5 Bret Hart dream matches from other eras

From his debut in 1976 as a referee all the way to his in-ring debut in 1978, Stu Hart's most revered son, Bret Hart, exhibited many special intangibles. In Stampede Wrestling, Hart was the standout compared to many other stars in the Canadian-based promotion. As a result of his meteoric rise, the young rookie caught the eye of WWE Chairman Vince McMahon in the early 1980's.

The early 1980's was aroung the time that WWE's Chairman was acquiring many territorial promotions in an attempt to take over the professional wrestling landscape, along with trying to obtain younger talents to make main event stars.

In 1984, McMahon successfully purchased Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling along with Stu's main Superstar, Bret Hart. He debuted in WWE during the same year and teamed with the charismatic Jim Neidhart. The flamboyant duo would capture tag team gold twice before going their separate ways in 1991 after WrestleMania VIII.

Following the split from his brother-in-law, Jim, the technical Superstar would win the Intercontinental Championship along with 1991 King of the Ring tournament within two weeks. From there, Bret Hart went from being a young rookie to The Hitman within a short period of time as he won the WWE Championship from Ric Flair in October of 1992.

Moreover, the Canadian hero had accomplished a lot within a short period of time, and was groomed to be the next top star for Vince McMahon's global promotion. Year after year, the Excellence of Execution became more popular with fans and management, thus becoming a star many performers wanted to be in the ring with due to his work ethic, plus his techical prowess inside the squared circle.

Let's take a look at five WWE Superstars we wish we could have seen Bret Hart face if he was placed in any era during his prime.

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#5 Bret Hart vs John Cena

John Cena

Many members of the WWE Universe tend to forget how fantastic an in-ring performer John Cena is, even though they have chanted "You can't wrestle" during several of his matches in the past. However, there are some professional wrestling fans who apppreciate the work the 16-time World Champion has put into getting better in the ring.

In addition, it seemed that Cena got better with each passing year. For instance, if you compare the John Cena from 2008 to the John Cena of 2015, there's a massive difference is his movements, psychology, and storytelling.

With the Leader of the Cenation's improved storytelling ability, a clash with The Hitman would have been a match made in heaven, and the promos leading up to the match would have delivered all of the hype necessary.

As for the match quality, their ability to adapt to other styles would have made it an interesting match, as John Cena is more of a striker, while Bret Hart is ground- and submission-based. Either way, this could have been a WrestleMania main event if the stars had alligned within eras.

#4 Bret Hart vs Daniel Bryan

Daniel Bryan

Ever since his days in Ring of Honor, Daniel Bryan has prided himself on being the most fluent techical wrestler in the world. Additionally, the former WWE Champion has made a point in critiquing WWE superstars such as The Miz for their lack of "workrate" in the ring. However, one man he would have to omit from his list is The Hitman if they had shared the same era of wrestling together.

If there was a time machine, Bret Hart would have challenged the Leader of the Yes Movement's bold claim as the greatest wrestler of his generation. Either performer could play the babyface or heel role to absolute perfection. There could have been three ways a Bret Hart vs Daniel Bryan singles program would have played out.

A babyface Bret Hart taking on the 2019 heel version of Daniel Bryan for the WWE Championship; The Hitman in his 1997 heel phase and the underdog 2014 version of Daniel Bryan challenging him for the WWE Championship, or both men as heels, to have an extremely rare heel vs heel feud.

A 60-minute Ironman match between these two would have been an instant classic, too.

#3 Bret Hart vs AJ Styles

AJ Styles

To the modern WWE fan today, AJ Styles is widely considered as the greatest in-ring performer of this generation, stemming from his legendary TNA run from 2002 to 2013. From there, the Phenomenal One emerged in WWE as the third entrant in the 2016 Royal Rumble match and has been one of the top stars in the company since then.

In a similar manner, Bret Hart had the same rise to stardom as AJ Styles. Though not the two grestest of all time on the microphone, both men have given the audience something to discuss following their classics on pay-per-view, and even on free television.

Additionally, both Bret Hart and the AJ Styles are known for the stories they tell in the ring, and they could have told some story together. Say, a Styles Clash countered into the Sharpshooter is something most fans would have wanted to see. Even a Sharpshooter countered into a Calf Crusher, or vice versa would have been a spectacle for the WWE Universe.

#2 Bret Hart vs Brock Lesnar

Brock Lesnar

Over the years, Brock Lesnar has proved to be one of WWE's biggest box-office draws and big time players since his WWE return in 2012. Even in his 2002 to 2004 tenure, The Next Big Thing was a prominent Superstar in WWE and was groomed to carry the company for the next decade.

In relation to Bret Hart, by the time Brock Lesnar was primed for the top spot in WWE, The Hitman had suffered a near-fatal stroke in 2002, the same year The Beast won the Undisputed Championship from The Rock at SummerSlam.

The story that both these former WrestleMania main eventers could have told, with the psychology and storytelling that they possess in the ring, would have been as big a classic as between Bret Hart and Stone Cold Steve Austin at WrestleMania 13.

As for the match, the story in the contest could have been one of Bret Hart out-wrestling The Beast and taking Brock Lesnar out of his element for the first time in his career. For example, Hart could have worked on both of Lesnar's legs and shoulders to leave Lesnar immobile for the F5 and vulnerable for the Sharpshooter, thus telling the story that Bret Hart was indeed "The Best There Is, The Best There Was, and The Best There Ever Will Be".

#1 Bret Hart vs Kurt Angle

Kurt Angle

If there was one man that could have ever been the top nemesis of Bret Hart, that man would the the Olympic Gold Medalist, Kurt Angle. Let's look at the contrasts:

-- Canadian hero vs American hero

-- Both amateur wrestlers

-- Competitve spirit to out-wrestle everyone

While Bret Hart retired from WCW in 2000, following a kick to the head at Starrcade 1999, Kurt Angle won his first WWE Championship at No Mercy 2000 against The Rock. The timing for a Bret Hart vs Kurt Angle clash was never aligned due to The Hitman's concussion in 1999 and stroke in 2002. However, if the Excellence of Execution had not received his 2002 stroke, we could have maybe seen the dream match at WrestleMania XX.

Though the dream match never came to fruition, there are many possibilities of how this match could have gone if they had faced each other in their prime. For instance, Bret Hart's 1997 heel persona against Kurt Angle's 2003 babyface persona could have provided great psychology and given the fans a program that gathered more attention than just being a classic, all-out wrestling match.