At WrestleMania 13 on March 23, 1997, Bret “The Hitman” Hart faced “Stone Cold” Steve Austin in a No Disqualification Submission Match at the Rosemont Horizon in Rosemont, Illinois, with UFC star Ken Shamrock serving as the special guest referee. The match was a brutal, intense war that saw Austin become busted open and drenched in blood, yet he refused to quit.
In the match’s iconic climax, Hart locked Austin in the Sharpshooter, and rather than submit, Austin passed out from the pain, giving Hart the technical victory but making Austin the moral one in the eyes of the crowd.
The match is widely celebrated for producing one of wrestling’s most famous “double turns.” Austin, who entered the match as a villain, won the crowd’s respect through his sheer toughness and refusal to give up, emerging as a beloved antihero. Hart, who entered as a fan favorite, turned heel by refusing to release the Sharpshooter after the bell and attacking Austin post-match. The image of Austin’s bloodied face grimacing in agony while trapped in the Sharpshooter remains one of the most iconic visuals in wrestling history.
In April 2025, the match was honored as the inaugural recipient of WWE’s new “Immortal Moment” award at the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony at Fontainebleau Las Vegas. It was the first time a match had ever been inducted into the Hall of Fame, making Hart a historic three-time inductee and Austin a two-time inductee.
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