The Disturbing Truth Behind WWE's Biggest Winners

Not to dwell any more on Bret Hart (even though all wrestling should, way more than it does), but 'The Hitman' was so often reduced to that of uber-talented utility by Vince McMahon that it's a wonder he never lost his fans long before he turned on all of them so magnificently in 1997. His final year with the company has forever been defined by a devastating loss, but the switch to the dark side didn't just reinvigorate his own gimmick - it drove the transformation of WWE entirely.

In defeating Stone Cold Steve Austin at WrestleMania 13, the 'Excellence Of Execution' made 'The Rattlesnake' more of a star than he could have ever could have looked with the roles reversed. The rarest of wrestling success stories, an emphatic and evocative double turn was put forth with the standard issue precision of Hart's Sharpshooter by two of the only men capable of performing their roles to such a normalised high standard.

Austin wasn't a loser in any sense other than the most literal, and it's here where Road Dogg's bone-headed Twitter patter about wins and losses not mattering the other year gets lost. The former New Age Outlaw will have been thinking of moments like this, or of times he saw babyfaces knocked down so they could get up stronger the next time, or of future megastars one win away from having the world.

These are not those times, and it was that he should have known before watching his notifications do to his phone what the DX tank didn't to the CNN Center.

CONT'D...