Original subtitles

This is the only title in the wrestling world

that makes you number one.

The WWE Championship.

For some, it's a symbol of excellence.

For all, it's the richest prize in the game.

Absolutely unbelievable.

And in the 1990s, the competition was fierce-

He did it.

-as every WWE superstar vowed to reach the top

of the mountain.

I can't believe this.

Today we look back at the best WWE Championship matches

of the 1990s.

The Austin Era has begun.

What a matchup this is.

This is WWE'S Greatest Moments.

Acknowledge me.

My God.

Stone Cold with a beer bath.

Ah.

This is surreal.

Look at this.

He slammed him.

Welcome everyone to WWE's Greatest Moments.

I'm Michael Cole, and on this edition,

we're looking back at the very best WWE Championship

matches and one of the most

exciting decades in professional wrestling-

The 1990s.

As the 1980s ended and we embarked on a new decade,

the man leading the charge was none other

than the WWE champion, "The Immortal" Hulk Hogan.

Hulkamania is the strongest force in the universe.

Hulkamania was truly at its peak,

but by 1990, a new star was rising in popularity-

The Intercontinental Champion, The Ultimate Warrior.

Now, Hulk Hogan, I come to take what you believe in.

In one of the biggest WrestleMania main events of all

time, Hogan would face the ultimate challenge.

Both titles are going to be on the line at WrestleMania 6,

The Ultimate Challenge.

This place is going bananas.

67,000 of them have waited for this.

Wrestlemania 6, Hulk Hogan versus The Ultimate Warrior.

Hulk Hogan is established,

and now you've got a young alpha male coming to take my place.

Hogan had been the guy for years.

He was the white tiger.

Whoa.

What a show of strength by the Hulkster.

Take a look.

This is what it's all about.

And it was just electric.

It was so loud.

Oh, he moved out of the way.

Look out.

The big splash.

One, two-

He got him.

He got him.

The fact that I took the belt from Hulk.

Yeah, that was something.

Unbelievable Hulkster and unbelievable Warrior.

When it comes to pure athleticism and all around

in-ring greatness, no one carried the WWE Championship

better than"The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels.

Everything Shawn Michaels is about

is about being the champion.

In September 1996, Shawn Michaels would face a superstar

unlike anything he had ever seen before

the deranged Mankind.

You see Shawn Michaels,

I am going to take away everything you love.

At the event, appropriately named Mind Games,

The Heartbreak Kid looked to overcome his toughest task yet.

Could Mankind and Paul Bearer

be planning some kind of plot?

You know, a little bit jittery, a little bit nervous,

but one way or another, Heartbreak Kid is going to do

what he always does, and let's find a way to get the job done.

I had never worked with Mick,

and you're wondering how it's going to go-

Because now I'm sort of known as the real finesse worker,

and that wasn't Mick's style.

I knew I was going to be in there with a

better and faster athlete,

and that I had to be able to keep pace with him.

The faster the pace, the better it is for the champion.

We had really good chemistry

for two guys that never been in the ring with each other.

This is a genuine walk through hell for the WWE champion.

I think they really brought out the best in-in each other.

Mankind.

Right up there with Michaels.

Geez.

Their backs may be broken.

You have to consider the fact that all the stuff they were

doing was incredibly innovative.

I don't ever remember the WWE champion

being in match like this, ever.

Oh, did you see that?

The winner of this bout

as the result of a disqualification

Shawn Michaels.

You got to be pretty cynical

to watch what we did and then feel like you were cheated.

So for these two guys can go out there and finish with a DQ,

and fans can be happy with it,

that tells you how good these guys are.

One of the most legendary performers in the 1990s

was The Excellence of Execution Bret "The Hitman" Hart.

I've dedicated my whole life to become

the World Wrestling-- Champion.

The best.

The Hitman did it all.

But that also meant that The Hitman was a target.

Enter the bad guy-

Razor Ramon.

Oozing Machismo.

Hitman-

I'm going to have your gold around my waist.

Razor was set to take on Bret Hart at the 1993 Royal Rumble.

The following contest is for the World Wrestling--

Championship.

Royal Rumble 1993.

Bret "The Hitman" Hart,

who is the champion,

and then you have Razor Ramon

such a big guy.

But he is incredible in the ring.

Razor is tough.

It's all about leaving an impression

in the fans minds,

And that's what we delivered

There's not an eye in the back that isn't watching this match.

This is Bret Hart first reign, and it was such a great

first test as world champion for Bret.

When you're in there with The Hitman,

he'll make your pay

right off the bat.

I really love that match for the back and forth

struggle that we had.

Look out.

Hitman flying through the ropes.

He's got the sharpshooter.

When he finally locks the sharpshooter in,

it just feels like David beating Goliath-

He's got the knees up.

He's got him

-and it becomes this epic story.

Yes

It's over.

And that gave me this reputation

for being the best there is.

The best there was.

And the best there ever will be.

A standing ovation for that man.

The long history of Diesel and Shawn Michaels is a classic

example of good friends and bitter enemies.

Once the best of friends, the duo went their separate ways.

