8 Times Stone Cold Steve Austin Lost Clean

8. Vs. Bret Hart (Survivor Series 1996)

Following an eight month sabbatical away from the ring after WrestleMania XII, the 'Excellence of Execution' Bret Hart made his return to the WWE at Survivor Series '96. Steve Austin was the one hand selected by the Hitman himself to be his opponent. Often overlooked in favour of the next entry on this list, Austin and Hart's Survivor Series bout is something of a hidden gem in the annals of WWE history, and proof that Austin not only could survive at a main event level but thrive.

In spite of the rise he was on, Austin remained a far cry from the mega-star he would later become at this point in his career and doing the job to the returning established star was the right move. However, the writing was on the wall.

In the space of that same eight months, Hart had been away, and Austin had risen from total irrelevance to the King of the Ring to being a main event heel. Two months after this bout, Austin won his first of three Royal Rumbles and would main event his first of many WWE PPVs in February when he was tossed over the top rope in the 'Final Four' Fatal 4 Way match. Then, something else happened...