#1 - BRET HART
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Total Points: 605 Points
Total Votes: 29
Highest Placement: 1 (
10 VOTES!)[/center]
Bio: I'm the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be." —Bret Hart
Known as the “Excellence of Execution,” Bret Hart was one of the finest technical wrestlers ever. This submission specialist was known for systematically breaking down his opponents until he was ready to lock in the Sharpshooter, from which few escaped. Hart was also an innovator in the ring, executing strategies and applying holds (such as the ring-post figure-four leglock) that defied the expectations of opponents and fans alike. Hart also had an uncanny instinct for creating pinning predicaments out of opponents' holds when things looked their most bleak.
The “Hit Man” was trained with his brothers and other Calgary hopefuls in the infamous Stu Hart Dungeon. It was there that his father stressed technique over flair, and it was there that Bret mastered an arsenal of submission maneuvers the hardest way possible — by having them applied to him.
Bret Hart emerged from Calgary’s Stampede Wrestling into WWE as a tag-team specialist alongside Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart. Neidhart’s girth and force perfectly married with Bret’s skill and cerebral ring approach. Together they were the Hart Foundation, an up-and-coming duo of the 80s tag-team division.
The Hart Foundation got their chance at the World Tag Team Championship against the popular and firmly entrenched British Bulldogs on January 26, 1987. On that date, Bret and his partner shocked the sports-entertainment world by winning the championship with a tandem clothesline that would later be well known as the “Hart Attack” finisher. The whirlwind event sent the message early that despite his composed manner, Hart had a mean streak and an unparalleled will to win.
The Hart Foundation would go on to have many memorable bouts against the likes of the Nasty Boys, Demolition and Strike Force. After four years of competition and two lengthy reigns as World Tag Team Champion, Hart continued his ascendancy in WWE. As a young singles star, Hart defeated Mr. Perfect for the Intercontinental Championship in August 1991 in a classic battle of two talented mat wrestlers. Hart seemed well on his way to a dominant championship reign, but his cocky self-confidence and unbending ethics ultimately cost him the Intercontinental Championship against the Mountie in early 1992.
Against the advice of those attending to him backstage, Hart insisted on defending the Intercontinental Championship at a live event in Springfield, Mass., despite a raging fever that could have easily hospitalized Hart. He didn’t want to disappoint the fans in attendance, and didn’t want to back down. Still, he was in no condition to wrestle, and he lost that night. But in a way, that event set in motion one of Hart’s most memorable matches — the night he won back the Intercontinental Championship by defeating old friend Rowdy Roddy Piper.
The night Hart lost the Intercontinental Championship for the second-and-final time must also be considered a career highlight in its own right. In an emotionally charged family affair, Hart batted his brother-in-law Davey Boy Smith before more than 80,000 fans in London’s Wembley Stadium. After the 25-minute match that will be long-remembered, Hart and Smith shook hands and then celebrated in the center of the ring along with Diana, Bret’s sister and Davey’s wife.
In stark contrast to the majesty and fanfare of the Wembley Stadium match, Hart achieved arguably his greatest WWE milestone in relative obscurity in October 1992. In an non-televised live event in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, Hart forced the legendary world champion Ric Flair to submit to the Sharpshooter. It began the first of five WWE Championship reigns for the man who boldly and frequently declared, "I'm the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be."
After turning back such foes as former champion Flair, Razor Ramon, and Shawn Michaels, Hart faced his biggest challenge at WrestleMania IX in the 500-pound plus Yokozuna. While Hart had Yokozuna trapped in the Sharpshooter, Mr. Fuji tossed salt in Hart’s eyes, allowing Yokozuna to finish Bret and take the WWE Championship. Bret would rebound however, winning a one-night tournament to become the first WWE King of the Ring in June 1993, beginning a rivalry with Jerry Lawler over who was the true king of wrestling.
In 1994, Hart co-won the Royal Rumble, then won two matches in one night at WrestleMania X to capture the WWE Championship for the second time. The final WrestleMania match also afforded Hart revenge against the man who cheated to take the championship from him in the first place, Yokozuna.
