![AI in elementary and middle schools [NAESP]](https://dangerouslyirrelevant.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/NAESP-Logo-Square-1.jpg){kind=logo}
![Trump’s FAA Shake-Up: DEI Gone, But Safety Questions Remain [Roundup]](https://viewfromthewing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/DALL·E-2024-01-24-12.35.35-A-wider-view-of-an-overworked-air-traffic-controller-in-a-control-tower-captured-from-a-side-angle.-The-controller-is-visibly-stressed-with-sweat-on.png?#)
‘Maybe we shouldn’t’ – Stone Cold Steve Austin almost ruined his most famous WrestleMania with stunning legend admission
Stone Cold Steve Austin’s WrestleMania clash with Bret Hart is one of WWE’s best matches of all time, but it very nearly wasn’t. The two rivals clashed at ‘Mania 13 in 1997 in an all-time classic that netted a notable hat-trick to ensure it’s stayed in the minds of WWE fans decades later. 1997 was Stone Cold Steve Austin’s breakthrough year in WWEWWE Perhaps first and foremost, it is considered by many as one of the stepping stones towards the Attitude Era – it was a match far more physically intense and bloody than the company had been typically producing at the time. Further than that, however, it helped switch up the careers of both combatants. Austin was propelled into super stardom and was WWE Champion a year later, while previously-beloved Hart cemented himself as a cast-iron heel (bad guy) – thanks to his tactics during and after the bout. The Canadian won after Austin ‘passed out’ while in the Sharpshooter. Hart showing no mercy to the Rattlesnake after, and little respect to special guest ref Ken Shamrock either. He left the ring to a chorus of boos while Austin eventually departed as a fallen hero having never tapped out to the hold. Arguably the most iconic visual from this unforgettable match is that of Austin writhing and screaming in his attempts to get out of the Sharpshooter while blood squirted from his temple and ran down his face. The absolute work of art very nearly ended up being merely a solid no DQ match, however, with legend Hart revealing in his autobiography that Austin momentarily had cold feet mid-match about introducing blood into the match. The intentional use of blood – blading – in WWE was generally frowned on at the time, but the Hitman was well versed in working out how to dodge any potential pitfalls and helped pull this one off like the pro he was. Detailing how the blood came to be, Hart wrote: “I took off into the ropes, but [Austin] sidestepped me and threw me out to the floor. I spat out the blade from where it was tucked between my upper lip and gum. Long-time WWE fans hold the Hart-Austin WrestleMania clash as one of the best everWWE Austin won his first WWE Championship at WrestleMania 14, one year after battling BretWWE “As we slugged it out on the floor, I said: ‘It’s time!’ I faintly heard him say: ‘Maybe we shouldn’t.’ The Excellence of Execution was having none of it, however, adding: “I reversed his throw and told him: ‘It’s too late!’ I hurled him crashing hard into the timekeeper, and he barrelled into the steel barricade. I calmly stepped over Steve, with Vince [McMahon] looking right at me and screaming fans only inches away. “I grabbed [Austin’s’] head and beat him with my fists like rubber hammers. Then I cut him perfectly, less than a half-inch long and as deep as a dime slot. No one saw a thing. The blood spurted out of his head as I gave him a serious thrashing.” The pair and McMahon had, some time before Mania, hatched the plan to thrust Hart into villainy and make Austin the hero, and the wrestlers executed the story with aplomb with support rising for the Texan throughout the bout while abuse was aimed at his rival. Detailing the finish that’s now etched into WWE folklore, Hart added: “Twisting him into my sharpshooter, I wrenched backward with all I had. “Blood gushed out of his forehead, but Stone Cold refused to give in and somehow found the will to resist me. The crowd joined with him in one long, groaning gasp. “[When I] clamped the sharpshooter on even tighter, I broke every heart that Stone Cold had just won. In the end, Austin didn’t submit but was rendered unconscious. Shamrock stopped the match and raised my hand.” Shamrock, at that stage slowly easing himself into the wrestling world after UFC stardom, nailed the Hitman with a scripted takedown to stop a post-match attack on Austin. Of the farewell he eventually got given by a rabid crowd, the five-time former WWE champ continued: “Signs danced in my face: “Bret who?” and “Go back to Canada!” But kids still pulled out the front of their Hitman shades as they high-fived me to show me that they were with me. “I touched hands of support that reached out, but one frothing-at-the-mouth, irate fan gave me the middle finger. I thrust one right back and mouthed: ‘F*** you, too!’ “I loved it. The match. Everything. If I ever wanted my fans to remember just one picture of me, it would be that moment, as I was walking back to the dressing room.” Hart was cast in the role of villain in the US for much of 1997WWE Hart revealed that, once again, McMahon was none the wiser about the duo deliberately using blood in their match. One has to wonder just how iconic the match might’ve been had Austin followed through with his fears. Perhaps current WWE star and Hitman megafan CM Punk is accurate in his mantra: Bret was always right.
