[1997-03-23-WWF-Wrestlemania XIII] Bret Hart vs Steve Austin (I Quit)

[Exposer]

One of the greatest matches of all time when story, build, presentation, ring work, & legacy are considered. Tremendous from bell to bell. Austin's bloody struggle in the sharpshooter is certainly the most memorable image, but the opening bell with Austin looking to the side & then charging at Bret is an image that isn't talked about enough. Other highlights include the pop for the ring post figure four & Bret attempting to "Pillmanize" Austin in an awesome callback spot. The crowd brawling, which is the only small negative of the match, even has Austin taking a brutal back body drop in the aisle. The finish is the greatest finish in WWE history. It solidified Bret's heel turn & began the road towards Austin's megastar baby face run. Bret is a total scumbag in the post-match attacking Austin's bad knee. Shamrock's waist lock gets a big pop & Bret-Shamrock is even teased in a cool moment. Bret leaving gets a chorus of boos which is a testament to his performance considering he got massive cheers during portions of the match. Austin refuses assistance & stuns a referee to chants of his name as he walks to the back on his own accord. This is probably the most important match in WWE history & it went pretty much perfectly.

[SmartMark15]

It's one of the greatest matches of all time, that much is clear. All the elements come together to make this work perfectly. The intensity of the opening brawl and stiffness of the shots and bumps that they were taking.Then you had Bret's amazing heat segment on Austin's leg which Austin just sells to perfection. Then you start to escalate the violence with the chair shots to help Austin transition back into control. When Austin gets busted open, things just go up another notch. Love that both Austin and Bret had the same idea of how to escape the Sharpshooter. Just rake the eyes, boys, works every time. The finish is iconic and there's little else to say about that here. I thought this was fantastic and the performance of a lifetime from Austin.

 

*****

[flyonthewall2983]

I can't think of another match where whoever won or lost was of the least importance.

[Superstar Sleeze]

Bret Hart vs Stone Cold Steve Austin - WrestleMania XIII Submission Match

It is matches like this that are the most difficult to review. The reputation that precedes this match is so gargantuan what could you possibly say that has not been said in the past. We all know the historical import of this match. I would go as far as to assert this is the most historically important match in Vince McMahon Jr's WWF. Everything, the superstars, the live events, the TV shows, the merchandise that after this match now for over twenty years was made possible by this match. Very rarely can we point to such a singular match or singular moment where a Superstar is born that is literally going to save a company, lead them from the brink of bankruptcy so that in fours years, they buy their biggest competition and run a major Dome show. What is even more rare is how this match is the perfect confluence of history and art. Think of Hogan vs Iron Sheik and Hogan vs Andre, massively important matches, but as works of art they certainly leave the wrestling fan wanting more. How about matches like Slaughter vs Sheik an absolutely amazing bloodbath, but mostly forgotten to history because ultimately, it was NOT that important or influential, it was a last gasp of a dying era. So what we see here above all else is the magical intercourse of history and art. The resulting climax is true gratification. *****   

[Superstar Sleeze]

Bret Hart vs Stone Cold Steve Austin - Wrestlemania XIII Submission Match

I tried to get all artsy with my review, but I didnt like it so lets re-do this. Watching it again. 

First Half: Bret is such a great grinder. He has a great ring presence. I have said it before and I will say it again: theres nobody I rather watch work a control segment. He is so deliberate yet so engaging. Austin is such an underrater seller. He sells so big. The flailing and the energy. He is always coming back forcing Bret to cut him off. I loved how the knee was set up by Austin wanting to hit Bret with the steel steps, but when Bret defends himself Austin wrenches his knee against the other steps. It is such a organic way to come out of an injury from a chaotic brawl. Also, starting the five minutes outside the ring was genius it really set the tone that this was going to be brawl. Back the knee work, I LOVED THE STUNNER AS A HOPE SPOT! Austin could feel the match slipping away and just grabs Bret's head and stuns him. But it is a submission match so he cant get a pin. Great work. Everyone always talks about the double turn, but Bret was still over! The two biggest pops in the first half of the match were Bret's ring-post figure-4 and Bret attempting to Pillmanize Austin's ankle. Both great spots and I love how that leads to Austin hitting the home run swing with the chair on one leg while Bret is on the top rope. Great iconic moment. 

Second Half: Austin goes on a mini-tear. I always liked the part where Austin tries different submissions (moss-covered three-handled family gradunza and Boston Crab). It shows Austin was trying to win the match even if he was out of his element. I love how demonstrative he is when he is applying the Sharpshooter. He is really inviting the crowd to get involved. Bret rakes the eyes. Then we go outside. The match kicks into high gear when Austin takes his bump into the timekeeper's table and is busted wide open. Bret just rocks this segment working the cut and then then attacking the knee with the chair. He is outdone and yes I said OUTDONE by Austin who sells this all like a million bucks. Austin hits a total home run here. Just when Austin looks completely out of it, he hits a field goal through the uprights and Bret crumples into a heap. My God that Austin come back is just full of piss & vinegar. Stomp a mudhole and the middle fingers! Wow they dont make like wrestling like they used to! Love the electrical cord choke as a possible finish for Austin only for Bret to ring his bell with the bell. Then it is the most iconic finish in wrestling history. We all know it. 

