40. Stone Cold Steve Austin Vs. Shawn Michaels (King Of The Ring 1997)
Originally, Austin was to have wrestled Brian Pillman, and Michaels against Bret Hart, at the King of the Ring. Instead, they were drawn together after Hart was written out with his real-life knee injury, an excuse to keep a seething Hart away from Michaels, who had crossed personal lines during a recent promo. As for the Austin/Michaels match, it put forth a different sort of chaos. The two were makeshift Tag Team champions, and bickering over who the leader of the two actually was. This disagreement spilled over to King of the Ring, where they brawled and brawled, taking out a litany of referees in the midst of the scuffle. No clear winner, but the unbridled madness is worth a look.
39. Bret Hart Vs. The Undertaker (One Night Only 1997)
Another one without a definitive ending, but that's what the 'keep both guys strong' mindset will provide in big matches. One Night Only took place in Birmingham, England, and wasn't broadcast in the United States, so most of the events (save for Shawn Michaels' infamous European title win) were rendered non-canon. In the semi-main, Hart defended the WWF Championship against Undertaker, and together they more than trumped their SummerSlam match. As is sometimes the case with outside-the-scope matches, you'll sometimes find wrestlers performing moves they've often abandoned, such as Undertaker hitting his old Flatliner Fist (heart punch) in the middle of this half-hour contest. Hart wins by disqualification after such a strong build, which is the only way the audience could feel cheated - until the main event, anyway.
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.
