Pro Wrestling Love vol. 10: Greatest WWF Matches of 1993-1997 (Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Steve Austin)

Hey Yo Stud Muffins & Foxy Ladies,

The long-waited conclusion to the Greatest Matches of WWF in 1993-1997 countdown, which I had been putting off due to needing time to watch Mind Games and Wrestlemania XIII again.

Pro Wrestling Love vol. 10:

The Greatest Matches of WWF in 1993-1997

Objective:  Break up the Greatest Match Ever Project (hosted at gwe.freeforums.project.net) into more manageable chunks to help me build my Top 100 List for the project.

Motivation: Contribute to the discussion around these matches to enrich my own understanding of pro wrestling and give a fresh perspective for old matches and even hopefully discover great pro wrestling matches that have been hidden by the sands of time.

Subject: This tenth volume of Pro Wrestling Love finishes the Top 12 countdown of the best matches to take place in the World Wrestling Federation from 1993-1997. The timeline covers the Bret/Shawn/New Generation of the WWF. Bret Hart began the year of 1993 as World Champion. In addition, Hulk Hogan left in 1993. The year 1997 sees the last Bret Hart title reign and Shawn Michaels ends the year as the Champion. 1997 was the last year before the Attitude Era and Stone Cold took off.  You can revisit past Pro Wrestling Love Volumes at ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com. You can check out the full version of these reviews in ProWrestlingOnly.com by going to the forums and finding the folders associated with the date of the match.

Ratings: The top two matches of this list are mortal locks for my list. Numbers three through five are definitely in contention for the Top 100. The sixth match will not be making the list.

C'mon did you expect any other image to be the lead image?

Top Six Matches of World Wrestling Federation from 1993-1997

#6. WWF World Heavyweight Champion Diesel vs Bret Hart 

Survivor Series 1995 No DQ Match

In my opinion, this is Bret Hart’s personal masterpiece. As mentioned above, I think one of Bret Hart’s greatest strengths is having compelling face vs face matches, more often than not by playing the subtle heel. He really showed his high wrestling IQ in understanding the nuances of face/heel dynamics in the Royal Rumble ’95 match where he had to make the new babyface champion, Diesel, look like a hero without heeling himself too hard and also come up with compelling ways to take control of the match over the much larger Diesel. Here, they build on that great foundation by delivering one helluva fight.

Unlike most face vs face matches, one wrestler does not play subtle heel for the entire match but instead they take turns and they weave such a great story that it never undercuts the characters or the match. Nash begins the match as the slasher movie stalker and there is an impending dread with every blow he strikes against the Hitman. Then on a dime, Bret is able to turn heel mid-match and make Nash the sympathetic babyface by attacking the knee and eventually tying his feet up in the corner with the mic cable, which is the spot that I always remember from this match. Credit to Diesel for great job selling his leg and for such a logical ending to the heat segment with Diesel crotching Bret Hart on the top rope to end a great heat segment. The finish stretch is excellent with Diesel selling the leg and Bret coming up with creative ways to hit his signature spots. Bret goes all out at the end with two massive bumps crashing and burning on a pesacdo and being slingshotted off the apron through the table. I am not a huge fan of the finish, which is why this match will not make the Top 100. It is a possum finish where Diesel believes Bret is easy pickins’ after these two hellacious bumps and is caught with an inside cradle. The reason I don’t like is because those bumps were hellacious and I feel the finish undercuts those bumps. I think this is a great demonstration how to work babyface vs babyface in very compelling fashion.

#5. WWF Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels vs Razor Ramon - Summerslam 1995 Ladder Match

WWF Match of the Year, 1995

The take away moment from this match is when Razor just lets the standing ladder fall on Shawn’s decimated left knee. To me, this is the greatest WWF match where body part psychology is the main hook of the match. One of the things WWF does especially well is create narratives outside the scope of body part psychology. I think too often wrestling fans conflate psychology with body part attack and body part selling. Targeting a body part and selling a body part is just one aspect of psychology. It is an aspect that can be immensely emotionally gripping watching your hero overcoming an injury and answering the question can he or she successfully complete the comeback.

