8 Times Stone Cold Steve Austin Lost Clean

7. Vs. Bret Hart (WrestleMania 13)

It's safe to say that the build up to WrestleMania 13 was an absolute mess. The planned main event of Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart II was scrapped entirely when Michaels suffered a supposed knee injury that would sideline him for a few months. WWE scrambled together a main event for the February PPV which meant nothing, before deciding to push the Hart vs. Austin return match back to the Show of Shows itself.

Whilst Michaels' injury ultimately led to one of the most awful WrestleMania main events in history, the enormous silver lining to that cloud is that the Austin vs. Hart feud essentially became the WWE's top program going into WrestleMania. In the grand scope of things, this began a series of events which would make Austin the next top star and turn the entire Monday Night War around. Perhaps it was the move which kept WWE in business. Perhaps it was the move which defined the course of professional wrestling history.

This famous match from the otherwise awful 'Mania 13 turned Austin face and Hart heel. It turned the page over to the Attitude Era and sent wrestling into its biggest boom period to date. Austin lost clean in this bout when he passed out to the Sharpshooter, but the iconic image of a bloody Rattlesnake refusing to quit proved that- when done right- a loss can be just as important as a win.