Bret Hart vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin was near perfect; ex-WWE star backs company decision of Hall of Fame induction (Exclusive)

By Prityush Haldar

Modified Apr 10, 2025 06:08 GMT

Bret Hart and Stone Cold squared off at WrestleMania 13 [Image: WWE.com]

Former WWE star EC3 recently talked about Bret Hart and Stone Cold Steve Austin receiving the "Immortal Moment" award during this year's Hall of Fame ceremony. The two legends will be honored for their thrilling encounter at WrestleMania 13.

The first-of-its-kind recognition will be given to Bret and Austin for putting on an instant classic back in 1997. The matchup put the Texas Rattlesnake on the map as a prominent figure in the company.

This week on The Wrestling Outlaws, EC3 recalled how he'd heard that Bret and Austin created magic in the ring with just 20 minutes of planning. The former WWE star pointed out that the two legends put on an intense physical clash despite a weak storyline heading into the matchup. He felt the match was close to perfect and deserved the Hall of Fame spot.

"That match is so freaking good. Watching it back now, with what wrestling has become as what it is, you see the backstage footage in the documentaries, or even the stories, they talk about it, it's like Steve and Bret stand in the ring for like 20 minutes, talked about what they're gonna do, 'Alright, see ya out there.' They didn't even have an angle going. It was kind of thrown together, if I remember. But, dude, if you want to be a wrestler, watch that, not for the moves or the spots, but for the physicality and the intensity and the believability." [From 2:57 onwards]

WWE legends Bret Hart and Stone Cold Steve Austin will be in person at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas to collect the award and once again be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

If you use the quotes from this article, please embed the YouTube video and add an H/T for the transcript.

About the author

Prityush is a WWE news writer for Sportskeeda Wrestling who started watching wrestling in the later part of The Attitude Era. Although he holds a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Prityush was a creative writer for his college, and his flair for creativity and love of pro wrestling eventually led him to the journalism field. After an initial stint in 2016-2017, he has been writing regularly for Sportskeeda since 2021.

As someone who loves and respects the business, he prides himself on factual, clean, and ethical reporting, free of plagiarism and AI usage. One of the ways he ensures this is by transcribing videos that he reports on.

Prityush had the privilege of interviewing superstar Matt Hardy in his career so far. Although, his favorite wrestler is CM Punk, as he relates to his Straight Edge philosophy.

When he is not reporting news, he loves reading and collecting WWE action figures. He currently owns over 500 wrestling figures and merchandise.

Know More

Edited by Prityush Haldar