Hello, students, and welcome to your new weekly lesson on the world of professional wrestling. I am your guide, the Dean, and each and every week you will be here on time to study a different, a very different, lesson in professional wrestling. Now today I think we'll start this course with a lesson in the classics, a lesson in perhaps the greatest wrestling match of all time-Bret Hart Vs. Owen Hart, at WrestleMania X.

Lesson number one-all truly great, memorable matches have a substantial amount of tension and backstory behind them, no? Here's an example-say you've got Rey Misterio, Jr, taking on Billy Kidman on Nitro, and over on the other channel you got Steve Austin facing The Undertaker for the World Title. Oh, sure, the first one's gonna be a high-flying marvel-but which one are you gonna remember in six months' time? Unless your name's Scott Keith, then you already know the answer and you don't need me to tell you it. And in this case, the backstory was as well-written and executed as the payoff. Let's take a stroll down memory lane...

The first inklings of dissent between the two sickeningly babyface bros came at Survivor Series '93. In what was supposed to be the big blowoff for Bret's feud with Jerry Lawler, it was set to be "the King" and three "Knights" taking on Bret, Owen and two other Hart siblings. However, at the last minute, Lawler was arrested on bogus rape charges just before the event and Shawn Michaels was slotted into his place. The match went down without a hitch-Owen was the only brother eliminated, after being whipped into Bret on the apron and rolled up for a fluke three count. After the match ended and the Harts stood in the ring celebrating, Owen returned to the squared circle and got into a shoving match with Bret, blaming him for his elimination.

A couple of weeks following the event, Owen cut a bitter (but still fairly faceish) promo, challenging Bret to match so that Owen "could step out of his big brother's shadow". Bret refused categorically, and after another few weeks the Harts were once again a fully-fledged babyface team. Their first tour of duty: a title shot at the tag champs, the Quebecers, at the Royal Rumble.

Now THAT was a great match, and I'll probably cover it at a later date because it's one of my personal faves. But that's not what we're here to talk about right now. The bout went just over fifteen minutes, as Bret got worn down by Jacques and Pierre, and the champs targeted "The Hitman's" knee. The turning point came when Bret managed to dodge the Quebecer's "Cannonball" finisher...But instead of making the hot tag, Bret stayed in the ring and applied the Sharpshooter to Owen. That crucial decision changed everything, as Bret's knee gave way and the referee awarded the match to the Quebecers.

As the champs hightailed it with their straps, Owen climbed in the ring and bitched out his brother, as Bret rolled around in pain. Bret finally struggled to his feet as the crowd gave him a standing ovation-and Owen promptly kicked the leg out from under him. Bret crumpled as Owen shouted abuse at him, and a new heel was born.

After the match, Owen cut a bitter promo on Bret, branding him selfish. Later that night came another important part in the story, when Bret and Lex Luger became co-winners of the Rumble, which resulted in the unusual stipulation of BOTH men getting a title shot at WrestleMania. Lex won a coin toss, meaning he would fight World Champion Yokozuna first, while Bret faced a suitable opponent...Owen. And so the match was set-Bret Vs. Owen, with Bret facing the winner of the Luger/Yoko match later in the night. To the match!

This is the opener of the show, which was a damn fine choice. Ring announcer Gary Michael Capetta does a cute bit by announcing the first competitor as hailing from Calgary, Alberta Canada, and of course everyone cheers for Bret...and Owen's music hits. Owen's debuting his "Hartbreaker" tights here, ones which wore right up until joining the Nation in '98. Don't tamper with success, folks. He's also sporting a pair of Hitman shades, but instead of presenting the specs to a little tyke at ringside, he stands on the second turnbuckle and rips them up as he throws some heel schtick to the camera. Priceless.

Bret enters, wearing his Freddy Mercury jacket, to a huge pop, and sticks his glasses on kid, who sticks his tongue out at him. Must be an Owen fan. The heat here is immense, and the brothers stare each other down until the bell is rung. Lockup, and Owen breaks...and celebrates. Lockup, Owen with a fireman's carry, and Bret turns it into a headscissors. Owen nips up and celebrates again, as Bret looks on disdainfully. Third lockup, and Bret gets a waistlock takedown, but Owen makes the ropes. Fourth lockup, and Owen gets a waistlock takedown of his own, but Bret scoots him out of the ring, sending him to the floor through the second and third ropes. Owen quickly slides back in, and Bret halfheartedly shoves him, so Owen SLAPS him HARD. This, of course, drives Bret mad, but referee Earl Hebner hold him off from beating Owen senseless. Lockup, and they trade hammerlocks, then Owen gets a drop toe hold into a side headlock. Bret reverses into a hammerlock and works the left arm. Owen flips through it and wrings Bret's arm, putting him on his back, but Bret nips up and wrings Owen's arm again. Irish whip attempt, and Owen reverses, but Bret pumphandles over Owen's charge and rolls him up for two, then armdrags him into an armbar. Nice sequence there.

