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What do you guys think of the Hitman and whereabouts he stands in wrestling history?! Was he really one of the best of all time?! We all know he has a big opinion of himself but is it all justified?! He was always my favourite growing up and had so many great matches over the years, always loved the hart foundation stuff in the mid 1980's too! Was just intrigued to see what others actually think of him, as he's always talked about as being one of the best

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I think if Bret stuck with WWF through the Attitude Era, he'd be a much larger part of wrestling history. As it stands, Bret is most associated with the mid 90s WWF where HBK reigned supreme- I may be biased towards HBK as I've always found him exciting, whereas I've found the Bret matches I've seen to be fundamentally good but not that thrilling- the only Bret matches I've really loved were the cage match with Owen and the Wrestlemania match with Austin. When wrestling was super hot in the late 90s, he was a bit player in WCW. It's fair to say my exposure to Bret's body of work is a bit limited, as my fandom of pro wrestling began with late 90s WWF and built into the early 2000s, I'd probably represent the casuals in regards to Bret.

 

A few years ago I'd put him in the same bracket as Triple H, Undertaker, HBK, but those guys have taken their standing in pro wrestling to another level in recent years with their Wrestlemania classics. So with that, I'd have him alongside the Macho Mans and Roddy Pipers of the world- a recognisable star but never THE guy. He's probably best remembered by the casual for the Screwjob and that awful Simpsons cameo.

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If anyone "reigned supreme" in the WWF in the mid 90s it was surely Bret Hart, he was the main guy on and off from when he won the belt from Flair till he left for WCW, HBK had his title runs but business was in the toilet and he was plagued by losing his smile and his own personal demons. Shawn for me is the better in ring worker and talker but for me Bret was THE face of the WWF in the mid 90's.

 

He's made a joke out of himself at times with taking himself and the business far too seriously but your review of his career is doing him a huge disservice for me SOM. He'll be remembered for heading the new generation and for his great WM match with Austin as much along with the screwjob as you mentioned. Iv'e always been able to take his taking the business far too seriously and himself light heartedly as considering the enviorment he grew up I think the way he views the business, although over the top is probably not his fault.

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Yeah it's really down to the bias I mentioned, I'm probably mixing my view of Bret's ability with his position in the company at that time, I'd say HBK "reigned surpreme" in terms of overall skill, but Bret was the guy positioned as champ longer. I've seen tons of HBK stuff, with the From the Vault and Heartbreak and Triumph DVDs, as well as various misc compilations, and very little Bret stuff.

 

I guess it comes down to how many people watching today were watching during the new generation era, unlike me. WWE has constantly pushed Shawn as one of the very greatest of all time, while Bret took a long time to mend the fences with the company. I can't help but see Bret as no. 2 to HBK, whether that's accurate or not, it's how WWE have presented it IMO.

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What do you guys think of the Hitman and whereabouts he stands in wrestling history?! Was he really one of the best of all time?! We all know he has a big opinion of himself but is it all justified?! He was always my favourite growing up and had so many great matches over the years, always loved the hart foundation stuff in the mid 1980's too! Was just intrigued to see what others actually think of him, as he's always talked about as being one of the best

 

Ive always felt that Bret was the best technical wrestler in WWE. While I do wish he hadent been booted out of WWE had he stayed he possibly might of still been wrestling properly today. I dunno why but Bret always seemed like a Hollywood star when the WWF toured Canada as he was massively popular.

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Bret is my favourite of all time.

 

Due to a mix of things really, when i was younger he was always my guy, i found i had by far the most sympathy for him when he was getting beat than anyone else, this may have been down to his size i dunno, when Lawler was abusing him after he won the 93 KOTR i was fucking devastated, praying he would fight back. To me he always seemed to make Wrestling real in that sense, he appeared to be dying in there. Even as a 7,8 or 9 year old kid i would realise that Hogan and Warrior etc were not doing the work that Bret seemed to in the ring, one of my earliest memories of being pissed off as a fan was Mania 9 when Bret dropped the strap to Yoko, and Hogan pinned him in like 10 seconds, i was young but kept thinking "This aint right" :bored:

 

Secondly, as i grew older i appreciated his actual matches, his ability to have a brilliant match and tell a story with anybody, i'd say if i listed a top 10 of matches Bret would have at least 3 or 4 in there. Nowadays it is his integrity that i look back on, i have the utmost respect for what he did, how he handled things.

 

I remember having arguments with mates that liked HBK in 96 + 97, to me there was no comparison, Bret was my man.

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His back catalogue of big matches is as good as anyone's in wrestling ever. A lot of them though maybe you had to be there at the time to fully appreciate. I'd put him at the very top of the mountain personally.

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For me, Bret Hart is the best ever.

 

As a superstar or a draw or whatever, he's maybe second tier (not up there with Austin and Hogan obviously).

As a wrestler putting on great matches, unrivalled in my opinion (been discussed to death).

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He's alright. Always preferred Owen as a kid to be honest. Him beating him at Mania 10 is one of my fondest wrestling memories. In ring his one of the best WWE have ever had but he never really grabbed me. I was always more into the over the top dudes like Warrior, Savage, HBK etc. The first time I became a big fan was (typically) when he turned heel. The Foundation were great and his whiny promos now had a better use. I was gutted about Montreal and missed him when he left.

