Older Fans: Thoughts Hearing Bret Hart Became WWF Champion?

[CMWaters]

The year is 1992, October to be precise. You turn in to WWF TV at the time, wondering who will appear on the show this week, how they will build to this year's Survivor Series, just the normal stuff that you would be expecting for this show at this time of year.

And then, the announcement is made. There is a new World Wrestling Federation Champion, and it's Bret "Hit Man" Hart, who has beaten Ric Flair in footage that will be shown later.

For those watching at the time (my start watching would be a year and a half later), what was your thoughts about that happening at the time? By that point Bret had been Intercontinental Champion twice, so him being a singles competitor on a regular basis wasn't that big a factor. He also did main event a Pay-Per-View by that point, even if it was obvious that the reason for that was for his opponent for that, and he had been seen hanging with one of the previous WWF Champions in Randy Savage in overseas tours (look up 1992 Savage & Hart vs. Flair & Michaels).

But there is the factor that during this time frame, while relatively smaller sized champions were starting to get more focus again via Flair and Savage, post Hogan's win it was still a rare occurrence, and most would have to have a larger than life personality to to the general public perception hang with those guys (which let's be fair, 1992 Bret Hart was NOT a "larger than life" personality, letting his ring work do the talking). Which is why the Intercontinental Championship, seen most times as the workhorse title, was a good fit.

So for those watching at the time, what was your reaction hearing that Bret had reached the top of the mountain in WWF?

[repomark]

I was delighted as Bret was one of my favourites but also very confused. My first wrestlemania was 8 so I was still learning how WWF worked. I wondered if it was a common thing for the title to change hands in a match that was not on tv/a big show.

I found out in the WWF magazine and still have that issue somewhere.

Looking back on it, definitely would have made more sense to build the match up and do it at Survivor Series or the Royal Rumble, or even convince Flair to stay a few more months and do it at mania. Never fully grasped what the rush was to get the belt off Flair at that point.

[tafkaga]

I barely remember it. I think I tuned out for a while between WM8 and Summerslam and can't remember if I heard about the title change in WWF Magazine or on Prime Time. I was definitely watching for the buildup to Survivor Series and still very clearly remember Mr. Perfect's babyface turn on Prime Time, but nothing about the WWF title match which either means they didn't talk about it that much or maybe I just didn't care.

[CMWaters]

Mar 12, 2024 16:01:44 GMT -5 repomark said:

Looking back on it, definitely would have made more sense to build the match up and do it at Survivor Series or the Royal Rumble, or even convince Flair to stay a few more months and do it at mania. Never fully grasped what the rush was to get the belt off Flair at that point.

Mar 12, 2024 16:03:54 GMT -5 tafkaga said:

I barely remember it. ... but nothing about the WWF title match which either means they didn't talk about it that much or maybe I just didn't care.

This video may help to better get perspective on things.{/url]

[Aceorton]

I was 14 and definitely perplexed that they didn't do Bret's big title win as a TV match, let alone a PPV. It was SUPER underwhelming, with just a podium interview from Bret shortly thereafter and no angry response from Flair vowing to get his belt back, which is what you'd expect. Instead it was: "Oh, that's great. Bret deserves it. But WHAT IS THIS INSANITY?" And it especially came out of nowhere considering he'd just dropped the IC belt to Davey Boy six weeks earlier.

Looking back, it's easy to think Bret was being set up to fail, or that they were protecting *themselves* from embarrassment if things didn't work out by deliberately not making a huge deal out of him winning. I feel like it took Vince until at least early 1994 before he fully understood how much people loved Bret.

[ERON]

I was a HUGE Bret fan at the time, so I yelled out "WHAT?!" at the top of my lungs, jumped out of my seat, and started celebrating like my team just won the Super Bowl.

[The Thread Barbi]

I was an 8 year old mark. Hearing that the cheater Ric Flair was no longer the champion was a happy day!

I found out on World of Sport in a 30 second segment. Another reason to think WWF was real sports with entrance music.

