Defining Champions: Bret Hart

Today, I would like to start a series about the journeys of great champions in wrestling history. The man whose journey that I would like to spotlight will be none other than a childhood favorite of mine and others who grew up during his WWE tenure, Bret "The Hitman" Hart. Bret's path to the top of the wrestling mountain became a standard blueprint for others to follow in the future. At a time where wrestling was moving away from the glory days of their 80s boom period of Hulkamania, Bret was the ideal star to lead wrestling into a new age. Bret's polished ring generalship and psychology have earned him the title of the greatest in-ring technician ever by a large consensus of not only fans, but also writers and fellow wrestlers. The Hitman is one of the most important legends that has built the modern format of pro wrestling. He was very believable and was a nonstop workhorse that could tell a very elaborate story in the squared circle. What he lacked in style, Bret made up for in substance. Bret was the most successful graduate of the Hart Dungeon.

Ladies and Gentlemen, here is Bret's journey:

Beginnings:

Born to Stu and Helen Hart on July 2, 1957, Bret was trained in his Dad's Dungeon as a youngster. Bret started out in his Father Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling Promotion way, way back in 1976. Initially, Bret worked as a referee. On one fateful day, one of the wrestlers scheduled could not make it in time to perform. Out of desperation, Stu asked his son to step in. The Hitman's road to stardom began in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Of course, Bret was a regular performer in Stampede since his Dad owned the place, as he received prominent training from Japanese greats Mr. Hito and Mr. Sakurada. It was only a matter of time before Bret would come into his own and electrify crowds with his technical prowess in highly intense matches with the likes of Dynamite Kid and others.

Most importantly, Bret did not use his Father's name as a coattail to ride for success. He wanted to make his own name, without having to leech off of his family bloodline. He remained one of Stampede Wrestling's top draws until Vince McMahon, Jr. purchased the promotion in 1984 as he was creating his dream empire to take over the wrestling world.

Hart Foundation Era (1985-1991):

Originally, Bret was going to debut as a singles wrestler in the WWF using a cowboy gimmick "Cowboy Bret Hart". However, Bret refused as he once famously said "if you called yourself a cowboy, you'd better be one." Instead, WWF let Bret join his brother-in-law Jim Neidhart with manager Jimmy Hart (no relation) to form the legendary stable "The Hart Foundation". By June 1985, Bret had been billed as "The Hitman" after he read a news headline about Tommy "The Hitman" Hearns retiring from Boxing. That was the inspiration for his nickname (read his autobiography). The Hart Foundation were a classic heel tag team, as Bret and Anvil both wore sunglasses. Bret admits that he wanted to wear sunglasses, because he was intimidated by the camera during promos. The shades were the perfect way to hide his fears. The dynamic had officially been established, as Bret would be the faster, workhorse of the group while Jim was the powerhouse. Initially, they did not wear pink. Instead, they wore blue, red or yellow to mix with the black. They would change to the trademark pink in December 1986.

Gorilla Monsoon would give Bret the nickname "The Excellence of Execution". Bret would call himself "The Best There Is, The Best There Was, The Best There Ever Will Be" as he borrowed the line from the movie The Natural. The Hart Foundation would dominate the tag division as one of the first great tag teams in WWF History. Their signature rivalry was with The British Bulldogs, who were also Stampede graduates. In 1987, the Hart Foundation won the tag team titles from the Bulldogs. They would also feud with the Killer Bees and the Rougeau Brothers.

In between his incredible run of dominance as a tag team star, Bret would briefly explore what it felt like as a singles wrestler. On March 8, 1986, Bret had his very first singles program in a match with Ricky Steamboat at Boston Garden. Hart says that this was one of his favorite matches, and it is truly an underrated gem. The match itself was a sign of great things to come from The Hitman. This Boston Garden classic is featured on Bret's 2005 DVD. Stone Cold Steve Austin mentioned it on his Podcast during his Interview with Hart. By late 1987, Vince McMahon approached Hart about turning face. Vince Jr told Bret that he had received more fan mail than Hulk Hogan himself. That says everything. Clearly, there was something about Bret to cheer for. Vince always gets what he wants, so he decided to have his cake and eat it too. Seeing how over (popular) the Hart Foundation were, Vince turned them face by dumping Jimmy Hart as their manager. Bret would also have a series of matches with an emerging Mr. Perfect. The Hart Foundation would eventually break up after losing the tag titles to the Nasty Boys in WrestleMania VII, but Bret had no problem with it at all. By the dawn of the '90s, the rocket was officially strapped on Bret's back for the near future.


