After WrestleMania 13, Pillman returned and aligned himself with his real life close friends Bret Hart, Owen Hart, The British Bulldog, and Jim Neidhart as part of the anti-American Hart Foundation, turning Pillman heel, all of whom he was familiar with from his Stampede Wrestling roots. He began feuding with his former partner, Steve Austin. In the course of the feud, Austin was given on-screen credit for damaging Pillman's ankle in late October 1996 after placing it in between the seat and backrest of a folded chair and then jumping on the chair (this particular style of attack has since been dubbed "The Pillmanizer", in honor of this incident). Pillman began competing again as a full-time in-ring competitor in May, frequently teaming with Hart Foundation members in 6 man tag matches against Austin and the Legion of Doom. On July 6, 1997 at in Bret's hometown Calgary, Pillman and The Hart Foundation defeated the American team of Stone Cold Steve Austin, Goldust, Ken Shamrock and The Legion of Doom in a 10-man tag team match in the main event.