WWE Classic of the Week: Bret Hart vs. Roddy Piper from WrestleMania VIII

With WrestleMania XXXI on the horizon, the WWE Intercontinental Championship is at the center of a rivalry involving some of the most talented Superstars in the industry.

Dean Ambrose, Dolph Ziggler, Bad News Barrett, R-Truth and Luke Harper have all been vying for the title, even going as far as to steal the gold from one another.

The introduction of Daniel Bryan to the mix legitimizes the feud and lends credibility to the upcoming multi-competitor Ladder match that will occur on The Grandest Stage of Them All.

A main event talent who headlined last year's event and has captured two WWE World Heavyweight Championships, Bryan may be taking a step back but is being counted on to help make the IC title match at this year's Showcase of the Immortals as important as it has ever been.

Similarly, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper was relied upon to help solidify the importance of the same title and elevate Bret "Hitman" Hart to the level of the industry's top stars at WrestleMania VII in 1992.

A man who had headlined the first two 'Mania events, Piper was a legitimate main event star far above the intercontinental title at that point in his career. But he competed in the match, one that was ultimately recognized as one of his finest.

Now, as the WWE Universe gears up to witness Bryan battle for the midcard title, let's journey back some two decades ago to a time when Piper turned in one of his greatest performances and helped make Hart the franchise player he would become throughout the 1990s.

The Background

The 1991 SummerSlam pay-per-view event saw Bret Hart defeat Mr. Perfect in an instant classic to capture his first WWE Intercontinental Championship. As the Hitman trapped his opponent in the Sharpshooter and won the gold, commentator Roddy Piper celebrated his friend's victory.

But the relationship between the two became rocky when Hart, suffering from 100-degree temperature, lost the title to the hated Mountie just hours before the Royal Rumble pay-per-view in January 1992. Roddy Piper stepped in as challenger for the title at the big event and defeated the loudmouth villain, capturing his first singles championship.

When a match between Piper and Hart was announced for the April 5 pay-per-view extravaganza, the champion refused, citing his relationship with the Hart family and the fact that they had treated him and so many other wrestlers so well over the years.

But Hart wanted the match. He wanted the opportunity to fight for the title and convinced Piper to change his mind. The Hot Rod vowed to hate Hart, to scratch, claw and brawl with him if it meant keeping the title.

And suddenly the match was back on, with an added edge of personal conflict between the two.

For a match between two babyfaces, it had a great deal of intensity and intrigue behind it thanks to two performers at the top of their games.

The Match

The Analysis

Roddy Piper will never, ever be confused with a great in-ring technician. That is why so many were absolutely shocked by the quality of his match with Bret Hart at WrestleMania VIII.

Perhaps he was motivated by the outstanding worker who shared the ring with him, but Piper proved all doubters wrong, hanging with Hart in the early portion of the contest, which included a great deal of mat wrestling.

As the contest progressed, Hart bled buckets, adding a great deal of sympathy to the contest. After all, he was the traditional wrestler squaring off against the brawler, the street fighter desperate to retain the only championship he had held in his WWE (then WWF) career.

Tempers flared, and when the referee was bumped late in the bout, fans witnessed a morality play unfold before their very eyes.

Piper grabbed the ring bell, ready to blast Hart and end the challenger's night on a losing note. But he stopped, questioning whether it was they way he wanted to win the match. As the crowd screamed "No!" Piper dropped the bell and locked in his famed sleeper.

Hart, possessor of tremendous ring awareness, used the ropes to knock him backwards and into a pinning combination. Three seconds later, he was the new IC champion.

The match was a smorgasbord of professional wrestling, incorporating every element a fan could ask for. There was traditional technical wrestling, brawling, blood, storytelling and a fantastic finish that has been ripped off numerous times in the 20-plus years that have followed.

Simply put, it was one of the greatest matches in WrestleMania history and one of the finest intercontinental title bouts of all-time.

Analysis

Bret Hart would wear the title with great pride entering the summer, defending it against any and all opposition. A fighting champion, he even put the gold up for grabs against brother-in-law The British Bulldog at SummerSlam, in front of 80,000-plus of the challenger's fellow countrymen.

He would lose that match, another instant classic, but he would gain the respect of management, who was looking for a new face to guide the company into the next generation.

Hart would finish out his career year by capturing the WWE Championship from Ric Flair in October 1992 and serving as the face of the promotion for the next five years.

Piper, on the other hand, would make infrequent appearances in WWE as the company moved in a more youth-friendly direction. Ultimately, he would wind up in WCW, fighting the Monday Night Wars for the opposition.

In 2005 and '06, respectively, Piper and Hart were forever immortalized in WWE's Hall of Fame.