Bret Hart Talks Passing The Torch To Steve Austin At WrestleMania 13: “He Deserved To Be The Guy & I Wasn’t Gonna Let Shawn Michaels & Triple H Steal That Position From Him”

Bret looks back at his Hall of Fame bout with Steve Austin.

The 2025 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony was the first time that a match was inducted into the Hall of Fame. The match chosen was Bret Hart versus Stone Cold Steve Austin in a No Disqualification Submission match at WrestleMania 13.

Hart reflected on that match while guest appearing on Studio 1 Sports. He stated that he wanted Steve Austin to do well and to take the torch. Hart added that he was not going to let Shawn Michaels or Triple H take the spot that he felt belonged to Austin.

“With Steve (Austin), I just wanted to deliver a really good story for him because I wanted him to be the guy, and I knew he was gonna be the guy and he deserved to be the guy and I wasn’t gonna let Shawn (Michaels) and Triple H steal that position from him. I wanted to pass the torch to Steve.”

Elsewhere during the interview, Hart spoke extensively about Bad News Brown, who is going into WWE’s Hall of Fame as part of the 2026 class. Click here for more.

If the quote in this article is used, please credit Studio 1 Sports with an H/T to Fightful for the transcription.