Stone Cold Steve Austin: Bret Hart Means The World To Me, He Put Me On The Map

Stone Cold Steve Austin reflects on the history he made with Bret Hart. 

While Steve Austin’s heyday in WWE is primarily seen as taking place after Bret Hart had already left the promotion, Hart was arguably the most instrumental wrestler in developing Stone Cold’s WWE persona. 

Speaking on Conversations with The Wrestling Classic, Stone Cold discussed what Bret Hart means to his career and the history they made together at WrestleMania 13. 

“Bret Hart means the world to me,” said Steve. “Bret and I are very close. He saw me coming up when I was in WCW. He knew that I was a guy that he could work with, make money together, and tell great stories, and he was correct. When he came back from the get his knee cleaned up in 1996, he picked me to work with at Madison Square Garden. We had an old-school classic match [at WWE Survivor Series 1996], and it was off the charts. Then we went into [WWE WrestleMania] 13, we went to a room, and we knew what we needed to do. We went out to the ring, and Bret said, ‘Hey,’ and he gave me the idea for something that happened in that match. So I owe a huge part of my career to Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart.” 

Furthermore, “The Texas Rattlesnake” praised “The Hitman” for the realism he brought to everything he did. 

“When you think of realism in the business of professional wrestling and sports entertainment, they don’t get any better than Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart. I like a lot of the guys and a lot of different styles, but if you want realism, determination, grit, and an athletic presentation, it doesn’t get any better than him. I love the guy. I respect him. We’ve wrestled all over the world, and we have a mutual respect for each other. Bret Hart helped make Stone Cold. In the largest degree possible, I owe a lot of my career to WWE who put me in the position, I made the most of an opportunity. Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart, putting me on the map, big time.” 

Steve Austin had his first major WrestleMania moment against a Canadian hero, Bret Hart in 1997. He had his last major WrestleMania moment against another Canadian, Kevin Owens, at WrestleMania 39 in Texas.

Elsewhere in this interview, Austin addressed his status for Wrestlemania 39. Fans can read his comments here. 

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