Austin and Bret Perfected the Mold Before they Broke It

The rivalry between Stone Cold Steve Austin and Bret Hart calls to mind industry shaking significance. Their two most famous matches call that to mind instantly. Survivor Series 1996 may not be the breaking point, but it's a match that certainly carries the weight of history the closer it's viewed in hindsight. It's a bout implicitly fighting for the soul of the WWF, and what the company is to become, and that's a tension that only gets expanded upon in 97 with the submission match and the subsequent Harts vs. Austin feud. Between the double turn at Mania 13, the nationalistic bent of the feud after that, and the explicit "shades of gray" presentation that the WWF would lean into, Bret and Austin reshaped the American pro wrestling landscape towards something a little darker, muddled, and brimming with the eponymous attitude of the era to come.

With the transcendence these two accomplish, there's something almost quaint about what they do on September 14, 1996.

Closing out a tour of South Africa, Bret Hart and Stone Cold get to main event in Sun City, in what Jim Ross tells us may be Bret's last match in the WWF. There's question marks over Bret's status with the company and this is Bret's last scheduled match before he either re-signs with the WWF or moves on to something else. In a lot of ways, it does feel like the end of something, arguably the end of the "traditional" on Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart as a rivalry.

This bout is fascinating for fans of the Bret/Austin rivalry, if only because it sees the wrestlers cast in the light they were both meant to be seen in. Bret as this steadfast, no-nonsense hero against a brash and loudmouthed heel in Austin. Beyond just working to match that dynamic, the South Africa is also bought in, for the most part earnestly standing by Bret's side against Austin.

It's in the work that the magic lies though, of course.

There's a sense of decorum to this bout that will be gone by the time we get to Mania 13. If not respectful, then it is at least sporting as far as matches go, much closer in tone and feel to an NWA bout from the 80s. There's still the distinct sense that it's important to Austin to prove that he can outwrestle Hart, and much of the match is built around simple problem/solution mat work. This direct approach tells the very simple story of Austin holding his own but often getting flummoxed by Bret's ability to counter a hold, and more importantly keep his own holds to stuff Austin's attempts to escape. Even working something as classically minded as this though, one sees how the greatness of both men elevates it.

Austin, in particular, walks such a fine line here of wanting to honest to god wrestle before getting increasingly frustrated at his inability to hold any sustained advantage. One sees the way he has to scramble to the outside to disrupt Bret's momentum, and the fact that Austin's the first to move to fisticuffs in order to instigate a control segment. Once Austin gets going, the chain wrestling gives way to punching, kicks, a more aggressive demeanor that escalates the action while still leaving a lot on the table for when these two would get in front of an American pay-per-view audience.

Even then though, the hints of a greater animosity linger in this match. For example, when Bret who famously delivers offense from the second rope makes the extra step to climb all the way to the top to deliver an elbow smash. It's a small thing, but it's an escalation that Bret typically veers away from and busts out here. It's enough that even Owen Hart on commentary points it out as an out of character moment for the Hitman.

Wonderfully too, this match ends with something of foreshadowing for the Survivor Series bout. In this one, Austin attempts a backslide but can't bring Bret's shoulders to the mat. In the ensuring struggle, Bret climbs the turnbuckles to break the grip and get Austin into a small package that wins him the day–a hint at his careful tactics being just enough to overtake Austin's aggression.

It's a great match, one that wouldn't have been out of place a decade earlier in the NWA. Instead we find it here in WWF 1996, right on the cusp of a great change ahead.

Rating: ****