Bret Hart vs Steve Austin

[Ricky Jackson]

I think Bret dropping the strap to Austin at Mania, or at least losing to him there, was a rough plan at one point

[delacroix]

This is probably my all-time favorite feud/rivalry. I have a hard time thinking of another story in wrestling that is so perfectly character-driven and consistent in that regard. With both Austin and Hart, both of their characters are really pushed and developed (and defined and redefined) in uncommon depth. They are both allowed to exhibit babyface and heel qualities simultaneously, and not in a tweener fashion where they're attempting to straddle a line or appear cool. Both characters are complex individuals, noble in some respects and fatally flawed in others. (My investment in Austin actually decreased in later years as the more problematic aspects of his character were glossed over or phased out entirely. It just made him less interesting to me, even if he was still great.)

 

One of my favorite moments that hasn't been mentioned yet is the very end of the Raw where Austin attacks Hart in the ambulance. HBK chases off the Hart Foundation who had been beating down Austin in the ring. The show looks like it will go off the air with Austin pulling himself together after the beating (a subdued to a wild two hours), but then Brian Pillman appears out of nowhere to attack Austin, returning for revenge after Austin destroyed his ankle with the chair (and leading to Pillman joining the Hart Foundation). Vince McMahon has this great line about Pillman being certifiable. It was totally shocking, but made complete sense, and I could not wait for next week.

 

Also, it's been mentioned, but Hart's entrance into the Royal Rumble was another awesome moment for me. Austin's shock was great as a flash of panic and self-doubt before he pulls it together and starts motioning for Hart to bring it. Totally gave me chills watching it live.

[mprice]

 

The one question I would ask everyone is, what and when would the blow off have had been? If Bret didn't leave, do we get Bret-Austin at Mania for the title? Or do we wait until Summerslam 98 for it?

 

Looking back now, with the way that things had changed so much between 97 into 98, would Bret have even been a fit for this era of the WWF? I just tried to imagine Bret/Austin in the same card as Kane/Taker (WM 14) or HHH/Rock in the ladder match (Summerslam 98). Just seems like a strange combination looking at it from this perspective.

[ohtani's jacket]

I don't see how 1998 was all that different from 1997. The difference between Bret vs. Austin at Wrestlemania XV and the earlier stuff would have been the neck injury.

[Grimmas]

The question I posed on Wrestlespective is what would had happened to Austin if Bret didn't return or work with him. Who else would had put Austin at his level? Shawn wouldn't had made him. Taker, maybe? Would Austin had become the star he became without the help of the Austin feud?

[NotJayTabb]

The thing that made the Bret feud work is the difference in personalities between the two. The uber-serious traditionalist wrestler vs the zero-fucks-giving, brash brawler. They just sparked off each other in a way that I can't imagine working with a different wrestler than Bret. Not to mention how much Bret was willing to give Austin in the feud - Bret's big comeback match saw him narrowly win by turning Austin's secondary finisher into a desperation pin. It wouldn't match the Taker character for that to happen, and Michaels wasn't that giving.

[jcmmnx]

This feud was the reason I started watching Raw more than Nitro. Definitely on my short list of all time favorites.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

This feud, and then leading into the Hart Foundation Vs America feud, will always be my favourite feud. Bret is my favourite wrestler ever, 1997 is my favourite year ever to be a fan, the Canadian Stampede 10-man is my favourite match ever. I mean, this stuff will never be topped for me. It was just a perfect storm of a great story with great performers lining up so perfectly with where I was in my life, how I viewed wrestling, and really how I viewed the world. It's at the least the best WWF feud ever.

[mprice]

I don't see how 1998 was all that different from 1997. The difference between Bret vs. Austin at Wrestlemania XV and the earlier stuff would have been the neck injury.

 

I guess this is coming from someone who wasn't watching in 96-98 (didn't get started watching until mid-late '99). What I see is the change in the surroundings, I guess. The Titantron changed up, the "attitude" seemed to ramp up a lot more, and to me, it just seemed that Bret/Austin would almost be out of place in the world of DX with Mike Tyson, though I know that whole plan would change if things were different. It just feels like once there is a huge difference from Shawn/Bret led 1997-early 98 to the "Austin era" of later 98 and beyond.

[fxnj]

I think the shift happened in late 1997 during Bret's last few months with the company. It seemed like that was where Russo started getting a lot of power as there were a lot more short meaningless matches and edgy shit compared to earlier in the year. The crash TV style doesn't seem like it would have jelled with what made Bret great and he wasn't on board with it, either, since he stopped letting his kids watch the show. When Vince was telling Bret what he had planned in the lead up to the screw job he was just going to job him out to DX and Austin, so, even if he just wanted out of Bret's contract at that point, that still doesn't far off from what would have happened regardless.

[Slasher]

But Vince did lay it out for Bret to make him want to leave. I doubt if Vince sincerely wanted Bret around that they would pay millions of dollars for a designated jobber. He might not have been the guy pushed the most but there is no reason not to expect them to treat Bret with more respect.