5 Ways Steve Austin Was Bret Hart's Greatest Rival (& 5 Ways It Was Shawn Michaels)

The incredible success for Bret Hart saw him create many successful rivalries with two standing out at the top. Fans often instantly think of both Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels when thinking of their top memories of Bret in the ring. The two feuds had successful results of memorable promos and must-watch matches in the mid-90s.

We will look at arguments for both wrestlers as the top rival of Hart’s career. Austin fans believe Bret’s best work came with him from 1996 to 1997. Quite a few people would claim Michaels and Hart’s importance working together made their rivalry more significant. Make your own choice after checking out both sides. The following points provide rational for each Austin and Michaels as Bret’s top rival.

10 Austin: WrestleMania 13 classic

The WrestleMania 13 match between Steve Austin and Bret Hart is often the first match mentioned when discussing the best in WrestleMania history. Fans realized they were witnessing some special when Austin and Hart delivered a new level of violence for WWE.

The visual of Austin trying to fight the sharpshooter with blood pouring down his face made him a top superstar moving forward even in defeat. Bret worked hard to set up a special match with layered storytelling and both men are still celebrated for it today.

9 Michaels: First Iron Man Match

WWE sees polarizing reactions to most Iron Man matches in company history. The idea of going into a match knowing it will be either 30 or 60 minutes makes it harder to remain invested if the wrestlers can’t keep up hooked into the story.

Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels were selected to have the first match of that kind in WWE at WrestleMania 12. Both wrestlers worked extremely hard on their conditioning coming into this highly anticipated match. Michaels won the Iron Man match to start his first reign as WWE Champion.

8 Austin: Great chemistry

Bret Hart was one of the people who suggested the idea of hiring Steve Austin to Vince McMahon after his WCW run ended. The vision of Hart was on the point when believing the two would have chemistry to provide stronger matches.

Austin’s first match with Bret came in Madison Square Garden at Survivor Series 1996. Hart returned from a seven-month layoff and wanted to work a program with Austin. The two had obvious chemistry since they got along backstage and had similar mindsets in the ring.

7 Michaels: Real heat

Even though Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart didn’t have the same level of chemistry as Hart and Steve Austin, their personal issues added another dynamic. Both wrestlers were placed into a competition with each other for the top spot that became quite personal.

Michaels and Hart could not stand each other outside the ring which just added to their story. The two made it look like they were really crossing the line since they did at times. No WWE rivalry matched this level of intensity with real venom being spewed on the shows.

6 Austin: Created The Hart Foundation faction

Steve Austin becoming a top foe for Bret Hart created The Hart Foundation faction in 1997. Bret Hart wanted backup against Austin during his new heel persona. Relatives Owen Hart, Davey Boy Smith and Jim Neidhart along with family friend Brian Pillman made up the group.

The Hart Foundation became the top heels in WWE during their war with Austin. Bret was established as a top star, but the others doing his bidding just put him over the top as a strong heel. If WWE kept him under contract, The Hart Foundation would have had a bigger run for another year or two.

5 Michaels: Similar career paths

It felt like Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels were always competing against each other before their on-screen rivalry even started. Vince McMahon made them follow the same formula from a legendary tag team run to a mid-card push to a main event opportunity.

Hart and Michaels each reached the top of the mountain after having similar difficulties placed in front of them. Michaels was one of the first challengers to Bret’s 1992 WWE Championship reign since Vince realized they’d have magic years before their bigger feud together.

4 Austin: Character shifts

The storyline between Bret Hart and Steve Austin allowed them both to drastically change their characters at the same time. Fans started to gravitate towards the rebellious Austin character over Hart’s white meat babyface act.

The WrestleMania 13 classic completely pulled off the iconic double turn. Austin became a fan favorite in defeat by refusing to give up when overmatched. Hart’s heel work was more subtle with his same complaints from his face side pushing him towards the edge. WWE witnessed two highly successful changes at the end of one match.

3 Michaels: Montreal Screwjob

The Montreal Screwjob will always hold relevance in WWE given the importance it had in 1997. This moment showed that Vince McMahon would lie to and embarrass anyone refusing to follow his plans. It all started with Bret Hart refusing to drop the WWE Championship to Shawn Michaels before leaving to join WCW.

Hart had a creative control clause in his contract for the last few weeks of his WWE stay. Vince didn’t care and still followed through on the Montreal Screwjob of Earl Hebner ringing the bell to force a Bret loss. Hart recently revealed on Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Sessions that he’ll never completely get over the Montreal Screwjob moment.

2 Austin: Set up Austin to be the guy

Steve Austin became the top face of WWE after his feud with Bret Hart set him up for the role. The heel run of Austin vs Bret Hart was outstanding, the audience naturally loving Austin forced a change. WWE did their best to keep the Austin character rebellious and unpredictable even as a face.

Austin’s face run led to matches against Owen Hart in between the Bret torture. WWE waited until WrestleMania 14 to make Austin the face of the company. It is hard to forecast another scenario of Austin having that identical level of success without feuding against Hart.

1 Michaels: Changed WWE's wrestling style together

Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels both changed the landscape of WWE forever. Both wrestlers were undersized compared to past main eventers like Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage and Ultimate Warrior. The in-ring skills and match quality forced WWE to evolve for the better.

Michaels and Hart inspired future stars like Daniel Bryan, Kevin Owens and CM Punk to continue the tradition of great matches over basic in-ring work. Even when they hated each other, Bret and HBK each wanted to change the reputation of WWE from being the land of the giants to having great workers at the top of the card.

NEXT: 5 WWE Wrestlers Bret Hart Loved (& 5 He Had Backstage Heat With)