Bret Hart Calls WWE WrestleMania Match "The Greatest Song I Ever Sang"
Wrestling legend Bret Hart sat down with Sports Illustrated to talk about his legendary WrestleMania 13 match with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin back in 1997.
Many regard it as the best WrestleMania match of all time, and Bret Hart, himself, referred to the match as one of his greatest accomplishments, especially compared to other WrestleMania matches he's had.
"The match with Steve, that's the greatest song I ever sang," Hart said. "When I watch it back, I wouldn't change a thing. I still love seeing that spot where I'm punching the daylights out of Steve in the corner and he kicks me in the groin. It was a beautiful, violent piece of art. Working with Steve was easy, it was fun, and it was memorable. We put a lot of heart into that match. It captures every element you see in a back-and-forth UFC fight.
"I always love the Iron Man match against Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XII, too. Pound-for-pound workload, that was the hardest match of my career, but I love the psychology of my match with Steve. I think of the expression, 'No animals were harmed in the making of the movie.' There were some hard falls and good shots with Steve, a fight between two warriors."
Bret Hart also talked about the lead-up to the match and how Austin was one of the few people who knew of the planned double-turn that would take place during the match. Hart talked about how Austin wanted to remain a bad guy at the time.
"Steve was one of the only guys I talked to about my eventual turn," Hart said. "It was a big secret and no one knew. Steve did, and I remember him saying that we were switching places but that he wanted to stay a bad guy as long as possible. He liked being a bad guy.
"We had this harmonious relationship. Steve was somebody that had a lot of respect for me, and he showed it in that match. And I wanted to do all I could for Steve in those days. I was a big advocate for Steve before he ever got to WWF, so I was really happy for him."
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