Big boot.

Oh no, oh no.

Diesel quickly became WWE champion.

How sweet it is

because Big Daddy has got that gold.

This man to my left

feels that he is the leader of the new generation.

That is where we have somewhat of a conflict.

The former buddies were set to settle the score

on the biggest stage of them all, WrestleMania 11.

Big Daddy Cool Diesel

against his former tag team partner

in Shawn Michaels

at WrestleMania.

WrestleMania 11-

We've got some celebrity appeal to it

with, uh, Pam Anderson and Jenny McCarthy,

so it makes your match a little more important.

Oh, hi.

Hi.

She's waving at me.

Hi Pam.

She's waving at you?

When you look at that match and you look at all the media

that were around the ring,

it really solidified just how big Wrestlemania was

as a whole and how big the stars were here.

Up on the top now.

Michaels high risk maneuver.

He and I had a really. good match,

and it was like one of those, like, epics.

Can play it in my head right now.

Oh.

Big Daddy-

Look out Shawn.

Oh.

You put those guys together

and they just had this amazing chemistry.

Yes, jacknife.

One, two.

Yes.

No.

Special, special duo, those two guys.

Wrestlemania running on Diesel power.

Since his debut in 1990,

one of the biggest stars of the decade

was "The Phenom" The Undertaker.

The Deadman dug holes and buried souls on a consistent basis,

capturing the WWE Championship a few times along the way.

The WWE title lives in the Dark Side.

In September 1997,

the WWE presented an exclusive event in the United Kingdom,

and Undertaker looked to reclaim the gold-

One night only.

Standing in his way was the five time WWE Champion,

Bret "The Hitman" Hart.

Bret Hart prepare to rest in peace.

The championship up for grabs.

It was a match that we had overseas in Birmingham.

It's really good, especially for the time period.

Oh.

Oh no.

It's a really unique,

special night for the UK and international audience.

They have come to Birmingham to give it everything they have.

The chemistry that Bret Hart and Undertaker had together,

they understood their characters,

but they also knew how to be hard hitting,

which is timeless.

Oh no, what was that?

They got a cameraman.

Undertaker, as big as he was,

was a very skilled and coordinated athlete.

Man, the fans on their feet.

Unbelievable matchup we are witnessing here tonight.

Bret Hart,

he was one of the first guys that I got to show

that I was more than just a gimmick.

The ropes are like a vice

on the neck of the champion.

Bret Hart in a world title match,

you're gonna get a classic.

Official trying to get The Undertaker

off of Bret Hart.

Look out.

No, that's got to be a disqualification here.

And sometimes when you have a DQ, it can sour things for fans,

but it doesn't take away from the work that those two men

put in before the DQ.

What a matchup.

When "Stone Cold" Steve Austin won the WWE Championship

at WrestleMania 14,

the entire industry was set ablaze.

Stone Cold literally defined the word attitude

and was everything as very corporate boss detested.

Now, what, I want you to do is bow down for Stone Cold.

Ah.

Mr. McMahon would do anything

to get the title off his problematic employee.

Enter Mick Foley in his Dude Love persona,

who was now in a partnership with the boss.

A handshake is just not going to do it.

And the match was set for Over the Edge 1998.

McMahon's stooges, Brisco and Patterson each served

as a timekeeper and ring announcer.

There will also be a very special guest referee.

And McMahon himself would be the special guest referee.

We are sold out here,

and have been for weeks,

and this is what they come to see.

Over the Edge 98.

It's a sneaky classic.

Oh no.

Uh oh.

Look at those punches.

Right hands.

Stop those fists Vince.

Mick was always wanting to do something

that was going to be great for the match,

great for you and great for him.

Austin beating the hell out of Dude Love.

Not once did I visualize leaving with my hand in the air,

but I realized we have the chance to do something

really special here.

Every time it got to the point where Steve would win,

they moved the goal post.

In this match falls count anywhere.

Since when?

Since when?

But if anyone was going to overcome all those odds,

it was going to be Austin.

I dare you to touch him.

Oh my God.

Stunner.

Austin pulls the referee over.

Oh no.

He did it.

He created a memory for people.

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin

is the toughest son of a bitch, I ever saw.

The WWE Champion Bret Hart was one of the most popular

WWE superstars of all time,

and his younger brother Owen was filled with resentment.

You held me down all my life, Bret.

Owen infamously turned his back on his family

and challenged his sibling to a title match at SummerSlam 1994,

but this would be held in the confines of the merciless

steel cage.

Ladies and gentlemen, this contest

is for the World Wrestling-- Championship.

People still talk about Bret and Owen

at SummerSlam in the steel cage,

because it was so unique having these two

brothers fighting one another.

These two brothers have come here to SummerSlam

to battle it out.

He had this magical story that really took

both of their lifetimes to build.

Just like when they were kids.

I mean, they're pulling out all the stops here.

Unvelievable.

That match is really

the psychology of the cage and trying to get out.

He's out.

He's not.

He's not out.

Jump off Owens.

Bret hanging.

Bret now with Owens.

And it's over.

Oh, wait a minute, oh, oh.