That all being said it is refreshing that WWF showcase a match every once a while that is built around body part psychology and in my estimation that could have not chosen a better wrestler to execute the selling than Shawn Michaels. I think Bret is a great seller even underrated, but as we have seen from Shawn Michaels’ Rockers run that when he is on that there are very that can touch him in the selling game. On top of that, Shawn Michaels was not alone in this match, Hall was great in control and never was better on offense. Shawn’s comeback was perfectly pitched. It is a very gradual progression to gaining control…not too energetic…not too subdued. In addition to the great body part psychology, there were so many great callbacks to the original Ladder match at Wrestlemania X that you would think this is All Japan and Giant Baba was booking. Like in the previous I discussed it is the finish that is holding me back from giving this full marks. It is not for the reason you expect that it is a blown finish. Even if Shawn executed the finish correctly on his first attempt I would not be too enamored with it. It was too contrived and drawn out. As I mentioned in my analysis of Shawn Michaels’ work this is when it became too cinematic and took me out of the moment. This is a nitpick and does not completely devalue the amazing work leading up to the finish where Razor and Shawn weave callbacks from Wrestlemania X with excellent leg psychology from both men (Razor in control and Shawn selling) that this is easily one of the all-time WWF classics and it is one of the few times in the history of entertainment where I believe the sequel is better than the original.  

#4. Shawn Michaels vs The Undertaker – Badd Blood 1997 Hell In A Cell Match

There is no match better at creating the horror movie atmosphere than this match. The Undertaker is the ultimate slasher movie monster stalking his prey. However, unlike the slasher movies, the Undertaker is not the villain he is the avenging hero seeking to exact revenge against the biggest douche in the history of the WWF and maybe even pro wrestling. Shawn Michaels was at the height of his heel powers just so eminently hateable. Yet at every pass, Michaels was able to escape his punishment and in fact seemingly found ways to antagonize The Undertaker even more by hitting him with steel chair after steel chair and using the newly formed D-Generation X to keep him out of trouble. Thus Hell In A Cell was constructed for the first time to finally deliver the punishment that the Heartbreak Kid so richly deserves.

The beginning of the match goes exactly as a fan would expect. Undertaker delivers helluva ass-whuppin’ to Shawn Michaels. It is pitch perfect. I think what this match does so well is actually create a logical Shawn Michaels heat segment. The monster babyface is in my opinion the hardest role to play and it is a very rare role in general. How do you garner sympathy on the Deadman especially against the smaller, cowardly Shawn Michaels? I loved how Michaels needed three big spots in order to garner control. Each of the spots was using Undertaker’s momentum and mass against him. Then once he had control, Shawn Michaels was not using typical spots to hold The Undertaker down. He was climbing the cage and crashing down with all his weight down on Taker. He was piledriving Taker on the steel steps. He was going the extra mile because he knew his hold on the match was tenuous at best. I love matches where there is this type of tension. You know you are just one zombie sit-up away from Taker whupping his ass. We know it. Taker knows it. Most importantly, Shawn knows it and he is wrestling with that desperation. Then it happens the Sweet Chin Music->Zombie Situp. Shawn’s reaction is awesome and he wants to get the Hell Out of Dodge.

They accomplish this smartly by having Michaels accidentally wipe out a cameraman when he was backdropped over the ropes. Michaels then throws a temper tantrum as this was a play off Michaels’ shoot temper tantrums in matches and the worked temper tantrum in the Mind Games match. I have heard this as interpreted as a Michaels’ escape plan, but I don’t think it was premediated in kayfabe sense. It was accident and Michaels took out his frustrations on the cameraman and continued his heat segment on Taker. It was the Sweet Chin Music->Zombie Situp that makes HBK want to get on his bicycle and ride and it just so happened that the cameraman was getting medical attention. The ending is perfect and revolutionary. So many incredible, iconic spots. I love how they make sure Taker gets his revenge by caving Michaels’ brain with a steel chair and he finally gets his receipt for Summerslam. Then Kane debuts! What an amazing finish! Kane debuts in the most epic fashion possible and that little bastard Michaels, a bloody pulp, somehow reaps the rewards. Just great booking, Michaels takes the ass whupping we want to see, but comes out with a ton of heat and it sets up the big Undertaker vs Kane feud. A terrific match that is so creative and revolutionary with two excellent characters that hit it out of the park.

Greatest finish ever?

#3. WWF World Heavyweight Champion Shawn Michaels vs Mankind – Mind Games 1996

WWF Match of the Year, 1996

It is such a shame that this match has such a lame finish. It is such an anti-climatic lamedown. It could be the Greatest WWF Match of All Time if it didn’t.