[The Thread Barbi]

Mar 12, 2024 17:42:24 GMT -5 Aceorton said:

I was 14 and definitely perplexed that they didn't do Bret's big title win as a TV match, let alone a PPV. It was SUPER underwhelming, with just a podium interview from Bret shortly thereafter and no angry response from Flair vowing to get his belt back, which is what you'd expect. Instead it was: "Oh, that's great. Bret deserves it. But WHAT IS THIS INSANITY?" And it especially came out of nowhere considering he'd just dropped the IC belt to Davey Boy six weeks earlier.

Looking back, it's easy to think Bret was being set up to fail, or that they were protecting *themselves* from embarrassment if things didn't work out by deliberately not making a huge deal out of him winning. I feel like it took Vince until at least early 1994 before he fully understood how much people loved Bret.

This didn't bother me then. Wrestling was still "real" to me and I thought it was just the nature of competitive sports - champ has to defend the title, TV or no TV.

[Cranjis McBasketball]

I heard about it on the radio as breaking news, or at least whenever the radio news found out. So I’m guessing word leaked out of the taping from Saskatoon to here.

WWF news makes the radio news approximately never. Only ever heard of Andre and Kerry Von Erich dying and Bret’s title win via the radio.

Loved it. If I had my way, Bret would still be defending that title from his 1992 win.

[dangerousdanpotato]

Nothing has ever rocked my understanding of the basic order of things than when Bret won the WWF Championship.

I didn't have Sky, so all of my WWF viewing was primarily from SilverVision videotapes, or occasional Superstars episodes when at a friend's house. This same friend came to school one day and told me that Bret Hart - my favourite wrestler - was the WWF Champion. I had so many questions, but he seemed incapable of answering them. Just one month prior, I had stood in Wembley and watched him lose the IC belt. I knew the next big event coming was Survivor Series and it didn't occur to me that such seismic events could occur between PPVs. It also didn't occur that he would ever be in the running for WWF Champion. We were still only months removed form the Hogan era, and there was a clear hierachy, still. Bret was at the IC level, that was just the way it was. Savage, Flair, Undertaker and Warrior were the only championship level guys. Bret had never even had a championship opportunity, he just wasn't established at that level at all.

So yes, it was totally shocking but I was over the moon. I was also amazed to learn he had already defended the belt against Virgil, which blew my mind as he was clearly another guy not at the requisite level. I remember being concerned and then relieved to discover that they shook hands after the bout.

This was such a strange time period - so many changes kept occurring from Summerslam to WrestleMania IX that happened on TV or house shows; lots of title changes, but also odd turns that just really disrupted the landscape of WWF. A LOT of my friends were rabid fans in the summer of '92, but completely dropped off by the spring of '93.

[Urn Anderson]

As a kid, I was a HUGE Hogan fan, but Bret won me over before he even won the championship.

I think Bret/Perfect at Summerslam ‘91 was the first time I really noticed that some of these guys can wrestle on a higher level than what I was used to.

Also, neon tights, badass leather jacket, long hair, futuristic shades - when you’re about 8 years old, it’s hard to get any cooler than the Hitman.

[Ultimo Gallos]

I had stopped watching WWF and only knew when I saw it on the cover of a Apter mag.

At the time thought it was an odd choice. Cause in ring Bret is decent but on the mic he wasn't good. And back then the WWF champ had to have mic skills.

[Aceorton]

Mar 12, 2024 19:51:40 GMT -5 dangerousdanpotato said:

I was also amazed to learn he had already defended the belt against Virgil, which blew my mind as he was clearly another guy not at the requisite level. I remember being concerned and then relieved to discover that they shook hands after the bout.

The definition of "childhood innocence" is your day/week potentially being ruined by the confirmation of bad blood between Bret Hart and Virgil.

[RedDevil]

I was 8-years-old and had been a fan for a little less than a year - I was watching every week on Sky, but it was actually my friend at school who told me Bret had won it. I thought he was lying as it was so unexpected to me, but he had been right before about the Ultimate Warrior returning before I watched WrestleMania VIII (the broadcast I watched on Sky Movies was obviously at least a few days after the event), so for an 8-year-old he certainly had sources

So when Bret was introduced as champion for that interview, I was very surprised despite the tip-off. Even at that age I knew he'd had two of the best matches I'd ever seen (vs. Piper and vs. Bulldog) but it was like I subconsciously realised there was a tier system in wrestling, and Bret wasn't in the top tier. There was no build-up, nothing with him mixing in that circle that I was aware of, and he was coming-off a huge loss just a few weeks before.

