5 Reasons why Bret Hart vs. Stone Cold was one of the greatest feuds of all time

#4 Making the most of The Hitman at the end of his prime

\Bret Hart had been riding high for close to five years and began passing the torch with this rivalry.

Bret Hart is one of the greatest in-ring workers in WWE history, and he grew into a decent promo man when the company needed him, positioned as a main event fixture for the last five years of his tenure. While The Hitman still had gas in the tank in 1997, he also had enough miles on him that he and WWE alike were eyeing the future and the likelihood that he would transition away from full time wrestling in the five years or so to follow.

In hindsight, we now know that Hart would end up leaving on ugly terms and working for WCW until he was medically forced into retirement. As such, WWE, in some ways, looks even smarter for how well it used Hart in the twilight of his WWE career. Sure, Hart could produce good to great matches with almost anyone WWE cast him with. Working so much with Austin produced great matches and moments, though, besides elevating the next top star of the company who would wind up eclipsing The Hitman in so many ways.