History Rewritten: Bret Hart's 1992-93 Title Run

 

 

For this edition of "History Rewritten", I would like to explore the world of wrestling. Like in other Sports, wrestling is filled with events that I would like to go back and change. In this case, I would like to rewrite the first title run of one of the greatest champions of all-time: Bret "The Hitman" Hart.

 

What made it Great:

By 1992, Bret Hart was taking wrestling by storm as he emerged to Main Event Status while transitioning from his time as IC Champion. He defeated Shawn Michaels in a number of matches that year, including the first official ladder match in WWE history (7/21/92, the day after my Birthday). The Summer of 1992 might has well been called the "Summer of Bret" because of his success. The culmination of his reign took place at Summerslam in Wembley with Brother-In-Law Davey Boy Smith. Bret was quickly cracking through the glass ceiling. At this point, Vince McMahon was under heavy fire from the Federal Government for the Steroid Scandal that tainted the image of the number 1 wrestling promotion in the world.

 

As everyone knows, the face of the wrestling phenomenon, Hulk Hogan was front and center as he was found testing positive for steroids. The Golden Image of the WWF was dealt a black eye because of his involvement. Other massively built stars like The Ultimate Warrior also had blood on their hands from the controversy. The climate was changing naturally, even without steroid issues. The Aura of Hulkamania was fading fast, as fans would start to cheer anytime Hogan lost (Survivor Series vs. Undertaker) or was eliminated (Royal Rumble 1992). The Hulkster's golden charm had truly become stale. Roddy Piper was fading from the scene as he would leave following WrestleMania VIII. Piper was not one of the top commodities on Vince's agenda like he was with Hogan during 1984-85 in the midst of the expansion. Sgt. Slaughter would retire that year following a heated run as a villainous WWF Champion the year prior. Mr. Perfect was dealing with injuries. The stars that Vince McMahon relied on previously were moving on in different ways. It was time for McMahon to inject new blood into the Main Event Picture. Bret was quickly rising through the glass ceiling to obtain the "Brass Ring". On October 12, Bret defeated Ric Flair at a House Show in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. By this point, things had fallen into place for the Hitman. It was truly the breakout year that would set the course for the rest of his career.

 

 

Best Opponents:

After defeating Flair in a rematch, Bret would defeat the likes of Papa Shango, Rick Martel and The Berzerker (Not exactly a Hall of Fame list of dance partners). By Survivor Series, Bret's quality of opponents would improve as he put on a fairly underrated but special match with Shawn Michaels.

 

 Even though they were not advertised on the front of the marquee, Bret and Shawn did a fine job closing the show as we were moving on to a time without the Red & Yellow (or so we thought). The show was "fairly decent" overall, but not as much of a spectacle as the ones prior. It was a sign of the changing times. Bret would defeat Flair in a series of House Shows before heading into the 1993 Royal Rumble, where he would headline the show with a fast rising heel, Razor Ramon.

 

 

 

 

The Hitman would defeat The Bad Guy in a fairly excellent match, with his patented Sharpshooter. That night, Bret's biggest challenge to date would win the Royal Rumble as their paths would cross. That challenger would be none other than Yokozuna.

 



 



What hurt his Title Run:

 

Bret's Size: The biggest criticism of Bret Hart among the higher ups was his size. The corporate big wigs were not sure if the Hitman would be very special, because he did not have the action figure/cartoon physique of Hulk Hogan or the Ultimate Warrior. Today, people complain about Daniel Bryan, CM Punk or Dolph Ziggler having raw deals because of their size. Bret was one of, if not the first to deal with that stigma. The landscape has come a long way because of Bret, but at that time wrestling was truly the land of giants. Anything that did not look like Hulk Hogan had a huge mountain to climb. If you were not 6'7", 300 lbs with receding blond hair and a handlebar mustache, you had to prove yourself even more. Whether they were built like sculpted figures or giant piles of mass like King Kong Bundy or Earthquake, size was the top priority. The Hitman had to prove them wrong by telling his story in the ring. Bret would hold his own and proudly building the grassroots following that naturally came from his homecountry of Canada. The Hitman would build a larger International Fanbase during his rise as the MVP of the company. Unfortunately, his size would come back to bite him once WrestleMania Season came along. He would run into two massive obstacles.

 

Roadblock 1:

 

Even though Bret carried the Title as the Champion for the people, those in charge still wanted to hold on to the outdated mindset of size matters over everything else. As a result, Yokozuna enters the title picture. Yoko was very talented for a man of his size, but he was the product of the idea that you needed to be large in order to be a great champion. Bret was proving that theory wrong as he was the definition of a true workhorse. At WrestleMania IX, Bret's world would come crashing down against this mammoth Samoan that was from "Japan". Bret fought back valiantly as an underdog champion. He even had Yoko in the Sharpshooter. Hart managed to wrap a pair of 500 pound legs around for his Finishing Submission hold. This is not Shawn Michaels, Razor or even Bam Bam himself. This was a man that weighed half of 1,000 pounds!!! Think about that. The Hitman launched an arsenal of attacks at his opponent. While Bret looked like he was going to vanquish his enormous foe, things went downhill from there.