But I liked Bret and hated Flair so I was onboard from the moment on. And as his story developed, he became my guy, and he was the reason I remained a wrestling fan as all my friends left after Hulkamania ended, remaining my favourite to this day.

I think I would've gotten tired of the big guys or Warrior-type characters headlining year-in, year-out. Bret felt like a real guy based in reality, which sold me the fantasy of wrestling right up until around the Screwjob.

[Squirrel Master]

I had Bret earmarked for greatness since I first saw him with Jim Neidhart live at MSG feuding with the British Bulldogs. He also impressed me as he was the only guy left in the ring with Andre the Giant in the Wrestlemania battle royal. I knew great things were in store for him, and I was happy to see him with the WWF world title.

[tafkaga]

Mar 13, 2024 19:35:52 GMT -5 RedDevil said:

I was 8-years-old and had been a fan for a little less than a year - I was watching every week on Sky, but it was actually my friend at school who told me Bret had won it. I thought he was lying as it was so unexpected to me, but he had been right before about the Ultimate Warrior returning before I watched WrestleMania VIII (the broadcast I watched on Sky Movies was obviously at least a few days after the event), so for an 8-year-old he certainly had sources

So when Bret was introduced as champion for that interview, I was very surprised despite the tip-off. Even at that age I knew he'd had two of the best matches I'd ever seen (vs. Piper and vs. Bulldog) but it was like I subconsciously realised there was a tier system in wrestling, and Bret wasn't in the top tier. There was no build-up, nothing with him mixing in that circle that I was aware of, and he was coming-off a huge loss just a few weeks before.

But I liked Bret and hated Flair so I was onboard from the moment on. And as his story developed, he became my guy, and he was the reason I remained a wrestling fan as all my friends left after Hulkamania ended, remaining my favourite to this day.

I think I would've gotten tired of the big guys or Warrior-type characters headlining year-in, year-out. Bret felt like a real guy based in reality, which sold me the fantasy of wrestling right up until around the Screwjob.

Exactly.  In that respect, I would have probably been less incredulous about DiBiase, Mr. Perfect, or even Duggan winning the belt simply because they had at least been in the mix with Hogan/Savage/Warrior.  The only time Bret rubbed elbows with the main event was in a Royal Rumble or Survivor Series when odd matchups were common.  Suddenly having Bret with the belt forced me to reset my expectations, because in my rationale he simply couldn't hang with Hogan or Savage.

[tirtefaa]

It was weird at the time. I always assumed it was going to go back to Warrior or Savage. Bret getting the belt out of nowhere definitely didn't feel right, but it's interesting how quickly it worked, especially with Warrior and Hogan exiting within the next several months, along with Savage mostly doing commentary. So he was the defacto top guy by default within a year.

[ppl591]

I was 8 and very confused and annoyed because I expected hogan to return and win the belt from flair as a little hulkamaniac

[OGBoardPoster2005]

Mar 12, 2024 17:42:24 GMT -5 Aceorton said:

I was 14 and definitely perplexed that they didn't do Bret's big title win as a TV match, let alone a PPV. It was SUPER underwhelming, with just a podium interview from Bret shortly thereafter and no angry response from Flair vowing to get his belt back, which is what you'd expect. Instead it was: "Oh, that's great. Bret deserves it. But WHAT IS THIS INSANITY?" And it especially came out of nowhere considering he'd just dropped the IC belt to Davey Boy six weeks earlier.

Looking back, it's easy to think Bret was being set up to fail, or that they were protecting *themselves* from embarrassment if things didn't work out by deliberately not making a huge deal out of him winning. I feel like it took Vince until at least early 1994 before he fully understood how much people loved Bret.

They were behind Bret 100 percent.

