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As we move on with our series, we come down to number 4. Today, we take a look at one of the greatest names in professional wrestling, someone who transcended the industry and was known to be the real people’s champion. He is someone who was loved by everyone, no matter where they were from. As a champion, he exemplified the business, and although he didn’t get a proper farewell from the business he dedicated his life to, he will always be remembered as one of the greatest ambassadors of professional wrestling.
He was one of the very few people to have related themselves with their characters, and in doing so, he proved how one need not be selfish to make it to the top, and that hard work and dedication would lead you there. Today, we take a look at the career of the man behind ‘The Pink and Black Attack’, ‘The Excellence of Execution’, ‘The Hitman’, Bret Hart!
“Universally respected by other wrestlers, and perhaps the greatest pure wrestler ever to lace up a pair of boots” – WCW on Bret Hart
Born in arguably the greatest wrestling family in the history of the industry, Bret Hart was destined for greatness, as he started performing from a very young age in the famous ‘Hart Dungeon’, making his way to Stampede wrestling before moving on to greener pastures in the World Wrestling Federation run by Vince McMahon Jr. It was here that Bret Hart achieved his greatest success in the business, and while doing so, he earned the respect of his fans and his peers, as they called him the most genuine person they knew.
Bret Hart initially teamed up with his real life brother-in-law, Jim ‘The Anvil’ Neidhart, and they were dubbed ‘The Hart Foundation’. Bret and Neidhart went on to capture the WWF Tag team titles, and were embroiled in some heated feuds, especially against ‘The Rockers’. It was here that Bret came face to face with someone who would be his biggest nemesis, Shawn Michaels.
Every good protagonist needs a good antagonist, and Bret was fortunate enough to face the likes of Ric Flair and Curt Hennig early in his career. Bret achieved his first singles success by winning the WWF Intercontinental title, and Curt Hennig, along with the rest of the locker room, handpicked Bret to be the next face of the WWF. Bret achieved that when he defeated Ric Flair to win his first WWF title, as the jubilant crowd erupted to show Bret their appreciation.
From here, Bret’s next major feud was against his brother, Owen Hart, and these two put on some of the best matches ever witnessed in the WWF/E. The feud culminated in a Steel Cage match at Summerslam which Bret won to retain the WWF title, and this match was awarded 5 stars by Wrestling Observer, one of the very few WWF matches to have received that honor.
“Arguably the greatest technical wrestler in WWE history” – WWE on Bret Hart
Bret also became the ‘King of the Ring’ twice, and won the Royal Rumble in ’94. Hart was then involved in one of the greatest feuds of all time with Shawn Michaels, as Michaels won the WWF title from Bret Hart at WrestleMania in ’96. Bret was then involved in yet another 5 star match at WrestleMania ’97, when he took on Stone Cold Steve Austin in a submission match, which arguably made Austin’s career.
After the match, Bret turned heel for the first time in years, and reformed the Hart Foundation, along with Pillman, Owen, Davey and Neidhart. Bret would win the WWF title once again, before losing it to Shawn Michaels at Survivor Series in ’97, which is famously dubbed as the ‘Montreal Screwjob’, when he was double crossed by Vince, Shawn, Triple H and Earl Hebner. Bret left the WWF for WCW, and was a part of the roster till he received a concussion during a match with Goldberg, and retired afterwards.
Bret Hart will be remembered for a lot of things, and there is nothing that hasn’t been said about him. He has been an inspiration for future generation wrestlers such as Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle, and was pivotal in changing WWF’s mentality about how a WWF champion should look like.
Bret opened the door for ‘small’ wrestlers to become world champions, such as Shawn Michaels himself. Although Bret left the WWF on bad terms, he has since buried the hatchet with Vince McMahon and Shawn Michaels, and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. His technical prowess, along with his knack of putting on great matches with virtually anyone led to him being known as the greatest professional wrestler of all time!
His contributions to professional wrestling, along with his wrestling ability earn Bret Hart the number 4 spot in our list of the greatest technical wrestlers of all time in the WWE.
