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Post by HMARK Center on Nov 18, 2017 8:22:33 GMT -5
I'd say Bret; I think a lot more people know who he is than know Trips. See I can't justify that. HHH has been expose during to more people over a longer period of time. My girlfriend (we're English) doesn't know who Bret is, doesn't even know Bulldog, but recognises HHH just by the attitude era and occasionally seeing WWE over the last 15 years. Have to be honest, I don't see that, but I'm also 32 and my age cohort would likely remember Bret a lot more. Trips was largely just unremarkable for a lot of fans (outside of 2000 or so) and once he became the top guy ratings started their long downward slope. Not to say that Bret had huge numbers during his run near the top, we all know what was happening to WWF circa 1995, but if I went around collecting anecdotal evidence around where I live I'm confident more people would know who Bret Hart is (e.g. going out on Halloween and seeing a group of people in wrestling costumes, there's good odds one of them will have a long black hair wig, leather jacket, and sunglasses on).
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Post by willywonka666 on Nov 18, 2017 9:50:57 GMT -5
Agreed. If not for hooking up with Stephanie, HHH would be somewhere around Ziggler level. And if Bret wasn't Stu Hart's son he'd have just been another local hand in Stampede Wrestling and probably have never made it to WWF. You can't take away a part of a person's life as if it didn't happen when you are evaluating their life. It doesn't work that way. HHH used every advantage he could get, and that includes marrying into the boss's family. good poInt
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Nov 18, 2017 10:29:58 GMT -5
I think Bret was better, but Triple H gets a slight edge due to longevity.
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Post by The Rick Jericho on Nov 18, 2017 10:31:20 GMT -5
In Canada there are many people who quit wrestling after the screwjob and the attitude era that came with it. It was too vulgar. Too raunchy. Etc...
People still remember Maple Leaf Wrestling, "The Hit Man" and so forth. So at least in Canada, Bret > Triple H.
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Post by papagiorgio on Nov 18, 2017 10:32:03 GMT -5
Bret. While the New Generation Era wasn't as big as the Attitude Era, he was also around during the 80s heyday with big moments at Wrestlemania 3 and 4. The Hart Foundation was one of the biggest tag teams of the 80s.
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Post by The Rick Jericho on Nov 18, 2017 10:49:54 GMT -5
There are still plenty of people who when you mentioned "Triple H" they still to this day think Hunter Hearst Helmsley, the guy with that fake ass accent who lost the pig slop match. Yes, I know it's a hog pen, but that is what some people refer to it to.
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Post by Toilet Paper Roll on Nov 18, 2017 11:30:35 GMT -5
Triple H.... Bret's run at or near the top is what 6 years? He certainly was terrific before then but Triple H going back to his DX days has been (for better or worse) a major player for almost 20 years. He's become a household name and has been for almost crepes decades, going forward hell be able to continue to build a legacy long after his wrestling days are behind him.
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Nr1Humanoid
Hank Scorpio
Is the #3 humanoid at best.
Posts: 5,526
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Post by Nr1Humanoid on Nov 18, 2017 11:34:54 GMT -5
All I know is I wouldn't be caught dead rewatching a HHH match unless I had serious problems falling asleep.
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Post by The Thread Barbi on Nov 18, 2017 11:39:42 GMT -5
All I know is I wouldn't be caught dead rewatching a HHH match unless I had serious problems falling asleep. Speak for yourself Ultimate Warrior vs Triple H gives me lots of pleasure
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Post by Baby, it’s Jes outside on Nov 18, 2017 11:41:10 GMT -5
While Bret was mishandled by WCW he was still a star during his years there and regularly in or around the main event, even at the height of the Monday Night Wars. I know that WWE won the war but there was a lengthy period where WCW was ahead of them and Bret was in WCW for that. He was also one of the top stars for years in WWE. Yes a lot of that was during a down period but not all of it. At the same time HHH has has the benefit of having the machine behind him. He has been placed above his paygrade a number of times (he's a fantastic talent but not as awesome as his record would indicate) and the company has continuously pushed the narrative that he is one of the greats. Someone also mentioned that he main evented the biggest Wrestlemania ever. Certainly that's big but, consider also that he's one of the top executives in the company with the ear of several others. His placement in the main event was pretty controversial with a lot of fans. That said, it would be like Vince deciding to main event this Wrestlemania. Yes you can say he main evented a Wrestlemania in his 70s, but is that really more meaningful than the talent who weren't executives and managed to main event? The thing is, the more time passes, the more Bret is relegated to a sideline while Trips is front and centre. As such it means his star will have more exposure. Technically he is the bigger star now thanks to years of nepotism and a fantastic position in the only major wrestling company in the u.s. Ex-frickin-actly!!! In thirty years, Bret will still be considered an all-time great wrestler. And "Paul" will still have married into his success.
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segaz
Samurai Cop
Posts: 2,381
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Post by segaz on Nov 18, 2017 20:23:24 GMT -5
Bigger star, probably HHH. Better favourite wrestler? And in my opinion, even realer promo guy, Bret
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 18, 2017 23:15:20 GMT -5
I love Bret, I probably prefer him of the two. But it's Hunter.
He was WWF champion during their high point, part of one of the biggest groups of the era, mostly leading it during WWF's heyday. As much as we like to laugh about DX because LOL TANK, they were a big part of that period. Even if you want to say he was a fifth wheel main eventer, which is probably fair, that's still pretty recognizable for how much your casual fans remember people from the Attitude Era. Bret is a big star as well obviously, but unfortunately his peak was during pretty much the exact opposite of the WWF's popularity.
