Recently Bret Hart announced he is battling cancer. Many fans and Wrestlers have sent their messages of support for the Hitman, So in today’s article we are celebrating the “Excellence of Execution” by ranking the thing he takes the most pride in, His matches.
I know Bret Hart has had amazing tag matches but in today’s article I’m going to stick to his one on one encounters, so without further ado, Bret Harts top 5 Matches
5. Bret Hart vs Shawn Michaels: Iron Man match WM12
This match gets alot of love and hate. Alot of the critics give this match alot of unwarranted hate, Some of the complaints are “No falls were made in the first hour of the match (which I thought made the story of the match)” and Some critics have said it was too long, too boring and the men involved allowed their egos to overshadow the match…. I personally think its one of the greatest matches I have ever seen and would have no problem putting it lower on the list but because of the mixed reaction to this match I will put it at number 5 and try to be unbiased.
I don’t care who you are, if you watched wrestling in the 90’s and you made a list of the best in ring performers your number One and Two picks are Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels in any order. No one was in Bret and Shawns league when it came to performing in the ring in the 1990s…. Two of the greatest of all times in their prime on the grandest stage for 60 minutes!. That’s the makings of a instant classic and this match was indeed that.
4. Bret Hart vs Mr Perfect: KOTR Semi Finals
I could of put Bret and Perfects 1991 SummerSlam Classic for the IC title but I went for what I thought was the better match between the two, Their classic King of the Ring Semi Finals match…. Unlike their SummerSlam match, Henning wasn’t in crippling pain and Henning was able to perform at his very best against his greatest opponent (Bret Hart).
Action packed match, with everything you would expect from these two. If you liked their SummerSlam match you will love this hidden gem that doesn’t get nearly the credit it deserves.
3. Bret Hart vs Davey Boy Smith: SummerSlam 1992
This Match has been getting some backlash lately. some people think this match is overrated and has not aged very well. I personally along with the majority of wrestling fans consider this match one of the Greatest if not the greatest Intercontinental title match of all times.
Knowing the story of this match makes me appreciate it even more. The Bulldog being in no condition to wrestle mentally and physically and Bret Hart having to walk the Bulldog through the match step by step and basically wrestling himself in a all time classic shows how great Bret Hart really was. Not only is this a great match but knowing the story behind the match, this might be the greatest performance by a wrestler in the history of prowrestling.
2. Bret Hart vs Steve Austin : I Quit Match Wrestlmania 13
This is considered the Greatest Match of the 90’s by insiders. Many consider this one of the Greatest Matches of all Times.
The story of this match, the fallout from this match and the sheer performance of this match is something to behold, Prowrestling has not seen anything like this match before and has yet to see anything like it since. This a gritty, fist to the face fight with a incredible story to it.
This match is the reason Vince McMahon called Bret Hart the best in ring story teller he has ever seen. I don’t think there is a wrestling fan that hasn’t seen this match so there is no reason to talk it up or recommend it.
1. Bret Hart vs Owen Hart: Wrestlemania 10
I tried to keep it 1 match per opponent, Bret Hart had multiple classics with all the men on this list, It made for a much more entertaining list to not put more than one match with the same opponent on this list. Bret and Owen had a incredible cage match at SummerSlam 1994 but make no mistake about it this is the superior match by far.
The Ladder match between Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon overshadowed this match back in 1994. The gimmick of the ladder match took all the attention of Wrestlemania 10 but now being older and re watching both matches, Bret and Owen was the match of the night at Wrestlemania 10. Bret vs Owen gets better with age, A lost art of just pure technical prowrestling. One of the greatest matches I have ever seen. This match had incredible hold and counter hold wrestling, Excellent selling and every move performed perfectly…… I urge any older wrestling fans to re watch this match and see what you were missing as a kid and I beg any newer wrestling fan to watch this match and see how Prowrestling is suppose to be.
The reason I chose this match over Wrestlemania 13 is because this match is the essence of Bret Hart just good ole Prowrestling at its best.
CONCLUSION
Bret Hart is a rare performer, A man who can have a great match with a Bob Backlund in the mid 90’s and have a Great match with a high flying 123 Kid. Bret could have a great match with anyone no matter if its a past his prime Lawler, A WWF lower midcarder like Hakushi, a Pirate, a dentist and just about anyone No matter their size, Style or ability…… I hope Bret has a Speedy and full recovery, Thank you all for reading.
