Bret Hart goes off on Greg Oliver

[Agent P]

A bizarre incident took place earlier tonight at the Hall of Fame dinner in Waterloo, IA.

Bret Hart was giving a speech, accepting the Hall of Fame honor for father Stu. During the speech, Hart noted Greg Oliver of SlamWrestling, who was there to be given the Jim Melby Memorial Award for wrestling journalism along with writing partner Steve Johnson. Hart went off on Oliver in his speech, and started talking about the sacrifices the wrestlers have made and loved ones lost in the business and said that one of us doesn't deserve to be here and said either he goes or I go. Several of the older wrestlers in attendance gave Hart a standing ovation. Oliver didn't leave, although the report we got was that Johnson did leave to try and diffuse a bad situation.

Hart eventually left when Oliver didn't, and several of the wrestlers left with him and it created an ugly vibe. Hart hasn't liked Oliver dating back to Oliver's book, "Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Canadians," which listed him No. 14 in the list of greatest Canadian wrestlers ever. The book did acknowledge him as the best known of all the Canadian wrestlers but said "Hart can hardly claim to be the best ever."

The situation was videotaped and I presume the tape will get around over the next few days. We hope to have more details forthcoming


source: f4wonline.com

[Johnny B. Decent]

Jun 29, 2008 0:33:29 GMT -5 Agent P said:

A bizarre incident took place earlier tonight at the Hall of Fame dinner in Waterloo, IA.

Bret Hart was giving a speech, accepting the Hall of Fame honor for father Stu. During the speech, Hart noted Greg Oliver of SlamWrestling, who was there to be given the Jim Melby Memorial Award for wrestling journalism along with writing partner Steve Johnson. Hart went off on Oliver in his speech, and started talking about the sacrifices the wrestlers have made and loved ones lost in the business and said that one of us doesn't deserve to be here and said either he goes or I go. Several of the older wrestlers in attendance gave Hart a standing ovation. Oliver didn't leave, although the report we got was that Johnson did leave to try and diffuse a bad situation.

Hart eventually left when Oliver didn't, and several of the wrestlers left with him and it created an ugly vibe. Hart hasn't liked Oliver dating back to Oliver's book, "Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Canadians," which listed him No. 14 in the list of greatest Canadian wrestlers ever. The book did acknowledge him as the best known of all the Canadian wrestlers but said "Hart can hardly claim to be the best ever."

The situation was videotaped and I presume the tape will get around over the next few days. We hope to have more details forthcoming


source: f4wonline.com

Ugh, Bret really is a primadonna.

[bigtrain]

Jun 29, 2008 0:34:37 GMT -5 Johnny B. Decent said:

Jun 29, 2008 0:33:29 GMT -5 Agent P said:

A bizarre incident took place earlier tonight at the Hall of Fame dinner in Waterloo, IA.

Bret Hart was giving a speech, accepting the Hall of Fame honor for father Stu. During the speech, Hart noted Greg Oliver of SlamWrestling, who was there to be given the Jim Melby Memorial Award for wrestling journalism along with writing partner Steve Johnson. Hart went off on Oliver in his speech, and started talking about the sacrifices the wrestlers have made and loved ones lost in the business and said that one of us doesn't deserve to be here and said either he goes or I go. Several of the older wrestlers in attendance gave Hart a standing ovation. Oliver didn't leave, although the report we got was that Johnson did leave to try and diffuse a bad situation.

Hart eventually left when Oliver didn't, and several of the wrestlers left with him and it created an ugly vibe. Hart hasn't liked Oliver dating back to Oliver's book, "Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Canadians," which listed him No. 14 in the list of greatest Canadian wrestlers ever. The book did acknowledge him as the best known of all the Canadian wrestlers but said "Hart can hardly claim to be the best ever."

The situation was videotaped and I presume the tape will get around over the next few days. We hope to have more details forthcoming


source: f4wonline.com

Ugh, Bret really is a primadonna.

