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WWE's upcoming Survivor Series event may be one of its biggest yet with the addition of War Games matches for the first time on the main roster. The event is WWE's second-longest running premium live event, with the inaugural Survivor Series occurring on November 26, 1987. Over the years, Survivor Series has been home to many memorable matches and moments. There's been great traditional Survivor Series elimination matches, like Team WWE vs Team Alliance in 2001, or Team SmackDown vs Team Raw in 2016.
The 2002 edition of Survivor Series saw Shawn Michaels win the first Elimination Chamber match, and 1992 featured the first major match in the Shawn Michaels vs Bret Hart rivalry, which culminated in the Montreal Screwjob at Survivor Series 1997. Speaking of Bret Hart, another one of his best and most popular feuds began in 1996 with one of the best matches in the history of Survivor Series against "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.
While Bret Hart Took A Hiatus From WWE, Austin 3:16 Was Born
Aside from a couple overseas tours, Bret Hart took about six months off in 1996 after dropping the WWE Championship to Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 12 in an Ironman Match. The landscape changed while he was gone, and part of that change was the rise of "Stone Cold" Steve Austin after winning the 1996 King of the Ring and subsequent Austin 3:16 speech. The match was also for the right to become the #1 contender for the WWE Championship.
The build up to the match featured some strong promos from both, with the Hitman showing respect to Austin, talking about how great of a wrestler he was. However, the respect was not returned by Austin. He had the great line, “If you put the letter ‘S’ in front of Hitman, then you have my opinion of Bret Hart.” In his pre-match promo, Bret said he was greedy for that respect and that Austin would respect him after the match.
Bret Hart Vs 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin Had Incredible Urgency And Physicality Throughout
Austin was coming off a signature win over Triple H at the previous PPV, but this was his first "major" PPV match, and it was the biggest match of his career to that point. There were a lot of cheers for his entrance, but still some boos, as he was still technically a heel. The Hitman was treated to a hero's welcome after so much time off, and Austin greeted him with the double middle fingers as the match began. That set the tone for what was an incredibly physical and aggressive 28:36 contest.
There was an urgency from both guys felt throughout the match -- it definitely had that big fight feel -- and it was very entertaining from start to finish. They did some fighting outside the ring, but the majority of the action was contained to the ring. The last five minutes or so was sublime, with numerous nearfalls and submissions. Bret also hit Austin with a brutal version of Austin's own stun gun move, followed by a perfectly executed piledriver. Austin hit a massive superplex, causing Vince McMahon on commentary to utter his classic "WHAT A MANEUVER!" line. As both men struggled to their feet, Austin hits a Stone Cold Stunner, but he had to pull Hart away from the ropes, and he kicked out at two.
Austin went for repeated pinfalls, and followed up with a Texas Cloverleaf submission, but Bret got to the ropes, so Austin subsequently whipped him across the ring and his ribs hit the ringpost. That was a great bump, as J.R. pointed out on commentary. Eventually, Bret finally went for the sharpshooter, but Austin forced his way to the ropes immediately. Hart followed up with a sleeper, but Austin broke out and locked him in the Million Dollar Dream -- his original WWE finisher. Bret fought towards the turnbuckle, kicked it, and fell on top of Austin for the surprise 1, 2, 3!
This Match Was The Catalyst For Perhaps The Best WWE Match Ever, And Austin's Rise To Superstardom
This was certainly not the end of the rivalry, as the announcers pointed out after the match. In fact, Bret and Austin would tangle again about four months later at WrestleMania 13, in what many believe to be the best, or one of the best, WWE matches of all time. It was a submission match with special guest referee Ken Shamrock from the UFC, and Bret and Austin went to absolute war that night in Chicago. The result was one of the most iconic finishes/images in WWE history, with Austin dripping blood down his face, trying to fight out of the sharpshooter with all his might, but only to pass out from the hold.
It was a perfectly executed double turn, and Austin was now a made man. The rest is history. Austin would go on to win the WWE title at WrestleMania 14, and become one of the biggest stars and draws in the history of the business. Who knows what would have happened had Austin not had the performance of his life with his match against the Hitman at Survivor Series 1996?