Bret works the arm some more, and turns the armbar into a hammerlock. Owen elbows out and gets a shoulderblock, but comes off the ropes again and gets monkey flipped, jamming his head under the bottom rope. Owen stands groggily up, and Bret knocks him to the floor with a clothesline. Crowd is going berserk for Bret at this point. Bret follows Owen to the floor and tosses him back in the ring, and Owen begs off-so Bret slaps the Hell out of him and rolls him up for two. Back to the armbar. Owen sens Bret into the ropes, but Bret gets a crucifix for twoand....goes back to the armbar. Owen gets to his feet and sends Bret into the ropes, and nails Bret with a heel kick, then heels some more. He stomps Bret to the floor, then follows and rams Bret back-first into the ringpost. Bigtime heel heat. Back in, Owen gets a headbutt, an Irish whip, a backbreaker, and a nasty Camel clutch to retain control. Bret stands up, so Owen turns the Camel clutch into a sleeper. Bret elbows out, but gets caught with a belly-to-belly off the ropes, giving Owen a nearfall. Headbutt by Owen, and Bret reverses an Irish whip, but Owen springboards out and Bret rolls through for two. Owen is up immediately and goes back to working Bret's spine, then hits the chinlock. Bret fights up and reverses a bodyslam into a crossbody for two. Owen tosses Bret to the floor with the kickout and celebrates as the crowd boos him mercilessly. Bret climb on the apron, and Owen tries to suplex him back in, but Bret slides out and waistlocks Owen, and Owen reverses AGAIN into a German suplex for two. Bee-youtiful. Face-down legdrop gets a two for Owen. Another headbutt, and Bret counters a suplex into a cradle for two. European uppercut by Owen, and Bret reverses a whip into the ropes, but Owen rolls through Bret's slam attempt and hits a BRUTAL Tombstone. Owen showboats some more, but his followup flying headbutt misses and the crowd rallies for Bret. Owen is up first, but Bret ducks a punch and hits an inverted Atomic drop, then a SUH-WEET clothesline for two. Owen into the ropes, gutshot from Bret, and a Russian legsweep gets two. Owen pulls himself up in the corner and pleads for mercy-then kills Bret with an enzuiguri. Sharpshooter attempt, but Bret reverses, and Owen escapes from THAT. Eye poke by Owen, and the Mero rollup gets two. Owen goes to the floor to catch his breath, but Bret follows with a pescado and hurts his knee in the process. Bret sells it like a champ, and Owen heels to perfection, begging off then kicking Bret's legs out from under him.

Owen works the knee like Flair, wrapping it round the ringpost and dropping legs on it. Back in the ring, and Owen mocks the knee injury. What a bastard. Dragon screw legwhip by Owen, into a deathlock variation, not unlike the one Triple H used at this year's Rumble. Owen keeps that on for a while and takes the opportunity to bitch at Bret some more. The deathlock gets a two count. Owen breaks the hold and works the knee some more, hitting another Dragon screw after Bret struggles to his feet in the corner. Figure four by Owen, screaming at Bret all the way. It gets a couple of twos, and Bret rolls it over, then both men grab the ropes. Owen goes back to the knee, working it on the ropes a la Dean Malenko, then goes for another Dragon screw-but this time Bret hits the enzuiguri. Both men down-and Bret goes to school on Owen in the corner. Irish whip, sternum first, knocks Owen into next week, and Bret drops a leg for two. Bulldog for two. Piledriver for two. Bret sits Owen on the top and superplexes him down for two. Owen is on Dream Street, and Bret clocks him with a couple of European uppercuts. Owen swings wildy, and Bret calmly and gets a sleeper. Owen grabs the ropes and donkey kicks Bret low, then applies the Sharpshooter. Bret reverses into his own, to a megapop, but Owen makes the ropes. Irish whip by Bret, reversed by Owen, and Bret sits on the top and tries a Victory roll, but Owen sits down on it and gets the shock three count at 20:23! The crowd just boos like nuts as Owen gives us "surprised", and Bret sits defeated in the ring.

Now THIS is how you do a technical wrestling match. This ranks up there as not only one of the greatest technical US matches of all time, but possibly one of the most significant as well. Owen's victory transformed him from mid-card joke to main eventer in a heartbeat, and set him up for a killer programme with Bret, after he beat Yokozuna for the title later in the night. Bret's showing here launched his refreshed singles career, and just got him even more over as the company's top babyface.

There's more to learn from this match than the great booking, though. The entire match is dripping with psychology. The first portion shows Bret unwilling to do anything past lock up and trade hammerlocks with his little bro, until Owen slaps the taste out of his mouth. Bret goes off the deep end after that, mercilessly working Owen's arm. Owen gets caught off guard by this, of course, not expecting the honourable Bret to go to town on him, but regains his bearings and gains the advantage, before working the back like a mofo while constantly bitching at Bret. When Bret's comeback begins after Owen misses his headbutt, the Hitman once again tears into his brother, but when he clips his knee on the pescado, Owen zooms in on it like the true bastard that he is, destroying it as much as possible. Bret again makes the big comeback, and this time there's no stopping him as he decimates Owen with everthing he's got, beating the Hell out of him. When he goes to finish the job with a sure-fire pinning combination, however, Owen reverses and gets the three count when he himself was convinced his brother wasn't finished. The intra-match story is superb and played for all it's worth, by Bret, by Owen, and by commentators Jerry Lawler and Vince MacMahon, who did a shockingly sturdy job of calling it.

It doesn't hurt that these two men are two of the best wrestlers of all time, either; the exchanges between the two here (in particular the waistlock reversal/German suplex sequence) really show what both men are made of. Both men knew that they'd been given the big stage here, and they ran with it-especially Owen, in his big chance to make a name for himself. The fact that Owen was kept with the company until his death in 1999 speak volumes of this match-if it had flopped, Owen would've been released by 1996.

Next week, I'll lead the class through a classic of a different style-Michenoku Vs. Sasuke. No, not in MPW, in Calgary....Alberta Canada. Send any feedback, if you will, to quoththeraven99@hotmail.com. Class dismissed!