4. Steve Austin Eliminates Bret Hart To Win The 1997 Rumble
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ec_UN5vD_Vo Bret Hart was the epitome of a good guy. His hard work and general demeanor defined what a wrestling babyface should be. Steve Austin was the consummate bad guy. Everything that he did from the time that he won the 1996 King of the Ring tournament onward was the personification of Wrestling 101's "how to be a heel." Somehow, some way, they switched roles without changing the accompanying definitions. Austin, the heel, started getting cheered for his evil actions. Hart, as a by-product, had to change. The standard, straight-laced, whitemeat babyface was no longer going to cut it with Stone Cold's popularity surging despite his dastardly exploits. The 1997 Royal Rumble match was, thus, a microcosm of the forthcoming Attitude Era. Hart was poised to do what two of the other stars on this countdown were celebrated for...complete a comeback. He had the Rumble match won, eliminating fake Diesel (Kane) and earning a rematch with Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 13. Yet, Austin, who Hart had eliminated already, snuck back in and tossed out Bret. The referees actually awarded victory to Stone Cold. Bret, stunned along with the viewership, tried to make sense of it all. The travesty in wrestling logic turned Hart into a whiny shell of himself and Austin became the revered anti-hero. Tradition tossed aside in favor of something new and not well understood, the WWE rode the Austin train to unprecedented success and Bret got screwed and had a stroke. What an odd time, that was, to be a wrestling fan.
"The Doc" Chad Matthews has written wrestling columns for over a decade. A physician by trade, Matthews began writing about wrestling as a hobby, but it became a passion. After 30 years as a wrestling fan, "The Doc" gives an unmatched analytical perspective on pro wrestling in the modern era. He is a long-time columnist for Lordsofpain.net and hosts a weekly podcast on the LOP Radio Network called "The Doc Says." His first book - The WrestleMania Era: The Book of Sports Entertainment - ranks the Top 90 wrestlers from 1983 to present day, was originally published in December 2013, and is now in its third edition.
Matthews lives in North Carolina with his wife, two kids, and two dogs.