Intercontinental Title Era (1991-1992):

By the turn of the Decade, Bret was "Mr. Wrestling" as he would defeat Mr. Perfect at Summerslam for the WWF Intercontinental Championship. Hogan/Warrior vs. Slaughter & co, may have been on the front of the marquee, but Bret vs. Perfect was the match that fans walked away remembering the most right next to Savage & Liz's wedding. Bret would hold the title until January 1992 when he lost it to The Mountie, smh. Roddy Piper would save the title by winning it from the Mountie at the Royal Rumble before Bret would regain it in a very special match at WrestleMania VIII at the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis, Indiana. During this period of time, Vince McMahon was under fire from the Federal Government because of the notorious steroid scandal surrounding the World Wrestling Federation. The names at the top of the list were golden boys Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior. The promotion's image took a serious hit, as McMahon had no one else to turn to but Bret. Vince would be forced to groom Hart as the new face of the WWF. During his time as Champion, Bret would defend the IC Title like the World Title. Hart's second reign as champion would be his best. He would start his feud with longtime archrival, Shawn Michaels. Here are some of their most notable matches:

April 12 1992
WWF Intercontinental Title: Bret Hart (c) defeats Shawn Michaels
WWF European Rampage Again Tour @ Brighton Centre in Sussex, England, UK

TAG TEAM DREAM MATCH
July 12 1992
Dark: Bret Hart & Randy Savage defeat Ric Flair & Shawn Michaels (17:16)
WWF Superstars #308 @ Worcester Centrum in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA



FIRST EVER WWF LADDER MATCH.....
July 21 1992
WWF Intercontinental Title Ladder: Bret Hart (c) defeats Shawn Michaels (13:46)
WWF House Show @ Civic Center in Portland, Maine, USA
 In total, The Hitman defeated Shawn Michaels a total of 44 times during this particular run of matches.

Showdown at Wembley:

Bret would close out an historically noteworthy tenure as IC Champion with the best match of his run at Summerslam with Brother-In-Law, Davey Boy Smith (British Bulldog) at Wembley Stadium in London, England, UK. The loss to The Bulldog freed Hart to move on to greater horizons, specifically the WWF Championship.


Becoming Champion:

On October 12, 1992, Bret Hart defeated Ric Flair for his first WWF Championship. What made the match even more special was the fact that it took place at a House Show in the same place where Bret had his first match, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in Canada. Bret's journey had officially come full circle. During the match, Hart dislocated one of his fingers, but decided to pop it back into place to continue the match. That is determination and dedication to your craft. The overall match was very well executed "pun intended" as Bret made the most of the opportunity that was presented to him.

"If Hulk Hogan was the Elvis of Wrestling, I was the Robert DeNiro."

Bret was not a champion that focused on the spectacle and parade of wrestling, but was about providing substance. He knew that since he lacked the size of Hogan and Warrior, he had to make up for that with his ring prowess. The climate of wrestling was rapidly changing, and Bret was the choice to spearhead that change. Hart went from being someone that Vince McMahon would have passed over, to becoming the focal point to launch a New Generation of stars.

Bret would make the best meal out of what was given to him by Vince McMahon. By this point, the top names of the previous era were phasing out, and Bret made the most out of it. He would defeat the likes of Papa Shango, Berzerker and Warlord to name a few before he found himself in the Main Event of Survivor Series in a Title vs Title match with an all too familiar face: Shawn Michaels. At Survivor Series, Bret defeated HBK with the Sharpshooter in another overlooked classic. In a matter of one year, Survivor Series went from Hogan vs. Undertaker in the Main Event to Bret vs. Shawn. It was truly a sign of the changing times. Bret would defeat more noteworthy foes near the end of this first run such as Razor Ramon and Bam Bam Bigelow.

