8. Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart (Survivor Series 1996)
Austin's "Stone Cold" gimmick started to shine during a period of time when Bret Hart was taking a sabbatical from the World Wrestling Federation. During this time, Austin took it upon himself to call out the legendary Hitman. When Bret returned prior to the 1996 Survivor Series, he announced that his comeback match would be against the man that he called the best wrestler in the company: Steve Austin. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xzrdmm_survivor-series-1996-bret-hart-vs-stone-cold-steve-austin-number-one-conterdership-match-for-the-wwf_sport Through Bret and Austin had wrestled prior to this match-up (most notably on a tour of the middle east earlier in 1996), this was the very first time that most fans had seen the two lock up. It was obvious almost instantly that the two had a chemistry in the ring that would give us fantastic matches to watch for many months to come. The crowd that night in Madison Square Garden witnessed a legendary matchup that was just the beginning to one of the best feuds in the history of the WWE. Austin lamented on his recent blu-ray that although this match was good, he and Bret both knew that they could do even better, and he was right (more on that match later on in the countdown).
