WWE is adding a new category for its Hall of Fame class.
During Friday Night SmackDown, it was announced that it will be inducting a match with this year’s class as part of its “Immortal Moments” section of the Hall of Fame.
The first match to be included will be the Submission Match between Bret Hart and Steve Austin from WrestleMania 13 in 1997, which many categorize as the greatest in the show’s history.
After crowds were beginning to shift allegiances between the two, the Submission Match was the catalyst for the double turn with Bret Hart coming as a red-hot heel and set to launch the U.S. vs. Canada feud, while Austin would ascend to become one of the top babyfaces of all-time.
The match was not in the plans for the show as Hart was scheduled for a rematch with Shawn Michaels, who vacated the WWF championship one month prior and cited a career-ending knee injury, which it didn’t turn out to be. Hart was shifted to work with Austin, and it became one of the most important matches in company history as Austin was a game changer for the WWF’s fortunes and led to its second boom period.
Both Austin and Hart will be part of the ceremony on Friday, April 18, in Las Vegas in a Hall of Fame class featuring Paul Levesque, Michelle McCool, Lex Luger, and The Natural Disaster (Fred Ottman & John Tenta).