“Think shoot, but work” is a great motto from “Stone Cold” Steve Austin on his philosophy how to work. This match epitomizes that mantra. It is raw and organic. What makes this match so special is how it combines brawling and psychology. Everything is smart & logical without feeling planned or contrived. Everything feels intense & chaotic without feeling mindless & aimless. It never drags, but it never throws too much at you. It is a very sticky match in the sense that everything sticks with you. Vince McMahon must love this match because it has so many iconic moments, from Shawn jumping up and down on Foley while the floor mat is on Foley to the amazing ending table spot. My favorite sequence of the match is when they executed a worked shoot centered around Shawn’s predilection for temper tantrums in the middle of a match. It turns into a heated brawl. I really love how Foley yanks Michaels down from behind in the claw. It was intense and uncomfortable. Not to be outdone, Shawn really lays in fucking brutal back elbows into Foley’s head. There were so many stiff shots in the match. I thought Shawn was firing off live rounds and even Foley strikes looked rough. There were other great chaotic moments with Shawn leaping over the announce table to tackle Foley. Such an exciting fight! Shawn looked amazing fighting on top, probably his best offensive performance of his career. He was really taking it to Mankind and that work over Foley’s leg was top notch! He even threw in a dragon leg screw! There is a great character moment when Michaels has Mankind in a half crab, Paul Bearer places the urn on the apron next to the ropes to give Mankind that extra incentive to grab the ropes. There are so many great little things throughout this match. I loved the transition out of Shawn control segment when Mankind’s knee gives out and he falls back and this hot shots Michaels. Perfect confluence of what happened and bringing the match to the next step. The next iconic moment is Foley stabbing his own knee with a pen to get feeling back in it. Great deranged, psycho moment. Foley targets Michaels’ head due to his concussion history. Michaels really wrestled out of his mind. So many great decision and sold like a million bucks. I love how Shawn needed three big hits to EARN control of the match again. Foley goes ass over tea kettle on a knee into the ring steps, then a drop toehold into the steps and then in a fight on the apron Foley eats the ring post. I love how bang bang this match is. No downtime, but never overdone. Mankind gets his head caught in the ropes and Shawn looks to press the advantage, but Mandible Claw! Mankind becomes obsessed with getting the claw so Shawn retaliates by destroying the Claw hand. The Claw hand is rendered completely ineffective the rest of the match. Just great escalation. So Mankind has to resort to Cactus Jack moves like the Double Arm DDT and piledriver since he cant use the hand. Mankind has an amazing mid-match freak out when he cant put Shawn away. Shawn’s comeback is red hot; he really clobbers him with that forearm. The finish stretch is incredible, Shawn rocking, the insane table spot and then Shawn Van Dam hitting the craziest Sweet Chin Music ever. God, if Shawn just got the 1-2-3 in that moment instead of Vader, Sid and Undertaker getting involved. Lets forget the finish and just remember the good times of this incredible match. So many long brawls will peter out, but this match just builds and builds. So many logical matches feel contrived, but this match feels like a shoot for the most part, just raw emotion. A true masterpiece!   

#2. Bret Hart vs Owen Hart – Wrestlemania X

WWF Match of the Year, 1994

Brother vs brother is there a simpler, more natural story than that? Any man who has a brother knows the story. We love one another, but there is always a little bit of competitive fire between the two if not a whole lot of competitive fire. Owen plays the insecure snot little brother with a fierce inferiority complex. The way he celebrates the break from the collar and elbow tieup always get me. The flip side is how humiliated he is when Bret makes him fall out of the ring. Owen comes back in and slaps him. He is the consummate insecure brat. Bret plays the calm older brother perfectly. He just wants to outwrestle his young brother not hurt him. So often we forget that wrestling is not about injuring your opponent. It is about pinning your opponent’s shoulders to the mat for a three count or forcing a submission. There is no reason to hurt one another. However, tempers flare and that’s when the heat comes out. Owen is not wrestling to win. He is wrestling to hurt. Bret responds in kind. Bret is peppering in hope spots while Owen is crushing it on offense. The Tombstone Piledriver spot was out of this world. Great transition to Bret Hart re-taking control when Owen goes for the home run shot of the top rope diving headbutt. That’s where this match excels so much is escalation. Since Owen escalated this from hold-counterhold by attacking Bret with high impact moves. So Bret returned in kind by hitting the Fives Moves of Doom, but it was an out of nowhere Enizguiri that turns the match back in Owen’s favor. When Bret jams his knee, this match goes into overdrive playing into how Owen turned heel in the first place during the Quebecers match when Owen kicked “Bret’s leg out from under his leg”. Owen does the Hart family proud with this leg work and Bret sells like a million bucks. Good payback spot where Bret gets the enziguiri as his receipt. The commentary did a great job putting over how this would affect Bret’s world title shot later that night. He should just cut his losses and focus on the title match. But any brother knows how important it is to win against their brother and he wont give up. Owen has crossed the line it went from winning a match to injuring Bret now. Bret returns in kind. He holds nothing back. PILEDRIVER! TOP ROPE SUPERPLEX! Bret has gone from cradles & armbars to dropping his brother on his head. Owen one ups this when his trick knee acts up and he heel kicks Bret in the balls. He goes from wanting to humiliate his brother to becoming so desperate he hits him in the testicles. Is there anything more low down and pathetic than that? I love that nobody has ever broken Bret’s Sharpshooter, but since Owen is not as proficient at it, Bret is able to break it. He applies his own, but Owen makes the ropes. Bret goes for the Victory Roll, but Owen kneels down on his shoulder to win the match!

