4. Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin
In 1996, Bret Hart returned from a hiatus to find a professional wrestling business different than the one he left. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin had injected Vince McMahon’s WWE with attitude unlike any it had ever seen before and Hart was not overly thrilled with the direction things were headed. Austin was disrespectful, used foul language and answered insults with a flip of a finger. Hart was a hero to millions worldwide but had grown stale in the eyes of the American fan base. It was against that background that they met in two five-star classics that, unbeknownst to them, would revolutionize the industry.
Hart knocked off Austin at the 1996 Survivor Series but their feud only intensified coming out of that show. At WrestleMania 13 in April 1997, the two did battle in an all-time great Submission match. Austin fought through tremendous pain in his knee and a scary amount of blood loss but his will proved stronger than his body. He passed out from the pain and in the process, began a babyface run that would lead to the renaissance of WWE. Austin and Hart would feud through the summer of 1997 before they went their separate ways, Hart focusing on regaining the WWE title and Austin feuding with Owen Hart over the Intercontinental title.
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