Stone Cold Steve Austin is arguably the biggest babyface WWE has ever seen. Hulk Hogan and John Cena may have the longevity, but no one was getting as loudly cheered as the Texas Rattlesnake was on a regular basis. He was the biggest star in WWE’s greatest era, and he believes that a lot of that credit goes to Bret Hart.
During his peak, Steve Austin was seen as a plucky babyface who would never give up regardless of the situation, and a lot of that had to do with his and Hart’s encounter at WrestleMania 13. The two went to hell and back in their match.
The bloodied image of Austin passing out in the sharpshooter is one for the ages and helped set up his success in the promotion. Just a year later, he was fighting Shawn Michaels in the main event of WrestleMania for the world championship.
Stone Cold Steve Austin says he owes a huge part of his career to Bret Hart
During a recent interview with “The Wrestling Classic,” Steve Austin stated that his career may not have been the same without Bret Hart. He revealed that the Hitman gave him an idea for something that happened later in the match.
“We went into [WrestleMania] 13 and we went to a room and we knew what we needed to do and we went out to the ring and Bret said, ‘Hey,’ and he gave me the idea for something that happened in that match,” Austin revealed. “So, I owe a huge part of my career to Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart.”
He further added that there was no better than Bret Hart when it came to realism in wrestling.
“I love the guy, I respect him, we wrestled all over the world and we have a mutual respect for each other,” Austin said. “Bret Hart helped make ‘Stone Cold’ in the largest degree possible.”
Bret Hart vs Stone Cold at WrestleMania 13 was a classic in storytelling
A lot of people know WrestleMania 13 as the match that turned Steve Austin into a babyface and Bret Hart into a heel, but that’s not how it went down. It wasn’t a double switch that just happened on that night.
Stone Cold’s devil-may care attitude was winning fans all over the world, while Hart was seen as a whiner who always had something to complain about. Hart walked into WrestleMania 13 as a face, but he had already shown a few heelish tendencies on the road to WrestleMania.
The opposite was true for Austin, who was being seen as an anti-hero instead of a villain.
By the time the match started, the fans in attendance were not sure who to cheer for. Yeah, sure, Bret Hart complained a lot, but he was still a fan favorite character they had come to love over the years.
As the match went on, it became clear that Hart was the better wrestler. However, Austin was not one to give up without a fight, that much was evident.
With Austin refusing to give up, Hart’s frustrations became more apparent.
He gave into his temper and went all out in order to get Austin to break. His actions made it harder for the audience to cheer for him any longer, and they voiced their support to Austin instead.
The match ended after Hart caught Austin in a sharpshooter and after a really long struggle, the Texas rattlesnake passed out instead of tapping out.
Hart left the ring on his own while a lifeless Austin lay on it, but it didn’t matter to the fans. By then, they had already decided whose side they were on.
A tale for the ages culminated that night. It was not a one-night affair but months of storytelling that led to the moment and the payoff was well worth it.
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