I love how each man is transformed throughout the match. It is such amazing, organic character work. Bret’s face at the loss is perfect. He is like I cant believe that little fucker pinned me. Owen’s reaction is also priceless at his victory. Maybe the best character work in American history.   

#1. Bret Hart vs Stone Cold Steve Austin – Wrestlemania XIII Submission Match

WWF Match of the Year, 1997

 This is Bret Hart's Five Act Masterpiece. 

Act One: Brawl Outside sets the mood, establishes this a fight. 

Act Two: Bret works the knee. Is there anybody you would rather see work a control segment than Bret Hart. Steve Austin is such an amazing seller. So much energy! So much flailing! We get the rhythm of the match and its a submission match and the Sharpshooter is always looming. 

Act Three: Austin's first desperation comeback with the steel chair. He tries to win the match with conventional submissions (moss-covered three-handled-family granduza and the Boston Crab). 

Act Four: Austin is busted wide open. Bret beats the shit out of him and is almost taunting him in the way he is not putting Austin away and is instead dishing out excessive punishment like he is running up the score. Bret is turning heel and you want to see Austin open up a massive can of whoop-ass. 

Act Five: Austin, bleeding profusely, makes a furious comeback that includes nutshots, middle fingers and trying to choke out Bret with with an electrical cord,  but Bret hits Austin with the ring bell. Then it all climaxes in that amazing moment that is seared in all wrestling fans' minds with Austin fighting through the Sharpshooter, blood squirting from his head, passing out from the pain. 

The reputation that precedes this match is so gargantuan what could you possibly say that has not been said in the past. We all know the historical import of this match. I would go as far as to assert this is the most historically important match in Vince McMahon Jr's WWF. Everything, the superstars, the live events, the TV shows, the merchandise that after this match now for over twenty years was made possible by this match. Very rarely can we point to such a singular match or singular moment where a Superstar is born that is literally going to save a company, lead them from the brink of bankruptcy so that in fours years, they buy their biggest competition and run a major Dome show. What is even more rare is how this match is the perfect confluence of history and art. Think of Hogan vs Iron Sheik and Hogan vs Andre, massively important matches, but as works of art they certainly leave the wrestling fan wanting more. How about matches like Slaughter vs Sheik an absolutely amazing bloodbath, but mostly forgotten to history because ultimately, it was NOT that important or influential, it was a last gasp of a dying era. So what we see here above all else is the magical intercourse of history and art. The resulting climax is true gratification.

It is a boring selection, but there's a reason it is boring, this is the Greatest WWF Match of All Time. 

Pro Wrestling Love Vol. 1: Best of WWF in 1993-97 (Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Steve Austin, Undertaker)

EDITOR'S NOTE: The original intention was publish this series at the PlaceToBeNation.com however due to time constraints I have decided to start publishing on my own here at RidingSpaceMountain.Blogspot.com. Eventually, all blogs will cross-posted to PlaceToBeNation.com. In addition, I want to remark that this first blog was about double what I intended the word count to be and I will be working on being more concise without losing any information. Please bear with me as the series is getting off the ground. Thank you very much!

Hey yo Stud Muffins & Foxy Ladies,

“In the beginning was the Word…”

 A suitably dramatic way to start the “Pro Wrestling Love” series at the Place To Be Nation wouldn’t you say! I have always favored the written word because as the author I can constantly refine verbiage to best convey the intended message. However, I do bear in mind Voltaire’s advice that “The search for perfection is the enemy of good.” For far too long, I have procrastinated on writing this series in an effort to have perfect, complete information on pro wrestling’s voluminous catalog of matches, which is a foolhardy notion. Now, the Greatest Match Ever Project (hosted at gwe.freeforums.project.net) has given me the impetus to write this now or I shall forever have to hold my peace on subject near and dear to my heart: What is the Greatest Pro Wrestling Match of All Time?

I Love Pro Wrestling! This picture always makes me smile! :)

Keiji Mutoh coined the term “Pro Wrestling Love” and I have selected it as the title of these series of articles because I love pro wrestling. It is pure and simple. I want to celebrate pro wrestling in all its forms throughout time and the globe. The tone of these articles will be positive praising the men and women that craft amazing stories through body language that is universal and timeless. Superficially, this seems like a facile task since I will be discussing the Greatest Matches of All Time. However, when you are discussing the Greatest Match of All Time being hypercritical is only natural. The stakes are higher and the passion is greater. When you truly, deeply love something as much as I love pro wrestling, the thoughtful criticism is a sign of affection because I care that much.