Look at that.

And Bret wins it.

Oh, no.

I've always said,

I think it's the best cage match I ever was part of, for sure.

Bret "The Hitman" Hart has done the impossible.

There's no question where the biggest braggarts in

professional wrestling history is "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair.

Flair dominated his NWA and WCW champion throughout the 80s,

but in 1992 was finally the WWE champion,

And his ego only grew bigger.

Savage, Elizabeth was mine.

before she was yours.

Woo.

This drew the ire of the incomparable

"Macho Man" Randy Savage.

Ric Flair, you're a total liar.

I'm telling you right now

number one on the hit list.

In front of over 62,000 fans at WrestleMania 8,

two of the greatest superstars of all time locked horns over

the coveted WWE Championship.

Standing ovation for the Macho Man.

What I remember most was the way the match started.

All the weeks of frustration,

and now it's all come to a head.

This is personal.

He just wants to get out there

and tear Flair apart.

He is a man possessed.

Look at this clothesline.

Wrestlemania.

So this is the big time.

Oh look at that.

They were both

at the top at different times in their careers,

and this was a time where they were both fighting

for dominance in a whole new environment.

You get sucked in watching that match, it's art.

But no, it's the Macho Man-

grabbed him from behind from the outside.

He did it.

History has been made here.

It's a really great moment in the end-

to see Flair lose Savage.

Once again.

He has the gold.

The WWE Championship has been the centerpiece for some of the

greatest rivalries in professional wrestling history.

And in the Attitude ERA, there was perhaps none bigger than

"Stone Cold Steve" Austin and The Rock.

Come on, Rock.

You do suck and you know it.

For years, these two megastars would battle it out in some of

the greatest wars the squared circle had ever seen.

There ain't no way that "Stone Cold" Steve Austin

will ever beat The Rock.

At Backlash 1999, they would do it one more time in one of

the greatest no holds barred matches in the decade-

They both redefined.

The title is on the line here.

Remember, no holds barred.

There must be a winner in this matchup.

We were fighting.

We were animals.

We were pitbulls.

We were lions.

We were all those things.

Ah.

All those aggressive animals that wanted to be number one.

It was important

This is not a wrestling match.

This has nothing more than a Sunday night fist fight.

They knew what they had to do.

They had inert ability to go out

feed off the audience and feed off one another.

Put the camera down.

Rock commandeered the camera

and he's looking around at the crowd.

And then he looks around-

Oh no.

Watch this.

Austin goes up- the stunner.

Anytime we stepped in the ring-

It was on.

My God it was close.

The people hanging on every single move

waiting to see who was going to win this match

'cause it was damn near 50/50

throughout the whole thing.

The stunner.

With the belt.

Austin.

No.

Yes.

He gave me one of the best opponents,

if not the best opponent I've ever had.

And it's in that rivalry that in so many ways made

The Rock.

The most unbelievable title match I've ever seen.

It is now time for our number one moment.

There was no bigger stage than WrestleMania 12 for a WWE first.

The first ever WWE Iron Man matchup.

And at the forefront were none other than

Bret "The Hitman" Hart

and "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels.

Unbelievable.

What a ride.

Whoever scored the most decisions within the hour

would lay claim to the very prize that drove each man

the WWE Championship.

Get ready, ladies and gentlemen,

for a long solid hour

of nonstop World Wrestling-- action.

You know, as the match goes,

and it's really important to make sure

we didn't lose the audience

40 minutes into this matchup,

ladies and gentlemen.

And surprisingly, there has not been a decision.

Those guys were able to tell a story

over the course of 60 minutes.

If anything, they didn't slow down.

They sped up.

Michaes sets up- oh.

Did you see what he did?

Bret Hart barely standing and down to the-

He caught him.

Sharpshooter he got him.

When Shawn came off the top rope

in the last minute of the match, that blew everybody away.

I just thought it was so neat to be in this hold and

oh, about to give up.

Michaels trying to hang on.

The end of 60 minutes no one had defeated anyone.

It was a draw.

It was unprecedented.

We restarted the match.

We're in overtime.

I can tell you right now,

Bret Hart does not like this decision.

And he's going to take it out on Shawn Michaels.

You want this so badly, as a child,

it was amazing because we all went with them on that ride.

Michaels sweet ch- he got all of it.

Michael' got all of it.

Michaels with the cover.

One.

Two.

Yes.

No.

I look back on it as a match that I'm proud of,

and I thought it was monumental.

Very seldom an entertainment event

ever live up to the expectation.

So many people have said,

"That is the match that made me want to be a wrestler."

The boyhood dream has come true for Shawn Michaels.

And with that incredible match, the boyhood dream came

true for Shawn Michaels.

There's no question that every superstar gets into the business

to become the WWE champion.

It's an accolade that very few get to achieve, but for those

who do, it's an accomplishment that solidifies your place in

professional wrestling history.

That'll do it for this edition of WWE's Greatest Moments.

I hope you've enjoyed this

look back at some of the best matches surrounding the richest

prize in the game.

One of the most competitive time periods in history-

The 1990s.