Stone Cold Steve Austin’s WrestleMania clash with Bret Hart is one of WWE’s best matches of all time, but it very nearly wasn’t.
The two rivals clashed at ‘Mania 13 in 1997 in an all-time classic that netted a notable hat-trick to ensure it’s stayed in the minds of WWE fans decades later.
Perhaps first and foremost, it is considered by many as one of the stepping stones towards the Attitude Era – it was a match far more physically intense and bloody than the company had been typically producing at the time.
Further than that, however, it helped switch up the careers of both combatants.
Austin was propelled into super stardom and was WWE Champion a year later, while previously-beloved Hart cemented himself as a cast-iron heel (bad guy) – thanks to his tactics during and after the bout.
The Canadian won after Austin ‘passed out’ while in the Sharpshooter.
Hart showing no mercy to the Rattlesnake after, and little respect to special guest ref Ken Shamrock either.
He left the ring to a chorus of boos while Austin eventually departed as a fallen hero having never tapped out to the hold.
Arguably the most iconic visual from this unforgettable match is that of Austin writhing and screaming in his attempts to get out of the Sharpshooter while blood squirted from his temple and ran down his face.
The absolute work of art very nearly ended up being merely a solid no DQ match, however, with legend Hart revealing in his autobiography that Austin momentarily had cold feet mid-match about introducing blood into the match.
The intentional use of blood – blading – in WWE was generally frowned on at the time, but the Hitman was well versed in working out how to dodge any potential pitfalls and helped pull this one off like the pro he was.
Detailing how the blood came to be, Hart wrote: “I took off into the ropes, but [Austin] sidestepped me and threw me out to the floor. I spat out the blade from where it was tucked between my upper lip and gum.
“As we slugged it out on the floor, I said: ‘It’s time!’ I faintly heard him say: ‘Maybe we shouldn’t.’
The Excellence of Execution was having none of it, however, adding: “I reversed his throw and told him: ‘It’s too late!’ I hurled him crashing hard into the timekeeper, and he barrelled into the steel barricade. I calmly stepped over Steve, with Vince [McMahon] looking right at me and screaming fans only inches away.
“I grabbed [Austin’s’] head and beat him with my fists like rubber hammers. Then I cut him perfectly, less than a half-inch long and as deep as a dime slot. No one saw a thing. The blood spurted out of his head as I gave him a serious thrashing.”
The pair and McMahon had, some time before Mania, hatched the plan to thrust Hart into villainy and make Austin the hero, and the wrestlers executed the story with aplomb with support rising for the Texan throughout the bout while abuse was aimed at his rival.
Detailing the finish that’s now etched into WWE folklore, Hart added: “Twisting him into my sharpshooter, I wrenched backward with all I had.
“Blood gushed out of his forehead, but Stone Cold refused to give in and somehow found the will to resist me. The crowd joined with him in one long, groaning gasp.
“[When I] clamped the sharpshooter on even tighter, I broke every heart that Stone Cold had just won. In the end, Austin didn’t submit but was rendered unconscious. Shamrock stopped the match and raised my hand.”
Shamrock, at that stage slowly easing himself into the wrestling world after UFC stardom, nailed the Hitman with a scripted takedown to stop a post-match attack on Austin.
Of the farewell he eventually got given by a rabid crowd, the five-time former WWE champ continued: “Signs danced in my face: “Bret who?” and “Go back to Canada!” But kids still pulled out the front of their Hitman shades as they high-fived me to show me that they were with me.
“I touched hands of support that reached out, but one frothing-at-the-mouth, irate fan gave me the middle finger. I thrust one right back and mouthed: ‘F*** you, too!’
“I loved it. The match. Everything. If I ever wanted my fans to remember just one picture of me, it would be that moment, as I was walking back to the dressing room.”
Hart revealed that, once again, McMahon was none the wiser about the duo deliberately using blood in their match.
One has to wonder just how iconic the match might’ve been had Austin followed through with his fears. Perhaps current WWE star and Hitman megafan CM Punk is accurate in his mantra: Bret was always right.
What's Your Reaction?