My goal for these articles is to increase awareness of great pro wrestling to as many people as possible. If just one person comes away from these articles watching a match they never seen before, then I have done my job because whether they love it or hate it they will have expanded their knowledge of pro wrestling. My favorite moments recently as a fan is discovering these hidden gems and exposing them to the world. Who can forget when I lost my mind over an obscure AJ Styles vs Bobby Roode match (Final Resolution 2011) and made everyone on ProWrestlingOnly.com watch it. (FYI, you should totally drop what you are doing and watch that now because AJ gives the single greatest selling performance ever. Don’t worry I will wait for you to come back. You watched it? Wasn’t it amazing?) As a wrestling fan now, that’s what I live for and I am really excited for this project.

I am Martin “Superstar Sleeze” Boulevard and a pro wrestling fan for over twenty years now. I am Superstar Sleeze on ProWrestlingOnly.com. You may have heard before on the “Titans Of Wrestling” where I was nicknamed the “Teen Titan” and you may have heard me on my now-defunct podcast “Tag Teams Back Again”. You can follow me on Twitter and Instagram, @superstarsleeze and you can send me any feedback there.

The expected format will be I will discuss the twelve or so greatest matches from a promotion over a five year period. First, I will discuss a broad theme about pro wrestling psychology pertinent to the matches that will be discussed in the article. Then, I will explain why I selected this specific five year period. Then I will give a brief overview of the promotion and the prominent wrestlers at the time in that promotion. Each five year period will be broken into two articles, six matches per article. The reviews will be 5-7 sentences each and will focus on the narrative of the match and what makes the match special. Full reviews can be found on the ProWrestlingOnly.com forum. Simply go to the folder of the Month/Year, find the match and you will be able to read my full review of the match. 

The first period I selected was the World Wrestling Federation from 1993-1997. There may be no better understood era of a pro wrestling promotion than the WWF in the mid-90s. That’s exactly why I chose it to be the first subject. It is a common touchstone that all wrestling fans no matter if you are a WWE-only fan or a fan that watches FUTEN and Black Terry tapes we all have an opinion on it. If you are going to being reading my opinion throughout this series, it is good to know where I stand on canon before we venture off into the hinterlands of pro wrestling. Even though, I think this is the most well-characterized era of pro wrestling, I think I still found a couple hidden gems in the #7-#12 range. I will freely admit that the top six is the usual suspects, but they are the usual suspects for a reason.

To me, 1993-1997 is a natural time epoch in the history of WWF as a transition between the Hogan era (Hogan leaves in June of 1993) and the Attitude Era (Austin wins the title in March of 98). This era is sometimes dubbed the “New Generation” and it is basically the Bret & Shawn era.   In January of 1993, Bret Hart is the World Wrestling Federation Champion and November of 1997 he “loses” the championship to Shawn Michaels in the infamous Montreal Screwjob. In the interim, Bret and Shawn are consistently spotlighted as the best pro wrestlers in the company even in the midst of the year-long Diesel World Title Reign. It will be noted that 11 out of 12 the matches selected have either Bret or Shawn in them. If I was to do a Top 25, 24 of the matches would have either Bret or Shawn in them. That’s how dominant they were from a “workrate” (for a lack of a better term) perspective .

I watched and reviewed a total of 72 matches from this era.

Blah blah blah...will you get on with the countdown already?

Honorable Mentions:

The Best of Non-Bret, Non-Shawn Matches:

Marty Jannetty vs Doink The Clown - WWF RAW 6/21/93 2 Out Of 3 Falls

WWF World Tag Champs Marty Jannetty & 1-2-3 Kid vs Quebecers -WWF MSG 1/17/94

Marty & Doink are unsung great midcard wrestlers in 1993.

The Best of 1993:

Bret Hart vs Mr. Perfect - WWF King of the Ring 1993

Bret Hart vs Doink The Clown/Bret Hart vs Jerry Lawler - Summerslam 1993

No matches from 1993 made the Top 12 and I wanted to make sure they were represented. These are the two best and I think Bret vs Perfect match from KOTR ’93 is the WWF Match of the Year from 1993.

Great Tag Team Matches of The Era:

Bret Hart & Davey Boy Smith vs Owen Hart & Bob Backlund - WWF Action Zone 2/26/95

WWF Tag Champions Owen Hart & British Bulldog vs Shawn Michaels & Steve Austin - WWF RAW 5/26/97

Only one tag team match made my Top 12 so I wanted to give some love to the other great tag team matches from the era.

