Why Bret Hart Vs Stone Cold Steve Austin Transformed The Wrestling Business

7. The World's Most Dangerous Man

Bret Hart Stone Cold Steve Austin
WWE

Refereeing the battle, Ken Shamrock made an immediate impact in the post-match, dragging Bret Hart off a dilapidated Steve Austin with a powerful waist-lock takedown.

Squaring up to 'The Hitman' as Bret reached his feet, Shamrock ramped up the intensity as he locked eyes with the WWE legend, simultaneously transferring adoration from the fans onto himself as well as drawing yet more scorn onto Bret.

Despite standing back for the bulk of the contest, Shamrock's presence was pitch perfect, as he gave fans a clear babyface outlet for their support that would have otherwise been lost within the complex booking of the finish.

Though a beneficiary of the battle's nuanced layout, 'The World's Most Dangerous Man' was still required to utilise his physical presence and peculiar charisma to get the end sequence over to a sufficient level that it wasn't overshadowed by what the audience had just witnessed.

The match was so perfect that even the guest referee could come away from it a bona fide star, with Shamrock elevated to a level alongside Hart and Austin that would see him work most major pay-per-view events throughout the rest of the year, culminating in December with a WWE Heavyweight Championship match against Shawn Michaels.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett