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Stone Cold Steve Austin’s Submission Match with Bret “Hitman” Hart went down in history as one of the most significant matches in the history of the World Wrestling Federation - and also one of the bloodiest. After over 20 minutes of brutal action, Hart applied the Sharpshooter to the Rattlesnake. While enduring over five minutes of pain and refusing to give up, Austin’s face was a mask of blood. Eventually, Austin passed out from the pain. And though the match was awarded to the Hitman, Austin did not give up, and the courage he displayed as well as the image of his pained expression painted with blood, are everlasting memories in the annals of the Federation.
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Stone Cold Steve Austin was bloodied up before he even entered the Royal Rumble. As his music hit, he came out and was attacked from behind by Triple H. Austin was bloodied pretty good, as officials came and took Triple H away. Austin finally made his way to the ring and was attacked again - this time by Rikishi. Austin eventually got into the ring and was one of three men left standing in the Royal Rumble. The other two were Kane and The Rock. Kane eliminated The Rock. Kane brought a chair to the ring to hit Austin, but Austin was aware then Stone Cold ended up hitting Kane with a Stunner! As Kane got to his feet, Austin hit him repeatedly with a steel chair! The Rattlesnake then pushed the Big Red Machine over the top rope to earn a shot to face the World Wrestling Federation Champion for the Title at WrestleMania!
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The stipulations for this match was simple: if Steve Austin won, he retains the World Wresting Federation Championship - and Vince McMahon was out of an active role in the company. If the Undertaker won, Austin would never again receive a Federation Championship shot.
Inevitably, Mr. McMahon got involved in the match. He attempted to attack Austin with his crutch, but was knocked out by the Rattlesnake. Later, X-Pac, out for revenge for Taker’s interference in his match earlier in the evening, prevented Taker from nailing Austin with a chair by kicking it into his face. It would open the door for Austin to level Taker with a video camera. The blow caused the Dead Man to bleed profusely, which won Austin the match. However, Triple H made sure Austin would not head home unscathed, attacking him and busting him open after the match.