This is Bret Hart's Five Act Masterpiece. Act One: Brawl Outside sets the mood, establishes this a fight. Act Two: Bret works the knee. We get the rhythm of the match and its a submission match and the Sharpshooter is always looming. Act Three: Austin's first desperation comeback with the steel chair. He tries to win the match with conventional submissions. Act Four: Austin is busted wide open. Bret beats the shit out of him and is almost taunting him in the way he is not putting Austin away and is instead dishing out excessive punishment like he is running up the score. Act Five: Austin, bleeding profusely, makes a furious comeback that includes nutshots, middle fingers and trying to choke out Bret with with an electrical cord,  but Bret hits Austin with the ring bell. Then it all climaxes in that amazing moment that is seared in all wrestling fans' minds with Austin fighting through the Sharpshooter, blood squirting from his head, passing out from the pain. It is a boring selection, but there's a reason it is boring, this is the Greatest WWF Match of All Time. *****

[cactus]

Even watching these two trade punches is elite tier stuff. They brawl throughout the crowd and it feels organic. The crowd, who have been quiet all night, wake up as soon as the crowd brawling starts. Once their back in the ring, Bret starts his assault on Austin's leg. Austin sells this so well,  flailing all over the place. Austin tries to keep with Bret, but Bret keeps cutting him off. After getting cut open, Austin doesn't have much more to give. He tries to choke out Bret with an electrical cord, but Bret wails him with a ring bell. All the weapon spots have meaning and aren't just used to add a nice spot here and there. Austin passes out in the Sharpshooter, and Shamrock calls for the bell. J.R's call of Austin never giving up adding a lot to his face turn. This is so much more than just a good bladejob. So glad this holds up. Arguably the best match in company history.

★★★★★

[GOTNW]

I don't remember whether I actually ever rewatched this match and I'm leaning towards not having done so, so it might honestly have been nearly 15 years since I last saw it. Now, to some of you veterans that's just another chapter in the book, but since I'm 27 the moment this review is written, it's an almost scary reminder of how long this nonsense has been a hobby.

I have to admit, I was completely flabbergasted by this match. I don't even think Steve Austin was a good wrestler most of the time during the peak of his stardom (98-99), and Bret is someone whom I've remained interested in but hasn't really vowed me as I've given him more chances. This was a classic when I was 13, but so were Chris Jericho vs Shawn Michaels, Ric Flair vs Ricky Steamboat and HardyECDudleys Ladder matches. Opinions change, mine mostly have, and the odds were stacked against this bout.

Aesthetically, this match feels oddly familiar, but also somewhat out of place. It's incredibly reminiscent of an Apuestas fight or a Memphis brawl, which really isn't what I'd connect with 1997 WWF.  They use furniture, but it absolutely works in the context of the match. The quality of weapon usage is lost when the violence doesn't feel organic - when LA Park and Rush or Onita and Tarzan Goto are manically going after each other's throats and grabbing anything that happens to be there, weapons rule. When they're turned into a prop, a part of the stage set almost as much as parts of the ring are, they lose their point because they don't escalate the violence.

Action-wise, again, it feels like a pastiche of Terry Funk vs Lawler and Perro Aguayo vs Santito. Non-stop intensity with quality face punching, an intelligent use of weapons, slams into the post/apron/barricade. I would say the match is also similar to Minoru Suzuki vs Hiroshi Tanahashi, not in the output, but in that this caliber of a match was only possible due to how well the wrestlers mashed and cancelled each other's flaws. Bret Hart took the business seriously and put a lot of thought into match structure and coming up with cool spots. I doubt Austin could have thought up a match of his caliber if he was the one in charge. But a Bret Hart vs Bret Hart match of this type could have never been a classic. Bret Hart could execute wrestling moves well, but he was never the best at emoting, which is what is going to carry a significant portion of a match of this type. Austin built one of the most successful runs in prowres history basically solely on emoting, and this match is his finest hour. When he comes out, the crowd really isn't going crazy, despite the announcers pretending so. This needs to hit. He is desperate to get over, desperate to become a star, desperate to succeed, and that happens to coincide with the desperation of his character. Austin bumps like crazy here; Bret takes some really nasty bumps too, but a couple of times when Austin went into the ringpost and the barricade it looked like it almost had to have been unsafe. His body language, facial expressions, voice acting, even the blade job, everything was absolutely on point in conveying that sense of urgency and struggle.

The finish was absolutely perfect. One of the obvious question in a bout like this would be "how could Austin possibly submit Bret". He did use the Cobra Clutch for a bit, which he didn't even attempt here, and I thought that was a great choice. Stealing the Sharpshooter made for a much more meaningful moment, as did the use of the cables, which presented a much bigger peril as it was much easier to imagine something akin to that being have made a finish. The ambiguity of "will Austin break the Sharsphooter or not" was milked to perfection, and the icon visual of blood dripping from his forehead before he goes down remains powerful even after having been successfully exploited for profit for decades.

Impeccable match. US match of the decade, best match in WWE history, and rest assured - a wrestling classic. (Un)fortunately, 1997 is also the year of Misawa vs Kobashi, Casas vs Santito and Volk Han vs Tamura, and while I could rank this above some of these, there's no way I'd rank it above all of them, so it will have to be deprived of MOTY honours.