Greg Oliver also co-wrote a quickie book on the Benoit murder/suicide that has 100% 1/5 ratings on Amazon and is generally agreed was under-researched and a blatant cash-in on his death.

But yeah, BERT SCREWED BERT HITMAN MORE LIKE SHITMAN

[andrew8798]

BTW, the actual list that Greg Oliver put out

1. Whipper Billy Watson
2. Yvon Robert
3. Killer Kowalski
4. Mad Dog Vachon
5. Earl McCready
6. Gene Kinski
7. Roddy Piper
8. Sky Low Low/ Little Beaver
9. Ben & Mike Sharpe
10. Stu Hart
11. Abudullah the Bucther
12. John & Chris Tolos
13. Stomper Gouldie

[Johnny B. Decent]

Jun 29, 2008 1:00:36 GMT -5 bigtrain said:

Jun 29, 2008 0:34:37 GMT -5 Johnny B. Decent said:

Ugh, Bret really is a primadonna.

Greg Oliver also co-wrote a quickie book on the Benoit murder/suicide that has 100% 1/5 ratings on Amazon and is generally agreed was under-researched and a blatant cash-in on his death.

But yeah, BERT SCREWED BERT HITMAN MORE LIKE crapMAN

Yeah, but just because he wasn't listed as the #1 wrestler of Canada in some guy's book doesn't really mean you act like an ass to the guy, whether he deserved it or not.

[El Dandy]

Why do you just assume Bret dislikes him because of where he ranked him in his book? Perhaps he is offended by the exploitation job this guy did trying to make a quick buck by writing a sleazy book about Chris Benoit.

[Johnny B. Decent]

Jun 29, 2008 1:10:52 GMT -5 El Dandy said:

Why do you just assume Bret dislikes him because of where he ranked him in his book? Perhaps he is offended by the exploitation job this guy did trying to make a quick buck by writing a sleazy book about Chris Benoit.

Perhaps that too, as well. Who knows?

[Spankymac is sick of the swiss]

No matter what Bret's beef was, that was the exact definition of the WRONG time to air that particular piece of dirty laundry. Any kind of HOF ceremony is supposed to be a celebration of the BEST of wrestling, not showing off the worst of their personalities.

[El Dandy]

Well apparently Bret wasn't alone on his thoughts as others agreed with him. We probably shouldn't comment until we hear all the details. Perhaps what Greg Oliver has written truly is offensive to Bret and the other wrestlers. Maybe they think he made a living writing exploitation pieces on people he knew nothing about?

[Spankymac is sick of the swiss]

Jun 29, 2008 1:37:39 GMT -5 El Dandy said:

Well apparently Bret wasn't alone on his thoughts as others agreed with him. We probably shouldn't comment until we hear all the details. Perhaps what Greg Oliver has written truly is offensive to Bret and the other wrestlers. Maybe they think he made a living writing exploitation pieces on people he knew nothing about?

I've read some of Oliver's writing, and particularly "Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Tag Teams", and while his writing may be a little dry and generic, there's absolutely nothing offensive about it that someone wouldn't have to look for with a magnifying glass. Normally, I'd be right there with Hart, but this just screams of "unprofessional prima donna" to me.

[Corporate H]

I love Bret Hart.

[thwak is T.hawk]

If I was a canadian I'd probably say that abdullah the butcher and killer kowalski were better then me.

I mean one practically invented hardcore wrestling while the other was one of the most over heels who ever lived.

there's got to be more of a background behind the incident then just going off on him because of that list.

[El Dandy]

Jun 29, 2008 1:47:18 GMT -5 thwak is T.hawk said:

If I was a canadian I'd probably say that abdullah the butcher and killer kowalski were better then me.

I mean one practically invented hardcore wrestling while the other was one of the most over heels who ever lived.

there's got to be more of a background behind the incident then just going off on him because of that list.

Exactly. Some people are overlooking the fact that there were others in the event who applauded Bret in support and also walked off. I don't think they were offended by the list either. That would be petty, don't you think?