The Last One Out:

Shawn Michaels vs Mankind - WWF RAW 8/11/97

This is just a randomly great, out of control, insane brawl that never gets talked about enough and really just misses the cut. It came down to this or the HHH vs Catcus street fight and I gave the nod to the latter.

Top Twelve Matches of World Wrestling Federation from 1993-1997

#12. Cactus Jack vs Hunter Hearst Helmsley – RAW 9/22/97 Falls Count Anywhere

The best non-Bret, non-Shawn match of the era is a Falls Count Anywhere match between Cactus Jack and HHH. Foley was such an integral part to making HHH a star in both 1997 and 2000. In ’97 they feuded after Helmsley defeated Mankind for the King of the Ring. 1997 saw the Faces of Foley come to light as they humanized the Deranged Mankind and explained his childhood love of wrestling.  That led to the debut of Dude Love and then ultimately the return of Cactus Jack to a wrestling ring, which is announced via an amazing video package where Foley plays all his characters simultaneously thanks to some TV magic. Dude Love calling “Mankind” always cracks me up.  HHH does a great job selling Foley coming out as Cactus Jack as a total “shit his pants” moment.

I like my brawls short and sweet. It should be a burst of violent adrenaline not a drawn out war of attrition. This match maximizes its time and efficiently dishes out brutality. It is the Greatest Hits of Cactus Jack in one action-packed ten minute match. Cactus supplying both the offense and the bumps. Shoutout to Chyna for being really awesome in this. She was great in creating the dynamic to give Helmsley a fighting chance in this because the match demanded that Helmsley be a bumping coward in this match. They came up with a creative way to neutralize her by having Cactus shove Triple H who ended up colliding with Chyna into the steel steps. The finish was superb. Cactus uses his brutal bump, the Nestea Plunge (basically banging the back of his head really hard on metal or concrete) to make you believe he is ripe for the Pedigree, but instead turns it around by hitting a monster  piledriver through the table. Excellent, energetic plunder-based brawl that made Foley feel like a huge star.

#11. Bret Hart vs “Stone Cold” Steve Austin – Revenge of The Taker 1997

A hidden gem hiding in plain sight. It is BRET HART VS STONE COLD IN 1997 why don’t people talk about this more? Does it pale in comparison to Wrestlemania XIII’s submission match? Of course, but 99% of matches do that does not make this any less special. The backstory is that this a month after the Mania match and the feud has not been settled.

Stone Cold’s selling in this match is superb. For a trash talking, ass kicker, selling is actually a pretty difficult thing because vulnerability can be seen as undercutting Austin as the TOUGHEST SOB. However, you cannot be the TOUGHEST SOB in history if there is no pain to overcome. This is what Austin does so expertly well in this match is convey vulnerability, but also his grit in struggling with the pain: collapsing on piledriver attempts, lunging forward constantly, yelling in agony. He is in a tremendous of pain, but goddmanit there is no quit in him. Of course in my estimation there is no one better in the history of North American wrestling better at grinding down a body part than Bret “The Hitman” Hart. He is impeccable in control of match offensively because of his wide arsenal of offense, his excellent execution (he deserves the nickname) and his sound psychology. I have noted in the past that Bret matches can be very neatly segmented. If Bret is on offense, he is on offense and you are his ragdoll. When Bret is selling, his opponent is on offense and Bret will ragdoll for you. That being said the transitions will usually be good just inside a segment there is no sense of struggle. Austin because of his tenacious, energetic style forces Bret's hand. So many times Austin will just charge or throw a wild punch. It is not even that much of a hope spot, but it is a spot that forces Bret to eyerake or to kick at the bad knee to re-establish control. Austin keeps Bret honest and I love that.

