From Tag Team To Top Guy: Bret Hart's Ascension To The WrestleMania Main Event

Roddy Piper is undoubtedly one of the most important figures in WWE history. The debate forever rolls on over who really sold the first WrestleMania to the masses; was it Hulk Hogan or was it Roddy Piper? In reality, it was both men who deserve credit for making that first 'Mania a success and changing the face of the business.

Famously, the Rowdy One was so protective of his on-screen persona and presentation that he simply refused to be pinned for years. Even in the main event of that first WrestleMania, Hogan never got to pin Piper's shoulders to the mat.

Sure, there might have been the odd DQ loss on TV for Roddy Piper, but simply put, Roddy didn't get pinned. By the time Piper and Bret Hart faced off at WrestleMania VIII, even first ballot Hall of Fames like Hulk Hogan, Bruno Sammartino, and Ric Flair hadn't been able to get a clean 1-2-3 win over the Hot Rod.

The point being, someone getting a pinfall victory over Roddy Piper was at one point like trying to pull Excalibur from the stone. So, when Hart did just that at WrestleMania VIII, he became the proverbial King Arthur.

Not just did Bret pin Piper to regain the Intercontinental Title - reversing Roddy's patented Sleeper into a pinning combination that has been copied time and time again over the years - but he did so in a magnificent match that saw the bloodied Hitman go toe-to-toe with one of the biggest names of all time.

Again, the commentary of Gorilla Monsoon - and Bobby Heenan, of course - added so much to this match and moment, but no wrestler ever did more for the career of Bret Hart than 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper did on that April '92 night. And by beating a long-standing main event player, the crowd perception to Hart continued to veer towards viewing Hart himself as a genuine main event player.