[Madman Szalinski]

I personaly don't agree with the list, and anything on Chris Benoit posthumous is going to be cheap and exploitative. And I just can't say anything bad about Bret.

[soultsukino]

Ugh. regardless of anything Greg did my opinion of Bret just gets lower and lower. So he had some gripe against Greg (and god knows greg isn't the only one Bret has a gripe about) but airing it at a hall of fame dinner, ESPECIALLY when he was there to honnor his father is just being an outright dick. I'm not even that much of a Greg Oliver fan (Never read any of his stuff) but there are better places to air that kind of crap.

Quite honestly if I was whoever it was who gave out the award, I'd ask Bret to apologize or take the award back. You want to use your father's honor to air your dirty laundry, then they have every right to take the award back.

[Asics Johnson]

I don't really care for the guy, and I definitely think he's an overrated, life-embellishing, primadonna... but I'm gonna hafta side with the Hitman on this one. F*** that guy and his poorly written, severely exploitative book. I'm sure a lot of wrestlers would agree with that particular statement (obviously, or they wouldn't have walked out with him), and the fact that Bret Hart had the balls to come out and speak his mind was pretty cool to me. I would've walked out, too.

[The Blue Blazer]

Jun 29, 2008 1:03:50 GMT -5 andrew8798 said:

BTW, the actual list that Greg Oliver put out

1. Whipper Billy Watson
2. Yvon Robert
3. Killer Kowalski
4. Mad Dog Vachon
5. Earl McCready
6. Gene Kinski
7. Roddy Piper
8. Sky Low Low/ Little Beaver
9. Ben & Mike Sharpe
10. Stu Hart
11. Abudullah the Bucther
12. John & Chris Tolos
13. Stomper Gouldie

I can understand Bret being upset about being ranked behind "Iron" Mike Sharpe and a midget.

[Spankymac is sick of the swiss]

Jun 29, 2008 12:06:16 GMT -5 soultsukino said:

Ugh. regardless of anything Greg did my opinion of Bret just gets lower and lower. So he had some gripe against Greg (and god knows greg isn't the only one Bret has a gripe about) but airing it at a hall of fame dinner, ESPECIALLY when he was there to honnor his father is just being an outright dick. I'm not even that much of a Greg Oliver fan (Never read any of his stuff) but there are better places to air that kind of crap.

Quite honestly if I was whoever it was who gave out the award, I'd ask Bret to apologize or take the award back. You want to use your father's honor to air your dirty laundry, then they have every right to take the award back.

This is my feeling, dead on the money. If Bret wants to talk to another wrestling journalist in an interview about his problems with Oliver, fine, that's great, his decision, but using Stu's award as a medium to air his grievance was just immature in the extreme.

[Johnny B. Decent]

Jun 29, 2008 13:06:46 GMT -5 Spankymac is sick of the swiss said:

Jun 29, 2008 12:06:16 GMT -5 soultsukino said:

Ugh. regardless of anything Greg did my opinion of Bret just gets lower and lower. So he had some gripe against Greg (and god knows greg isn't the only one Bret has a gripe about) but airing it at a hall of fame dinner, ESPECIALLY when he was there to honnor his father is just being an outright dick. I'm not even that much of a Greg Oliver fan (Never read any of his stuff) but there are better places to air that kind of crap.

Quite honestly if I was whoever it was who gave out the award, I'd ask Bret to apologize or take the award back. You want to use your father's honor to air your dirty laundry, then they have every right to take the award back.

This is my feeling, dead on the money. If Bret wants to talk to another wrestling journalist in an interview about his problems with Oliver, fine, that's great, his decision, but using Stu's award as a medium to air his grievance was just immature in the extreme.

Speaking of Stu Hart, does anybody know what the Stu Hart Special was? Wiki says it's a Sugar Hold, but I don't know that one either.

[Milkman Norm]

I think the sugerhold was a full nelson applyed while siting on the opponents back in the camel clutch postion