WWE History: 5 greatest storylines of the Attitude Era
When Hulk Hogan turned heel at WCW Bash at the Beach 1996, it forced Vince McMahon to completely revamp his product in order to compete with World Championship Wrestling. He addressed the fans in a promo, kick-starting the most notorious and controversial era in the history of this business: The Attitude Era.
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The late-90's saw some of the most intriguing and must-see television WWE had ever produced, and these storylines aided WWE and Vince McMahon in their quest to topple WCW and take over the wrestling business in North America. Let's take a look at five of the greatest WWE storylines from the Attitude Era.
#5 Hart vs Austin
When Austin won the Royal Rumble match in 1997 with a con finish, Bret Hart was livid and the two went onto reignite their rivalry from 1996. The duo faced off in a Submission match at WrestleMania 13, with UFC legend Ken Shamrock acting as the special guest referee.
During the closing moments of the match, Hart locked in the Sharpshooter on an unconscious Austin. As blood began dripping down Austin's head, Hart increased the pressure, leaving The Rattlesnake in seething agony. Austin didn't give up and passed out, resulting in a win for Bret.
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The match is widely considered by many as being one of the greatest bouts in the history of WrestleMania. It also resulted in a double-turn, as Austin came out of the match a crowd favorite babyface, while Bret Hart turned into a hated heel.
This persona of Bret Hart kicked off another amazing storyline with The Hart Foundation (consisting of Bret, Owen, Jim Neidhart, The British Bulldog, and Brian Pillman) becoming top heels and dissing The United States of America on a weekly basis.
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