Also, if we're trying to spin a narrative that business went down the drain for the WWE because Triple H was on top of Raw, you could spin the same for things going to shit when Bret became WWF Champion, which is ridiculous obviously, there were plenty of factors in play but it gets a pass because it's Triple H. Was his long ass title reign partly to blame? Probably, but things were down across the board.
Plus, the idea that Triple H only has success because of being married to Stephanie doesn't really fly with me either. He was WWF Champion before that. Zero people that won that title in those years went on to do nothing afterwards, to think he wouldn't have had success afterwards without the marriage is just wrong. Yes it helped, no way would he have got everything he did if he didn't marry Stephanie, but every main event wrestler from that time period is treated like a God in WWE continuity, there's no damn reason to believe Triple H wouldn't have gotten that same treatment.
It's essentially down to Triple H being around and high up the card when WWF was at it's hottest. Bret was at the top when there were far less eyes on the product, hell he joined WCW when they were starting their down turn. Wrestling and match quality don't always equal bigger star, and I think this is one of those cases.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 18, 2017 23:25:32 GMT -5
Triple H and it's not even close.
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Post by The Trashman on Nov 18, 2017 23:29:02 GMT -5
Bret Hart by a whole lot.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 18, 2017 23:34:45 GMT -5
Bret Hart is one of those guys that you could ask a non-fan to describe him, and they'd probably come up with pink tights, leather jacket, wet hair, sunglasses, and so forth. HHH would probably get "I think he's a wrestler." If anything I would say the 100% opposite. I've never met a non-fan who has any clue who Bret Hart is but Triple H was there and a huge name during the company's hottest period.
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schma
Hank Scorpio
Posts: 6,893
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Post by schma on Nov 19, 2017 3:33:16 GMT -5
I love Bret, I probably prefer him of the two. But it's Hunter. He was WWF champion during their high point, part of one of the biggest groups of the era, mostly leading it during WWF's heyday. As much as we like to laugh about DX because LOL TANK, they were a big part of that period. Even if you want to say he was a fifth wheel main eventer, which is probably fair, that's still pretty recognizable for how much your casual fans remember people from the Attitude Era. Bret is a big star as well obviously, but unfortunately his peak was during pretty much the exact opposite of the WWF's popularity. Also, if we're trying to spin a narrative that business went down the drain for the WWE because Triple H was on top of Raw, you could spin the same for things going to shit when Bret became WWF Champion, which is ridiculous obviously, there were plenty of factors in play but it gets a pass because it's Triple H. Was his long ass title reign partly to blame? Probably, but things were down across the board. Plus, the idea that Triple H only has success because of being married to Stephanie doesn't really fly with me either. He was WWF Champion before that. Zero people that won that title in those years went on to do nothing afterwards, to think he wouldn't have had success afterwards without the marriage is just wrong. Yes it helped, no way would he have got everything he did if he didn't marry Stephanie, but every main event wrestler from that time period is treated like a God in WWE continuity, there's no damn reason to believe Triple H wouldn't have gotten that same treatment. It's essentially down to Triple H being around and high up the card when WWF was at it's hottest. Bret was at the top when there were far less eyes on the product, hell he joined WCW when they were starting their down turn. Wrestling and match quality don't always equal bigger star, and I think this is one of those cases. I think most people recognize that HHH would have been a star regardless of his relationship with Stephanie. The fact is he was a star before her. The bone of contention is more that he probably wouldn't have been anywhere near the star he is today. Most figure he wouldn't have most of the accolades that he does or the narrative of him being one of the greatest ever while recognizing that he likely still would have had an HoF worthy career. Even without the Stephanie relationship, the guy knew how to work wrestling politics. There was a reason the first thing he did in WWF was join the Klik. Also, Bret was with WCW for a couple years before their troubles started.
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Post by Mighty Attack Tribble on Nov 19, 2017 6:39:47 GMT -5
Take Hunter out of the McMahon equation. Bret Hart Agreed. If not for hooking up with Stephanie, HHH would be somewhere around Ziggler level. Ignoring that HHH was already solidified as the company's top heel, had become a fixture in Vince's inner circle, and won the world championship two or three times before hooking up with Stephanie. Without Stephanie he wouldn't be where he is corporately, certainly, but I don't think much would've changed on-screen. At worst he'd probably be around Angle's level today.
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Magnus the Magnificent
King Koopa
didn't want one.
I could write a book about what you don't know!
Posts: 12,509
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Post by Magnus the Magnificent on Nov 19, 2017 8:20:32 GMT -5
Bigger star: HHH
More fondly remembered: Bret Hart
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Post by Citizen Snips on Nov 19, 2017 9:04:27 GMT -5
Reading this thread, I don't think most people get that when people say someone like Hulk Hogan is a household name, that doesn't mean the average person who's never watched wrestling can recite his biggest moments. That means they can identify Hulk Hogan as a pro wrestler, and that's it. It's like if you asked one of your grandparents about Jay-Z and they replied, "He's one of those rappers, right?"
So to claim there are legions of people around the world that can react "Bret Hart? Oh yeah, the Pink and Black Attack! Wish I had gotten a pair of those sweet mylar shades!" is kind of ludicrous.
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Post by The Thread Barbi on Nov 19, 2017 10:19:23 GMT -5
Reading this thread, I don't think most people get that when people say someone like Hulk Hogan is a household name, that doesn't mean the average person who's never watched wrestling can recite his biggest moments. That means they can identify Hulk Hogan as a pro wrestler, and that's it. It's like if you asked one of your grandparents about Jay-Z and they replied, "He's one of those rappers, right?" So to claim there are legions of people around the world that can react "Bret Hart? Oh yeah, the Pink and Black Attack! Wish I had gotten a pair of those sweet mylar shades!" is kind of ludicrous. Most people I know will say,"Bret Hart? Didn't he die in the ring?"
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