It was a dark time to be a WWF fan, with the world watching WCW and the nWo do battle each week on Nitro. The WWF was still cursed with questionable booking and a dearth of talent. Even Bret Hart, after his loss to Shawn Michaels at WM12 had taken time off, over 6 months in fact.

It was newcomer Stone Cold Steve Austin who mocked Bret for months during the hiatus, calling on the Hitman to return to the WWF and meet him face to face. Finally Bret signed the "lifetime" contract and returned at Survivor Series 1996, subtitled Back to Attack in Bret's honor.

As their feud continued, the very landscape of wrestling was changing beneath their feet. Slowly, Bret's hero character was losing popularity, and Austin's bad ass rebel persona was gaining fans. Finally, they would meet again at Wrestlemania 13, with no title on the line, just because they hated each other.

In one of the best technical matches in Wrestlemania history, Bret Hart and Steve Austin went toe to toe in a submission match. Bret busted open Austin, covering Stone Cold's face with the proverbial crimson mask. As he locked in the Sharpshooter, Bret ultimately won the match, but not by submission, but because Austin passed out, lying face first in a pool of his own blood.

It was a moment of booking genius, effectively getting the crowd fully behind Austin, who had never given up, and turning on Bret, who appeared whiny and annoying. The crowd chanted Stone Cold's name as he finally got up, and as he returned the back, he refused any medical attention. The Stone Cold Steve Austin era was effectively borne from this match, with Bret Hart essentially giving up his career to push Austin into the stratosphere.

Ron Gamble on Steve Austin Wearing the Crimson Mask at WM XIII
Steve Austin and Bret Hart met in a Submission Match and turned an
otherwise humdrum WrestleMania into an event that would be remembered for
this match. Austin and Hart hit each other with plenty of international
objects (thank you, Jim Ross) in this match, and it looked like Hart hit a
gusher. He put the Sharpshooter on Austin, and Austin's head, now below
his heart, began bleeding even more. The mat turned red from the puddle
Austin left there. How memorable is this moment? Next time you watch
Raw, look closely during the opening credits. Toward the end of the song
with the unintelligible lyrics, look at the screen, and you will see Austin
as a bloody mess from this match.