At long last, Diesel's one-year WWF Championship reign had come to an end. After exclusively having good matches with Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart throughout 1995, it was fitting that the wreck of a title run ended with a loss to Hart. At the 1995 Survivor Series, the title match descended into near-ECW levels of chaos, something that actually earned Vince McMahon a concerned interrogation from company VP of distribution, Michael Ortman. Hart also took one of WWF's earliest table bumps (Harley Race's in March 1988, notwithstanding) when Diesel sent him careening from the apron. That was merely the prelude to Hart cradling him in the finish, which set in motion Diesel's heel turn, followed by his exit for the greener pastures of Atlanta.
37. Owen Hart & British Bulldog Vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin & Shawn Michaels (Raw Is War, 5/26/97)
Somewhat referenced three entries earlier, Michaels and Austin were indeed Tag Team champions for a brief spell in 1997. They ended the eight-month reign of Hart and Smith, who represented forty percent of the Hart Foundation heel faction that terrorized Raw with a match that was literally perpetual in its action. It's not, however, the overbooked quagmire that Raw main events would later become, but rather just a highly-fluid tag team bout. In the end, Michaels superkicks Bulldog, which then allows Austin to quickly score the pin under a torrent of cheers. Amazingly, this was Austin's first recognized title belt in WWF, though most certainly it wasn't his last. The cliched "All killer, no filler" applies here.
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.