 

Now I've grown up I've kind of soured on him a bit, especially after reading his book. I never get the urge to watch his stuff, although I know the matches will always be good. When I'm youtube I'm much more likely to watch Flair, Funk, Austin, Ambrose, Akira Hokuto and whoever as I guess I'm still drawn to the big personalities. People who are intense and magnetic and don't take it so seriously.

 

Still, Bret vs Piper is one of my favourite matches and the feud with Owen is one of the better tales that WWE have told.

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I think Hart deserves credit for keeping WWF alive between Hogan leaving and the Attitude era beginning.

 

As good a talent as HBK was, it was Hart that drew massive numbers of fans to European tours during the steroid trial era and beyond when domestic business was down the carsy.

 

That said I'm sure people that didn't like Hart could argue business was down because of Hart. I'd refer them to the business (or lack thereof) shen people like Nash were on top.

 

As far as his technical skills - what the man himself said: the best.

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Shane O - watch some more Bret Hart. He's had loads of quality matches.

 

As well as the obvious like SummerSlam 92 vs Bulldog, the Owen matches etc, track down his Raw match with 123 Kid from 94, the Savage match from SNME, any vs Perfect, vs Hakushi and Pierre Lafitte in 95, the tag with Owen vs Steiners, vs Diesel at Survivor Series 95. Also the Hart Foundation vs Tully & Arn from SummerSlam 89 was ace.

 

Bret was great. I think Shawn Michaels has topped Bret's legacy, especially after his 2002-10 run, but Bret is up there with the best ever I think. And if you don't agree, ask him and he'll tell you himself.

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Shane O - watch some more Bret Hart. He's had loads of quality matches.

 

As well as the obvious like SummerSlam 92 vs Bulldog, the Owen matches etc, track down his Raw match with 123 Kid from 94, the Savage match from SNME, any vs Perfect, vs Hakushi and Pierre Lafitte in 95, the tag with Owen vs Steiners, vs Diesel at Survivor Series 95. Also the Hart Foundation vs Tully & Arn from SummerSlam 89 was ace.

 

Bret was great. I think Shawn Michaels has topped Bret's legacy, especially after his 2002-10 run, but Bret is up there with the best ever I think. And if you don't agree, ask him and he'll tell you himself.

 

Plus his part of Survivor Series 90

 

Survivor_Series_1990_-_Dream_Team_0.jpg

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Bret Hart was one of the greatest wrestlers the WWF ever had, and I would consider his body of work compared to Shawn's at the time both were active and say it's very difficult to split the two. Shawn has completed a superior legacy since his return in 2002 but I would still rather watch the best of Bret's matches over the best of Shawn's. From 1991 to 1996 there was nobody better - at least for that consistent length of time - for making you buy that he was receiving the kicking of his life and was on the verge of getting pinned repeatedly, then snatching a desperation roll-up or the Sharpshooter for that gutsy win just when you thought he was fucked. People criticize Bret for being a "routine man" in that he executed the same set of moves on every match - doesn't make him any fucking different from anyone else then, really, does it?

 

Yes, if you watch his meaningless Coliseum matches with a Kwang or Adam Bomb, you'll see a pattern emerge. But when it mattered, Bret was as dynamic as anybody. Watch three singles matches on PPV in 1992, and I think you've seen the best three singles matches on PPV in 1992. Yes, he'll do all his moves in each of the matches, but at different points with different spots or opponent's heat sections in between, and not all in sequence at the end prior to a Sharpshooter or Sharpshooter attempt like people wrongly claim. Likewise the five very different matches he had with five very different opponents between King of the Ring and SummerSlam '93 - all of which were excellent, by the way.

 

At different points during Bret's "prime years" you could also see well-paced, great storytelling matches in the WWF from Mr Perfect, from Randy Savage and from Shawn - but Bret was doing it the whole time. When he came back in 1996 at 39 and on big money, I'm sure plenty of people (myself included) wondered if the same drive was going to be there but to deliver three matches as compelling yet completely different as he did with Stone Cold at Survivors and WrestleMania and opposite the Undertaker at SummerSlam - it's understandable that he topped the PS50 for 1997. It's because for that twelve months back in the WWF he was the BEST.

 

No, Bret was not as versatile as Shawn Michaels, as big a draw as Hulk Hogan or Steve Austin or as popular domestically as any of them at their peaks. But he was FUCKING GOOD. Bret Hart was the first guy whose psychology/selling was good enough to make me care whether he won or lost, and nearly 25 years later he's still the benchmark in that respect. I've conceded in recent years that Shawn Michaels was the best, but my favourite will always be the Hitman.

 

He's probably best remembered by the casual for the Screwjob and that awful Simpsons cameo.

 

By "casual" do you mean "people that weren't actually watching when Bret was active"? There's a big difference. Yes, people that have become fans within the last 15 years and know what they know of Bret because of WWE's output on him since will think of Bret as someone that won the World title 5 times - which isn't impressive by today's standards - and was screwed by Vince. Someone that was "also around" when Hogan was on top, when Shawn was on top, when Austin was getting near the top.

 

Speaking of which, if you think more people remember that Simpsons appearance than they do the Austin matches and USA/Canada feud from the same time period, you're a clown.

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