The Complete History of the WWE Championship - Part 6

Bret "Hitman" Hart (February 16, 1997 - February 17, 1997)

Bret Hart berates Vince McMahon after failing to regain the title from Sid on Raw

After Shawn Michaels' "lost smile" episode, plans regarding the WWE Championship had to change.

Sycho Sid was originally scheduled to defeat Michaels for the belt on February 13. However, after Michaels surrendered the belt, he was made to wait a few days for his title run.

The main event of the In Your House: Final Four pay per view on February 16 was supposed to determine the number one contender for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 13. Steve Austin had "won" the Royal Rumble several weeks earlier, but unbeknownst to the referees, he had already been eliminated by Hart.

Austin snuck back into the match and ejected Undertaker, Vader and Hart; hence the reason for the four way match between those athletes.

However, with the absence of a WWE Champion, the match was changed to a title match instead.

In one of the finest matches in WWE history, Bret "Hitman" Hart outlasted The Undertaker, Vader and Stone Cold Steve Austin, to win a four-way elimination encounter that was contested via regular and also over the top rope rules.

Hart became just the second man in WWE history to win the WWE Championship four times. However, his reign was to be very short lived.