6 Wrestling Moments That Had A Major Long-Term Impact

With the ref down at WrestleMania VIII, Roddy Piper was all set to clean a bloodied Bret Hart's clock with the ring bell and finish him off for good, but ultimately, he just couldn't bring himself to such an act of atrocity against his family friend. The beauty of the moment was that, as one of the greatest heels on the '80s, everybody knew 'Hot Rod' had it in him; this was no phony, Cena-esque 'don't give into the darkness' moment.

So he just lamped the Hitman instead, before locking him in his patented sleeper. Hart knew Piper's history as well as the fans, and having scouted the move, sprung a masterful reversal off the post for the pin.

Four years later, Bret would pull the same trick out in his first bout with Steve Austin. Only this time it was different - rather than relying on his ingenuity to improvise an escape from his own impetuosity, the Excellence of Execution engineered it. Once more, he'd studied his history: by mockingly applying 'Stone Cold's old Million Dollar Dream finisher, he goaded Austin into digging into his own back catalogue. No-one had a better appreciation of Hart's career than the man himself, and repeating the lessons of '92, he secured the same result.