Bret Hart vs Steve Austin at WrestleMania 13 is many fans pick for the greatest Wrestlemania match of all time, with it also being some fans choice for the greatest match of all time period.
Bret Hart recently sat down with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated and reminisced about the match which he clearly remembers fondly:
“Steve was in his prime, I don’t think he was ever better. That was my peak moment, too. It was two asteroids hitting at the right time.”
“The funniest thing about that match, and it will probably surprise people, is that we ran out of ideas when we tried to map out the match,
It was all submissions, so there was no one-two-kickout. Taking away the pin falls removed a lot of the element of suspense. But we’d always had great chemistry, so we entered the match with confidence.
If you look at our match from the Survivor Series in ’96, some people argue that was an even better match. What we had was a storyline and two characters who were destined to cross paths. At that time, Steve was becoming a huge force and was just about ready to break through to a level that few wrestlers ever reach. I was lucky to be there at the right place and right time with him.”
– Bret Hart
Bret Hart would continue on to say that the match with Austin at Mania 13 was the one he believes is the “greatest song he ever sang” & talked about how it captured elements you’d see in a UFC Fight:
“The match with Steve, that’s the greatest song I ever sang, When I watch it back, I wouldn’t change a thing.
I still love seeing that spot where I’m punching the daylights out of Steve in the corner and he kicks me in the groin. It was a beautiful, violent piece of art. Working with Steve was easy, it was fun, and it was memorable.”
“We put a lot of heart into that match. It captures every element you see in a back-and-forth UFC fight. I always love the Iron Man match [against Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XII, too. Pound-for-pound workload, that was the hardest match of my career, but I love the psychology of my match with Steve. I think of the expression, ‘No animals were harmed in the making of the movie.’ There were some hard falls and good shots with Steve, a fight between two warriors.”
– Bret Hart
The match is a true masterpiece in professional wrestling and has aged like wine. It is just as good now as it was back then, if not, then better.
Bret would continue to talk more about the match, but also have some kinds words to share about his opponent on that night.
“Steve was one of the only guys I talked to about my eventual turn, It was a big secret and no one knew. Steve did, and I remember him saying that we were switching places but that he wanted to stay a bad guy as long as possible. He liked being a bad guy.”
“We had this harmonious relationship. Steve was somebody that had a lot of respect for me, and he showed it in that match. And I wanted to do all I could for Steve in those days. I was a big advocate for Steve before he ever got to WWF, so I was really happy for him.”
– Bret Hart
There has been a lot of talk recently about Bret Hart potentially coming into AEW in a role where he would be the manager of the Tag Team, FTR. However, even though there has been some subtle hints on screen, this has not been confirmed or been reported as done anywhere yet. We will have to wait and see what happens