The narrative was excellent with the ultra-hot, energetic opening from Austin. The hook of the match is that Bret is able to re-injure Austin’s knee because Austin was trying to attack Bret with a chair, but as Austin & Hebner were fighting over the chair this afforded Bret the opportunity to dropkick Austin from behind bump Hebner and then attack Austin’s knee. Austin was screwed over by his own propensity for violence. I describe how great the heat segment is in depth in the above paragraph. What they do so well in the finish stretch is protect their finishes. In Kayfabe, Austin has try for the Stunner. In reality, he was not booked to win so you cant hit the Stunner. Instead, he attempts it and Bret holds onto the top rope for dear life. It was Bret’s selling tenaciously holding onto that rope that made the spot fantastic and enhanced the Stunner that much more. By the same token, Bret has to go for the Sharpshooter, that won him the Wrestlemania match. Here the cool spot is that Austin whacks Bret in the face with his own metal knee brace, the very knee brace Bret ripped off to inflict more damage. Thus the symmetry that goes back to Austin & chair is revisited here. The finish is Austin wants Bret to submit to his own move: the Sharpshooter, how humiliating would that be! The Hart Foundation bails him out by bum-rushing the ring. In the post-match, Austin attacks the knee of Bret Hart with a chair to give him a taste of his own medicine. The job would be finished the following night on RAW when Austin would savagely destroy Bret’s knee in a street fight putting him in a wheel chair. Besides the DQ finish, this is just excellent wrestling and my hot take is that this is actually a better wrestling match than their more heralded Survivor Series 1996 which I found well-worked, but pedestrian at times.

#10. WWF World Heavyweight Champion Bret Hart vs The Undertaker 

One Night Only 1997

Lets keep the Bret Hart love rolling. This is generally considered to be the last great match of Bret’s WWF career. Bret defeated Undertaker for the Championship at Summerslam in one of my all-time favorite angles when special guest referee Shawn Michaels accidentally nailed the Undertaker with a steel chair. This is the Championship rematch and happens on a special UK PPV.

As we will see later in this countdown Bret is a master at working with a bigger opponent in Diesel and here it is not much different. He tries different strategies early (throwing punches/brawling, speed and taking off a turnbuckle pad), but none work against the Man From The Dark Side and eventually he eats his patented running chest-first bump into the exposed turnbuckle! Then…

Just by Bret Hart kicking Undertaker's knee, there is a massive reaction. That embodies pro wrestling to me. It is not about the crazy flips or modified suplexes. It is about caring about your favorite wrestler and telling a story where you are building to an outcome. Eventually, Bret earns full control when Undertaker’s knee slams into a turnbuckle on a missed charge. Bret is a Great White that smells blood in the water. Like I said in the Austin match, there is no one else I rather watch grind out a match than Bret and his control segment on the Undertaker’s knee is a thing of beauty. Undertaker for his part sold so well and really peppered in those hope spots to make Bret continue to earn this control segment. The finish stretch featured great logical escalation with smart transitions. I thought the finish itself was pretty cheap but that was to be expected as Undertaker as a strong babyface could not lose clean. This match really demonstrates how great Bret Hart is on offense and how great Undertaker can be at selling. The red-hot UK crowd really helped this match and we see later in the countout how they really put another match over the top. This is a great exhibition of minimalist wrestling and how a simple kick to the knee can get a massive reaction.

What do you mean Shawn is taking the next three slots?

#9. WWF World Tag Team Champions Diesel & Shawn Michaels vs Razor Ramon & 1-2-3 Kid Action Zone 10/30/94

The sole tag team match to make the countdown pits Kliq vs Kliq as Tag Champs Shawn & Diesel defend against best friends Razor & Kid in a barnburner of a tag match. This takes right before the Diesel & Shawn split that would lead to Diesel monster babyface push and being the WWF Champion for a year.

Shawn was my MVP of the match. After years being in the Rockers, he was great at turning around all the shit that was done to him and throwing right back as a heel. He was doing so much great apron work in this: feeding Razor, using a blind tag to set up heat, constant cheating. It was a really masterful heel tag work performance and I thought he was the one directing traffic. When it came time to get his ass kicked, he threw himself all over the place for Razor and Kid. He was basically their tackling dummy. I think all four guys impressed, but I would go with Shawn as my MVP.

What really impressed me was the strong understanding of fundamentals. The babyface shine is such a critical, yet oft overlooked portion of a match. It is so crucial in giving a reason for the fans to believe their heroes have a chance. I am a sucker for a babyfaces to hit a finish early (Razor Edge) and not get the pin in tag situations because you have the easy out of the partner breaking it up. Kid was so awesome with is nearfall barrage. Who the hell was this Kevin Nash flying all around? Razor, an against the grain pick for face in peril, takes heat off a cheap tag and then the liberal amounts of cheating, this heat segment was one of the all-time great tag team stretch runs with really strong psychology. Razor worked the face in peril well. Diesel was shockingly awesome at offense in this match. Michaels accidentally superkicking Diesel was great angle advancement, it gets Sweet Chin Music over as a killer move (remember it was a relatively recent move and to have the Big Man go down for 5 minutes really sells it as a game-ender) and also it got Razor/Kid back in it.  Kid was a killer hot tag.  I thought Shawn Michaels showed why he is one of the all-time greatest wrestlers here, awesome command of psychology from beginning to end especially that sleeper after the hot tag to grind the Razor/Kid fast break to a halt. The Kid’s top rope leg drop is one of the all time great babyface false finishes. The Sleeping Giant is stirring and OUT OF NOWHERE NAILS KID WITH A BIG BOOT! Michaels covers 1-2-3! Serious contender for best WWF tag match of all time.

