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WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart suffered a stroke in 2002. The stroke occurred after a motorcycle accident where Hart hit his head after flying over the handlebars of his bike.
After the stroke, the former WWE Champion was paralyzed down his left side. Hart required months of physiotherapy to move again.
Thankfully, The Hitman managed to learn how to walk but still suffers from some common yet lasting effects in stroke survivors. Hart discussed his life-changing stroke in the Confessions of the Hitman web series:
"Hands down, the most challenging battle I ever had; that’s for sure. I’ve talked a lot about my stroke over the years. As difficult as it was, I’ve always been really proud of how I recovered through it. I willed myself to not really give up, and I think it’s a little bit like, I wrote in my book that it was kind of time to be the hero I was pretending to be in [pro] wrestling. I did not give up. I kept pushing the envelope the whole time." Bret Hart said. (h/t Inside The Ropes)
Despite his perseverance for a full recovery, Hart's return to everyday life wasn't guaranteed:
"So it’s like, ‘okay, I had a stroke. When do I get out of here? Like, what do I got to do? What’s the plan. And you find out pretty quick that there is no plan. You cross your fingers and pray that that day you have a good recovery. And I remember that day I really wanted to recover, I was going to go down fighting. It’s like if somebody cut your whole body in half with a saw, and the left side is completely dead and the right side is alive. Like, I couldn’t lift my finger or hand, I couldn’t blink my eye. It was wide open. I could close it to sleep. And I’ve always had trouble smiling now, on my left side. Certain muscles didn’t come back." Bret Hart said.
We are beyond thankful that Bret Hart got through this, following a few already turbulent years. He was indeed blessed, and we, as fans, are blessed to see him return to WWE following the infamous Montreal Screwjob.
When did Bret Hart last appear in WWE?
Bret Hart last appeared in WWE at the SummerSlam pay-per-view in August 2019. He appeared in a backstage segment with Seth Rollins to wish him good luck in his Universal Championship match against Brock Lesnar.
Hart also appeared on All Elite Wrestling that same year to unveil the AEW World Championship at the inaugural Double or Nothing pay-per-view.
His last wrestling appearance came in 2020 for IMPACT Wrestling. Bret Hart appeared on a video package congratulating Ken Shamrock for getting inducted into the IMPACT Hall of Fame. The induction was made at the Bound for Glory event and witnessed The Rock appear on the promotion for the first time.
