Bret Hart vs Stone Cold Which Match?

[Hakushi]

Which would you chose as the better?
Survivor Series '96:
Their initial Battle. Stone Cold called and Begged Bret out of 'Retirement' to face him, continously taunting and berating him. Eventually Bret accepts the challenge stating that he "Came back to wrestle, who I feel, is the greatest wrestler in WWF today" Referring to Stone Cold.
Lasting 28:36 and being placed third from last on that card,The match was an instant classic. Battling was back and forth, with the outcome unclear until the end. Bret hart was caught in the "Million Dollar Dream" (One of Austins finishers at that time) Hart, facing the ring corner, walked up the ropes, pushing backwards and rolling on top of Austin. Austin still had Hart locked in the Dream as the ref counted The 1-2-3! For the Hitman.

Wrestlemania 13:
An excellent follow up match, 4 months in the making. This one was a "Submission" Match with Special Guest referee Ken Shamrock. I'll be honest as say up front, I am a little biased here. I consider this one of only a handful of 5 star matches I have ever seen.
Again, Placed third from the bottom on the card. This match was a tad bit shorter lasting 22:05. Hart entered as the babyface, Austin as a Popular heel. Austin attacked Hart early, as Hart had yet to take off his glasses/Jacket. By the time this match ended, we observed probably the perfect double turn.
Hart and Austin again battled ferociously back and forth. You could see the Hitman growing Increasingly frustrated with his inability, at this point, to submit Austin and using tactics that were out of charectar (Chair, Ringbell, etc). Finally, after cutting austing forehead open, with the above mentioned tactics, Hart locked in the Sharpshooter on a profusely bleeding Austin. Hart would Win as Austin, refusing to submit, passed out from exhaustion and blood loss.

 

[DarksideEric]

Are you serious right now?

Which match of these two is better?

That would be the Submission Match, quite obviously, because of what it did for these two men.

 

[Hakushi]

I'm speaking of the actual in ring matches. BTW, The match did not do anything for Hart. It absolutely helped propel Austin, but there was more that happened during Hart's transformation into the "American Hater"

 

[DarksideEric]

I'm speaking of the actual in ring matches. BTW, The match did not do anything for Hart. It absolutely helped propel Austin, but there was more that happened during Hart's transformation into the "American Hater"

Are you serious right now?

The match didn't do anything for Hart... except this is the match where the double turn happened, so that's kind of a big deal.

 

[Headman]

I guess everything is bigger if it happens at Wrestlemania, but all these years later I actually find myself liking the survivor series match more. As far as historical significance the Mania 13 match wins hands down. But from a person preference and this is strictly how i feel at this moment, I'm currently a bigger fan of their first ppv encounter.

 

[TheOneAndOnlyGOAT]

Their match at WM13 is extremely overrated.

Bret Hart didn't turn heel in the match, he was already a heel before the match happened.

Their match at Survivor Series is 100x better.

 

[DarksideEric]

Bret Hart didn't turn heel in the match, he was already a heel before the match happened.

Are you serious right now?

Are you new to wrestling? I think you're new to wrestling.

Hart went in as a face. Austin went in as a heel. This match is the definition of the "Double Turn" angle. If you think the Submission Match started off as "heel vs. hell" then you know shit about wrestling.

And welcome back from your ban... haha.

 

[Mac]

I'm in the minority but I always liked the Revenge Of The Taker match the best. It basically had the best elements of the previous two matches rolled into one. A true classic that often gets overlooked. This match told a story and Austin finally got a win over Bret.

 

[Creepy Old Man]

I'm in the minority but I always liked the Revenge Of The Taker match the best. It basically had the best elements of the previous two matches rolled into one. A true classic that often gets overlooked. This match told a story and Austin finally got a win over Bret.

Don't forget their street fight on Raw. WWE also released a very fine match between Austin and Bret from a South African tour in 1996.

 

[Hitman80]

WrestleMania 13 by far, great story, great match, great double turn.

Street fight was a great match also despite Bret's injury.

 

[JWGunslinger]

The Wrestlemania rematch without a doubt for me. Whenever those two were in the ring together the chemistry was obvious, but that match stands out for it's quality and it's significance in the career of Stone Cold. I'm a sucker for any submission match and this one was one of the best, ofcourse the most iconic moment would be the finish when Austin wouldn't tap and had the blood running down his face and eventually passes out. It'll go down as one of my favorite of all time and easily the best of their matches against one another.

 

[Kris Benwa]

It's gotta be WM 13. That's a wonderfully told in ring story it was so beautiful and one of my faves. Also the greatest double turn in the history of the business in my opinion.

 

[Waylon Mercy]

WM 13 by far. It was probably in the top 3 matches of all-time, in my opinion. From bell to bell, it was a compelling piece of story telling. Hart was at the top of his game at that point, and Austin was his perfect foil. The promos leading up to the match were off the charts. It is one of the few matches I can recall where I truly felt I was living vicariously through a wrestler. I hated Austin back then. I loved Hart. I hated how Austin caused Hart to stoop down to his level, but more to the point I hated how Austin got in his head. I wanted Hart to beat the crap out of him, but I also wanted him to be the better man in the end. He wasn't, as it turned out. As much as I hated the Stone Cold character in those days, I ended up begrudgingly having respect for how determined he was not to tap out or submit. This match changed the direction of the business, and the course of the careers for both men involved. Bret's heel run in the short time he had left after WM13 (in my opinion) was some of his best work ever. Austin's rise to the top was meteoric, and thanks to this match with Bret, he went on to become bigger than Hogan. Nobody can underestimate the significance of this match.

 

[TDFG]

WM 13 by far. It was probably in the top 3 matches of all-time, in my opinion. From bell to bell, it was a compelling piece of story telling. Hart was at the top of his game at that point, and Austin was his perfect foil. The promos leading up to the match were off the charts. It is one of the few matches I can recall where I truly felt I was living vicariously through a wrestler. I hated Austin back then. I loved Hart. I hated how Austin caused Hart to stoop down to his level, but more to the point I hated how Austin got in his head. I wanted Hart to beat the crap out of him, but I also wanted him to be the better man in the end. He wasn't, as it turned out. As much as I hated the Stone Cold character in those days, I ended up begrudgingly having respect for how determined he was not to tap out or submit. This match changed the direction of the business, and the course of the careers for both men involved. Bret's heel run in the short time he had left after WM13 (in my opinion) was some of his best work ever. Austin's rise to the top was meteoric, and thanks to this match with Bret, he went on to become bigger than Hogan. Nobody can underestimate the significance of this match.

I'm in agreement with everything in this post.