The "Makin Some Noise" video first dropped right after his title win and it was treated as a large deal even though it wasn't televised (although it did air later). Not just anyone got a video like that back then and they went all in hyping him as a fighting champion thats defends every night and beat all challengers. He also was in the Main Event of Survivor Series 1992 with Shawn Michaels, which having 2 guys like them Main Event then was a huge risk, but they used the Perfect/Savage vs Flair/Razor match as the Feature Match to draw in an audience in hopes that Bret can hold his own like Hulk did.

WWF was in unchartered waters around this time. Warrior winning at Wrestlemania VI caused a shift in the companies momentum unintentionally. Business in 1990 was not as strong as 1989 and Warrior's out of the ring behavior coupled with a lack of challengers caused Vince to lose confidence in having him as the top guy.

Wrestlemania VII was suppose to be in the Coliseum and you can tell Vince truly believed they could sell it but the interest in the WWF by 1991 was nowhere near what it was in 1986/87 and even though they still had a great bit of talent, it wasn't drawing like it had then.

They went to Hogan as the Number 1 babyface again and its around that time he starts being treated as the "Babe Ruth" of the company, a living legend so to speak and with Flair jumping that Summer their next biggest plan seemed to be Hogan/Flair at Wrestlemania VIII.

Vince did a knee jerk though because he feared the numbers not drawing, but I think also overthought the whole thing. House Show arena crowds and Wrestlemania don't typically compare and I feel looking back they easily could have done it had they saved Flair winning the belt for later and perhaps angled Savage vs WWF Champion Jake Roberts instead as the Feature Match with Hogan beating Flair to close the Pay-Per-View and Flair beating Savage that Summer instead before dropping it to Bret.

But the Steroid Trial and heat on Hulk too took away their Number 1 babyface. Randy Savage and Ultimate Warrior were positioned as the the new #1 and #2 with Bret as the #3 but I think Vince felt Savage was too old to carry the company long term like Hulk did and he didn't trust Warrior to be a Number 1.

Vince knew Wrestlemania IX was coming and there was no guarantee that Hulk would return or could return to the level he was at. So he pulled the trigger on Bret who he knew could draw internationally and at least help keep a Worldwide presence even if domestic business was down.

But I also think Vince wasn't fully confident in Bret reaching the level of Hulk's popularity, even if they backed him. Summerslam 1992 was a big draw and he Main Evented with Bulldog but the audiences of England and small town, USA weren't the same and the WWF needed House Shows across the country to keep business going.

The pivot to Hogan was the mistake because they didn't have a guarantee of the two facing off down the line. Had Bret beat Hogan at a Pay-Per-View it would have worked out better but thats not what happened.

Vince easily though could have gone back to Bret but I think he realized he needed more Main Event babyfaces with Hogan gone. He could have kept Randy but I think wanted Lex for the same reason every other booker in the NWA did, he had that look, but we know how that went.

I more wonder what fans of that era thought of Bret/Shawn going from being tag team midcarders at Wrestlemania VII to Main Eventing Survivor Series 1992 for the WWF Title. That had to be jarring for fans considering the Main Event title matches on Pay-Per-View in between were Hogan/Taker, Savage/Flair and Savage/Warrior. Taker sticks out the same way but at least he was the same size as Hulk and Warrior whereas Bret and Shawn were smaller guys in comparison.

To sum up: The WWF was behind Bret but Vince got into a period of doubt with the whole product because of the fact that everything they tried after Wrestlemania VI went wrong. The WWF that Vince inherited in 1982 was like a sports team that had a long time coach retire and in the beginning it was easy to unroot and rebuild that team. From 1984-1990, they were at their prime years. Some would say dynasty years in sports terms.

But after VI, Warrior went wrong, Hogan/Slaughter busted, Hogan/Flair didn't get to happen, Steroid trial, audience change, the WWF became a stagnant franchise who eventually found that franchise player in Bret but whereas Hulk took them and won Super Bowls, Bret only got them to the conference championship and maybe 1 Super Bowl win. In business and in sports, its all about winning and if you are not winning, you're losing and in both you can only lose so long before it gets too bad to save.

[chronocross]

It was a surprise for sure as Bret wasn't feuding with Ric at all after the loss at Summerslam 92 and not much of a hint that he was going after him either.

They never showed the match only the interview on the podium afterwards but I was happy as a 12 year old at the time.