That reign would last until Bret Hart met Bob Backlund in a Submission Match at the 1994 Survivor Series. Hart never submitted, but he still lost the championship because of the coercive tactics of his envious brother, Owen. When Backlund cinched in the Crossface Chicken Wing, Owen begged his mother Helen, who was sitting at ringside, to literally throw in the towel on Bret’s behalf. Their father, the legendary Stu Hart, tried to stop Helen, but she grabbed the white towel and threw it into the ring, officially ending the match and giving Backlund the championship. It was Backlund’s first WWE Championship in almost 11 years, but it would last only three days before the imposing Diesel (Kevin Nash) would quickly dismiss him with a Jackknife powerbomb.
Hart’s third world championship would come against Shawn Michaels’ 7-foot former bodyguard. After losing the WWE Championship to Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XII in 60-Minute WWE Iron Man Match, Bret disappeared for a few months. In his absence, Stone Cold Steve Austin began challenging Bret every chance he got, goading him to return to the ring. Finally in late fall, Bret returned to WWE, announcing he would face Stone Cold at Survivor Series 1996. Bret would win that match, but the Stone Cold menace wouldn’t go away.
They finally decided to settle their differences in a Submission Match at WrestleMania 13 in Chicago. After a grueling 30-minute encounter, Bret locked a bloody Austin in the Sharpshooter, providing one of the most famous visual moments in WWE history. Austin never gave up, but special referee Ken Shamrock awarded the match to Bret after Austin passed out from the pain and excessive blood loss. Bret continued his assault after the bell, turning the fans against him.
The rivalry escalated from there, with Hart recruiting former tag-team partner Neidhart, brother Owen Hart, brother-in-law British Bulldog and former Austin ally Brian Pillman to reform the Hart Foundation to battle Austin. After months of dealing with Austin, Hart shifted his focus back to the world championship he had held four times previous. During the rivalry, Stone Cold cost Bret his fourth WWE Championship as Austin helped Sycho Sid defeat Bret for the championship that the “Hit Man” had won only one night earlier.
Hart’s fifth reign again came against taller and larger opposition — beating the 6-foot-10, 328 pound Phenom known as the Undertaker in August 1997. At SummerSlam, the Deadman defended his WWE Championship against Bret Hart with Shawn Michaels as the guest referee. A pre-match stipulation forced Michaels to call it down the middle. But amid the action, Hart started a heated confrontation with Michaels over the speed of the count — even spitting on HBK.
Michaels picked up a chair and swung at Hart, but he inadvertently connected with Undertaker. Michaels had no choice but to count the pin that gave the “Hit Man” victory. It would also set up the most controversial event in WWE history when Bret met “The Showstopper” at Survivor Series.
It is now known as the “Montreal Incident.” With Mr. McMahon and associates Gerald Brisco and Pat Patterson at ringside, Bret Hart launched a vicious assault against rival Shawn Michaels. Late in the back-and-forth contest, Michaels uncharacteristically chose to use Hart’s own move — locking in the Sharpshooter on Bret.
Immediately after the submission move was applied, referee Earl Hebner called for the bell and awarded Shawn Michaels the WWE Championship. Confusion engulfed the building and Hart went into a rage; it appeared as though he never actually submitted. Nonetheless, the decision stood. Michaels began his third reign as WWE Champion, and the “attitude” era of WWE was officially ushered in.
Hart left in disgust for WCW shortly thereafter, where he’d accumulate even more championship accolades. During his time in WCW from 1997 through 2001, Hart would become a WCW Tag Team Champion, four-time United States Champion and two-time WCW Champion, defeating Goldberg for the final reign.
Despite the premature end of his wrestling career, Hart remains one of the biggest names in the world of sports-entertainment. A mere sighting of Hart at WWE Headquarters in August 2005, (regarding the production of an upcoming DVD), sent WWE fans across the Internet into a frenzy.
Video Link: Bret Hart: Wrestling With Shadows (Full Program)
