Bret Hart discloses WCW legend's role in creating his iconic finisher

Bret Hart is one of the most respected veterans of the wrestling business and a WWE Hall of Famer. He recently stated that he always spoke the truth about his iconic finisher - the Sharpshooter - and how it came to be his own.

The Canadian first revealed that he did not know to "put it on," then credited WCW legend Konnan for teaching him how to apply the submission move.

Speaking to Inside The Ropes, Bret Hart disclosed that Konnan showed him how it was done after The Hitman ultimately resolved issues he had with the late legend Curt Hennig, and finally decided to work with the latter. It was the beginning of his WWE push.

"The truth is that I learned the Sharpshooter from Konnan, WCW wrestler who was at WWE at the time," Hart began.

When asked if he and Stu Hart were behind its invention, Bret said that he first saw the move being used by Sting in Japan:

"I think I suggested the Scorpion move that Sting did, because I saw it in Japan. I wasn’t necessarily stealing it from Sting, I didn’t know how to put it on. Vince goes let’s use that. He goes go figure out how it works, how to put it on and how it works. After I walked out the room I went looking for different wrestlers and asking them do you know how to put on the Scorpion Deathlock? It’s like no. I kept going around and the only wrestler who knew how to put it on was Konnan."

The Sharpshooter became Bret Hart's well-known finishing move. It was later used by a few other superstars in the Stamford-based promotion as well, including The Hitman's arch-rival, Shawn Michaels.

---

How did Konnan teach Bret Hart to apply the Sharpshooter?

Bret Hart further elaborated on how and where Konnan taught him the submission move. He revealed that they went into the showers, in order to get some space from Vince McMahon and Pat Patterson, who were part of the discussions about The Hitman's push. At the time, the move was still known as the "Scorpion Deathlock" owing to Sting using it.

Ultimately, Hart and McMahon came up with the Sharpshooter name for the submission hold.

"I love that Konnan goes you are the only guy who told the truth about it. People ask me and I tell the truth, Konnan showed me in 2 minutes in the shower how to put the Sharpshooter on. It wasn’t a big deal to me but he appreciates how I don’t tell the story of how I learned it from my dad in the basement and we perfected it. It’s easy to bullsh*t and make up a big story, but the truth is I learned it from Konnan."

In October 1992, Bret Hart won the WWE Title (then WWF) for the first time in his career from Ric Flair after wrestling for 26 minutes. In the end, he forced The Nature Boy to submit to the Sharpshooter.

The Hitman recently revealed that the respect he had for the founder of World Wrestling Entertainment, Vince McMahon, was "tainted" after the graphic lawsuit was brought to light.