Title Momentum Derailed:

Bret Hart defeated Razor Ramon to retain his WWF Title at the 1993 Royal Rumble. His largest challenger was around the corner in the form of the 500+ pound walking bulldozer of mass destruction, Yokozuna. Yoko won the Royal Rumble that night as the stage was set for WrestleMania IX. Bret was on the path of proving himself to Vince & others that he could be a legitimate champion that could carry the company. However, the corporate suits did not see things that way. Unfortunately, Hart's first momentous reign as Champion would come to an end from a dark cloud of controversy. At WM IX, Bret had Yoko in the Sharpshooter with the win literally in his grip. Suddenly, Mr. Fuji blinded Hart when he threw powder in the champion's face. With a blinded champion, Yoko took advantage by crushing him with the Banzai Drop. Moments later, Hulk Hogan would stick his nose and giant mustache into the main event as he took the squashed Yoko with the outdated Big Boot and Leg Drop. Bret's reign ended with salt in the eyes, followed by a squash Leg Drop from Hogan to Yoko. In the end, the belt found its way back to Hogan. This was definitely one of the black eyes in wrestling history, especially Bret Hart's career (pre-Montreal). Bret would cement himself as the Alpha Dog of the company by winning the 1993 King of the Ring Tournament to rebuild his momentum while being preoccupied with a feud with Jerry Lawler.

Return to the Mountain (1994):

Bret Hart would start off 1994 in a strong way by winning the Royal Rumble, even though he was a co-winner with Lex Luger. Bret seriously should have been the sole winner of the Rumble, but Vince was obsessed with making Lex Hulk Hogan 2.0 with the Real American garbage that was a sensation back in 1984. By 1994, times were changing as Bret was the engineer of that change. The Hitman was also occupied with a feud involving himself and his younger brother Owen. Bret and Owen would start off WrestleMania X by tearing the house down. Bret would lose the opening match, but would have the last laugh by winning the WWF Championship back from Yokozuna in the Main Event. This would cement Bret as the leader of the New Generation, as this was the first official WrestleMania without Hogan's involvement. Hart would have the strongest title run of his career, as he would feud with Owen through much of the year. Sadly, his run would come to an end at the hands of an ancient relic named Bob Backlund at Survivor Series. With all of that said, Bret would once again rank #1 out the PWI Top 500 Singles Wrestlers of 1994, just as he did in 1993.

Hitman versus Heartbreak (1996):

By 1996, Bret Hart had become a three time WWF Champion after defeating Diesel at Survivor Series 1995. He also defeated Undertaker by DQ at the 1996 Royal Rumble. At this point, Bret had firmly established his place as a future Hall of Famer. Upon the horizon of WrestleMania XII, The Hitman would face his ultimate counterpart, Royal Rumble Winner Shawn Michaels. This reign was when Hart was booked as a lame duck champion to keep the belt warm for the latest incoming King, HBK. The Showstopper would defeat the Excellence of Execution with 2 Superkicks in Sudden Death Overtime.

Hart Foundation Reborn (1997):

Bret Hart would find resurgance during his feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin and with America, as he turned heel. During Hart's heel turn, he reformed the Hart Foundation as a stable. Bret drew major heat as a villain in America, while drawing admiration as a hero in Canada. Bret's 1997 heel run reached its peak when he defeated The Undertaker at Summerslam to become a 5-time WWF Champion. Hart would join Hogan as the first two men to win 5 WWF Titles. Bret's reign and tenure in WWF would come to a bitter end at Survivor Series (we all know how that story turned out).

Through his many ups and downs, Bret Hart has enjoyed a storied journey as a champion. Bret's rise was momentous, as well as his reign at the top. Hart was a champion that defined his era, at a time where wrestling needed someone to be the symbol in a post Hogan/Action Figure Era of Wrestling. In the Tag Team Division, Bret and his tag partner Jim Neidhart were a dominant, game changing team. In the Midcard, Bret displayed signs of things to come as he carried himself like a future main event player. In the Main Event, Bret proudly carried the WWF Flag everywhere he went as the ultimate workhorse champion. He carried that title with pride and honor, and defined what that belt meant to me growing up. The Hitman was the bridge between the Rock & Wrestling Era and the upcoming Attitude Era that would follow in the time to come. For those reasons, he was a defining champion in every way during his career.