At the WWE Hall of Fame, Bret Hart and Steve Austin’s classic from WrestleMania 13 was inducted as the first recipient of the ‘Immortal Moment’ award. Speaking to a packed audience in Las Vegas, Hart explained that one attitbute above all others made the match great: respect.
“That’s how you do magic in wrestling, when you have trust and respect. You can’t be a great wrestler without having that.”
Bret enjoyed having respect with a lot of wrestlers but said he never had more mutual trust and respect than what he and Stone Cold shared. Humbled by Hart’s comments, Austin admitted that he wasn’t sure the finish of the match would work at the time.
“I didn’t think much of it, I kinda doubted it…. We went out there and had a hell of a match.”
Though lauded among fans for decades, the bout was “basic and simple” according to Austin, who said that keeping matches to this winning formula will almost always guarantee success. Austin also made sure to thank Ken Shamrock for his involvement before sharing his issue with the World’s Most Dangerous Man.
“The only thing that p***ed me off is the sumb*tch is so jacked up! I mean hell, me and Bret look like s*** unlike Shamrock!”
For the first WWE Immortal Moment, there’s few matches more deserving than Hart and Austin. Nearly three decades later, the match has stood the test of time as two of wrestling’s all-time greats doing what they do best.
