elimination unique to this four way), though this incredible match was nullified by Hart dropping the belt to Sid the next night on Raw.
29. Rowdy Roddy Piper Vs. Bret Hart (WrestleMania VIII)
It wasn't often that Piper did a clean job anywhere, but there was an exception to be made for 'cousin' Bret. Hart dropped the Intercontinental title to The Mountie days before the 1992 Royal Rumble, and Piper subsequently captured the gold at the pay-per-view. Piper was determined to put Hart over in grand fashion. The match itself built masterfully into a full-fledged brawl between friends throwing honor aside. Hart discreetly bladed off of a Piper sucker punch, and the drama heightened as Piper continued a remorseless onslaught. Hart used a clever reversal in the finish, kicking backward off the top buckle while Piper had him trapped in his sleeperhold. The unique pinning combination gave Hart his biggest win to date, and a hearty endorsement from one of wrestling's indisputable icons.
Justin has been a wrestling fan since 1989, and has been writing about it since 2009. Since 2014, Justin has been a features writer and interviewer for Fighting Spirit Magazine. Justin also writes for History of Wrestling, and is a contributing author to James Dixon's Titan series.