#8. WWF European Champion The British Bulldog vs Shawn Michaels 

One Night Only 1997

This is a bold claim and I probably going to eat my words but I think this is the greatest heat-seeking match of all time. Shawn Michaels is at his prickly prick best here in the UK pissing off the crowd against their native son and hugely popular hero, The British Bulldog. Shawn making out with about 5 girls on his way to ring is just so sleazy and so perfect to get him nuclear heat throughout the match. We discussed how much I loved the shine in the previous match and you will find a pattern as you read more and more of my reviews. The beginning of matches really, really matter. A strong shine is one way to really kickstart a match. When you have the raw power of the Bulldog and the pinball bumping machine in the Heartbreak Kid, you have a recipe for success. Shawn bumps like a madman for Davey Boy at the outset of the match. The whole time I was pumping my fist and I wanted Shawn to get his. It was a magnificent opening to a match. Everything Shawn tried was thrown back in his face, beautiful, high-end wrestling displaying the high wrestling IQ of Shawn Michaels. Then Rick Rude comes out who liberally interferes in the match to give Michaels the advantage a perfect heel move to transition. Shawn Michaels’s biggest flaw is his lack of offense and they play this smart with a very short heat segment. This triggers HHH & Chyna to come out for even more insurance for HBK. We move from nuclear heat to HYDROGEN BOMB HEAT!

British Bulldog goes for his trademark running powerslam on the floor, but he slips and wrenches his right knee, which has a brace around it. SWEET CHIN MUSIC! Rude & HHH ram the railing into the knee as the fans are just trying to fight against them by holding the railing back. THAT IS PRO WRESTLING! That spot gets me every single time. So powerful. Shawn Michaels rips off the knee brace and throws it at Bulldog’s wife and terminally ill sister, what an asshole. The ending with the figure-4 is so over the top, HHH & Chyna have HBK’s hands for extra leverage and just when Davey Boy is gonna turn it, Rude cleans his clock and he passes out from the pain. The crowd is a near riot and is just pelting D-Generation X with garbage. It is really annoying the Hart Foundation did not get any licks in during the save. It felt so empty after Shawn was such an unmitigated douche to Davey Boy, his family and this crowd. You wanted some semblance of comeuppance. I have been on record before saying as much as I love to think about and analyze pro wrestling, pro wrestling should not exist in the mind, but should hit you in the gut. This match is an emotional tour de force that hits you right where it hurts. 

#7. WWF Intercontinental Champion Razor Ramon vs Shawn Michaels 

Wrestlemania X Ladder Match

An iconic and supremely influential match that has stood the test of time. It is one of the most famous matches in WWF canon and is something that almost every WWF fan has seen. Of all the matches, I have talked about so far, this is the most famous and most important. What the WWF does better than any pro wrestling company ever is creating singular moments in wrestling matches that will stick with you forever. I am not going to list the moments of this match, but we all know the spots I am talking about. So what saves this match from just relying on simple nostalgia is two things: the violence of the ladder spots and the way they build drama. From the opening salvo of the Michaels baseball slide into the ladder into Razor until when Shawn rides the ladder down onto Razor, they ladder is incorporated into almost every spot organically and for maximum damage. The iconic matches may last forever, but when re-watching a match it is the struggle of two men trying to win and overcome pain that makes the match immortal.

In addition, I think what this match does really well is building drama. What I think is most interesting about this match is that it builds drama in a radically different way than most matches build drama.  Most wrestling matches build drama through the shine/heat/comeback formula. A traditional comeback builds drama through the fire of the babyface overcoming the odds of the heat segment and then there is a couple twists and turns before the finish. Razor did not make a fiery comeback. The drama was that getting up that damn ladder was so damn difficult. It feels like the drama of real sports. Shawn was not especially nefarious in this match and Razor was just in an early hole. As he dug himself out, it was not this comeback that whips you into a frenzy, but rather you are intrigued how somebody will actually be able to win this match. I love the finish: Shawn knocked off the ladder, tied in the ropes as Razor slowly climbs to become the undisputed Intercontinental Champion is one of the all-time great finishes. This WWF classic remains timeless. 

Tune in next time for the top six! Currently Shawn leads Bret 3-2, will Shawn end up with more matches in the Top 12 overall than Bret? Who will get the coveted number one spot? All this and much more in Pro Wrestling Love vol. 2!