WWE Raw Gallery: 25 Years Of Iconic Monday Nights
21. 1997 - Street Fight
Dateline: 21st April, 1997
Stone Cold Steve Austin had already opened up Monday Night Raw to another thunderous response from the crowd he professed not to give a sh*t about having slotted in as top babyface following an exquisitely booked WrestleMania 13 double turn with Bret Hart.
Throwing down the gauntlet to 'The Hitman' after coming within a Hart Foundation run-in of beating him the night prior, 'The Rattlesnake' survived further Bulldog and Owen beatings in an exhilarating show-long angle that saw his obsession with dismantling Bret reach a fever pitch.
Annihilating him with a steel chair when the pair were finally left alone, Austin followed up his assault by hijacking Bret's ambulance and continuing the attack. He had to be pried from attacking uneasy ally Shawn Michaels for having the gaul to help him, then suffered a show-closing beating from a returning and remorseful Brian Pillman. He was the shining star of what proved to be one of the greatest episodes in the show's history.