With a handful of powder to the face and a Banzai Drop, Bret Hart's first momentous reign came to an end. His 5 & a half to 6 month reign as a promising champion crashed. The result did launch a great rivalry that would culminate the following year at WrestleMania X. Bret did not look like a scrub while losing the title. If anything, this was the least of his problems. Things really hit the fan in the aftermath of the match. Just when the fans thought that business moved on, they were sadly mistaken.

Roadblock 2:

"When it comes crashing down and it hurts inside!". The moment that the fans heard that music, everyone knew that this would turn out to be the worst. Hulk Hogan sticks his giant mustache in someone else's business to steal their thunder. Even though he pinned Yokozuna, Hogan ultimately stole Bret Hart's thunder. Technically, Bret lost the title to Hogan with Yokozuna as the channel that the belt would have to pass through in between. Hulk decided to resurface in WWF after things cooled off for a while. Hogan comes to check on Bret to see if things are fine. The bosses still had an affection for the glory cartoon days, when Hogan set the world on fire by Bodyslamming Andre the Giant. They still saw dollar signs in the Hulkster as if they were still in 1985. Fuji challenged Hogan to an impromptu match. Bret signals for him to go after Yokozuna. Deep inside, Bret was saying "Go ahead Hogan, steal my spotlight that I worked so hard to gain". The Hulkster gets in the ring, when Yoko holds him for Fuji to throw the salt in his face as he did with Bret. Hogan ducks, as Yokozuna is blinded. In typical Hulkster fashion, he sends Yoko to the ropes for the Big Boot followed by a Legdrop for the 1,2,3!

People talk about Cena hogging the title. Right now, at least he is in the Midcard picture. Hogan NEVER stepped foot in that scene. However, the biggest similarity is that the belt found its way back to them. For Hogan, it was even worse because there was no place for him in the long term landscape of the promotion. In the eyes of many, Hulk Hogan had worn out his welcome by 1993. With a simple Legdrop with the 3 Count, Hulk Hogan was officially a five time WWF Champion. The match ended faster than Sheamus vs. Bryan at WrestleMania XXVIII. Bret Hart really looked like a clown, because the prize that he scratched and clawed to win was cheapened with a legdrop from a guy that was only going to stick around to put himself over. It was a very salty way to end his run. Hogan wanted to be a glory hog, and refused to work with Bret because he was "too small". News flash, Randy Savage and Bret were identical in size. Macho had more muscle tone than Bret, but were not much different physically. Then again, Hogan took the title from Savage and never gave it back. When you say "too small" that means, "this guy is a threat to my place in the company and I have to stop him". The Hulkster played his Master Political Chess Game by refusing to pass the torch to Bret like he did with Ultimate Warrior at WM VI. The biggest difference is, Bret showed more promise as the Company Champion than Warrior. According to Bret, the original plan was for him and Hogan to have a match at Summerslam. Hulkster waved his finger in the face of creative and said "No, brother" as if he was staring Andre in the face. Hogan would fade from sight after losing the belt to Yokozuna at King of the Ring, as a cameraman blinded him with a flame from his camera. Bret and Hogan would meet again in WCW, but their "dream match" was a disaster.

Rewrite:

Plain and simple. Get Hogan away from the title.

If Warrior and Jake did not have such bad blood, they would be ideal opponents to make Bret look stronger.

Have Bret gain his revenge on Yoko by defeating him at KOTR with the Sharpshooter. From there, you move him into the feud with his jealous younger brother Owen. That feud could be the featured story as it would headline WrestleMania X, with Bret emerging as the champion. Following the feud with his brother, you can transition into the war with Shawn Michaels as they could headline WrestleMania 11 with Bret remaining champion. Bret would tear the house down with Owen and Shawn. WrestleMania 12 would still be the legendary Ironman match with HBK as the new champion. In between those WrestleManias, you could see a series of exciting Summerslam matches involving steel cages and ladders. There could even be a Triple Threat. Bret, Shawn and Owen. Talk about money. Diesel and Yoko could keep each other busy. Undertaker would be a nice piece to keep in the title picture. Then, you insert the emerging Stone Cold Steve Austin as another player in the mix with Bret.

With this scenario, Owen is a made man even without having to go over. He is instantly elevated. Shawn Michaels was naturally groomed to be Bret's equal and eventual successor. Austin and Bret would still have the defining submission match.


Conclusion:
With that said, the 1993 blemish can be erased so that this piece of Bret's history can be written the way it deserves to be written. With Hogan out of the way, Bret would not have to deal with a washed up Jerry Lawler who was not even a contender for a championship. Lawler is disqualified altogether as a result. Bret can enjoy a healthier tenure as champion. If that one blemish is taken away from otherwise an excellent reign as WWF Champion, just maybe, we are in a position where Bret would not expose himself to possibly be screwed in a more detrimental way in Montreal. His tenure can be that much better which would add to an already outstanding legacy.