When WWE Wrestlers Were Asked About Bret Hart ?

Added: 2026-05-05

[00:00:00]Triple H was such a slimeball back in 1997. I mean, I I I he was always trying to beat me. I remember we did a Monday Night Raw in Germany. I get to Germany, which is my one of my biggest markets ever. Like there was never a star in Germany like I was. They kind of cornered me in the dressing room. Triple H just stared at me and Triple H just beating me conveniently 1 2 3 right in the middle of the ring. I remember like I listened to him and I said, "I want to talk to Vince first." And I said to Vince, I said, "Why would you beat me in Germany with a guy that's not over and I'm wrestling Steve Austin at WrestleMania 13 in 2 weeks or a week from now?" And I remember Vince like just had this like somebody hit him with a sledgehammer. He's like and he goes, "You're right." And you could just see Triple H just about like he just turned white. When you think of realism in the business of professional wrestling and sports entertainment, they don't get any better than Bret "The Hitman" Hart. I like a lot of other guys with a lot of different styles, but if you want realism, determination, grit, and an athletic presentation, it doesn't get any better than him. I love the guy. I respect him. We wrestled all over the world >> [music] >> and we have a mutual respect for each other. Bret Hart helped make Stone Cold in the largest degree possible. I owe a lot of my career to WWE who put me in the position. I made the most of an opportunity, but Bret "The Hitman" Hart for putting me on the map big time. I'm the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be. That line didn't feel like confidence in the locker room. It felt like a standard.

[00:01:30]When he walked in, conversations didn't stop. They tightened and that told you everything.

[00:01:35]>> [music] >> And he said, "What do you think you have to offer?" I said, "I don't know. Maybe I'm going to suck, but I got to give this a shot." And it ultimately got to a place where I said, "Either you're going to help train me. I'm asking you to help train me or I'll I'll I'll go to somebody else."

[00:01:52]And at that time, Bret Hart and that whole family had his dungeon up in Calgary. I said, "Maybe I'll go to Calgary." He agreed to train me. Bret Hart [music] who thought I basically sabotaged his career because Bret thought he should have been the greatest wrestler that ever lived and he said it was my fault. I won the belt from Yokozuna at WrestleMania where Bret lost and I Bret told me to go in the ring and wrestle and then I won the belt right after Bret. WrestleMania and the deal was was [music] for me to drop it back to Yokozuna and then Bret got in my face and said, "Hey, you're supposed to drop the belt to me." I said, "No, I'm not."

[00:02:22]Vince looked at Bret and said, "Bret, that's [music] what you thought you heard." So, ever since then, he hated my guts and wanted to kill me. He never needed to raise his voice to prove anything. You saw it the moment the bell rang. Every movement had purpose. Every hold made sense. Guys who worked with him often said the same thing without [music] trying to sound dramatic. You didn't feel like you were performing.

[00:02:42]You felt like you were inside something real. His timing was exact. Not fast for the sake of speed, not slow for the sake of drama, just right. The way he sold pain forced you to respond differently.

[00:02:54]You couldn't rush.

[00:02:55]You couldn't fake it. Fans remember the matches, but wrestlers remember the control. That quiet consistency built a kind of respect that didn't need to be explained. And once you stepped in there with him, you understood why nobody ever took that lightly. How do you feel like 25 plus years later Bret Hart still like has this animosity, it feels I can I I really don't care anymore about Bret. I could care less. You know, you know Louie, right?

[00:03:19]>> Uh-huh. All I can tell you is that through Legends of Wrestling, shortly thereafter all that that happened, I talked Louie into giving Bret [music] Hart a job at Legends of Wrestling. You must forget about stuff like that. You must forget about the conversations we had back then. I think people don't think you guys have talked [music] since that match. Uh, we've talked a couple times um as of late because of the things [music] coming out of his mouth. I don't really know that I would be talking to him if I saw him, but hey man, I'm [music] 57 years old. I don't need to prove anything to Bret Hart or to any other human being, [music] you know. The fact is it was a mistake and anybody who knows me knows that if I didn't intend to hurt him, then I then it was an accident, you know. If I intended to hurt him, then I'd be the first one to tell him. Sure. And you and everyone else. I mean, I it was a screw-up in the match and it's live on national television.

[00:04:07]>> Yeah. I've always said that I wish they had communicated to me a little better about the Montreal deal. Maybe we could have done something differently. It is what it is. Let's say the Montreal screwjob doesn't happen.

[00:04:19]>> [music] >> Do you think Bret does the right thing the next day?

[00:04:23]Uh, he'd been a loyal soldier, man.

[00:04:25]>> One, you cannot absolutely zero way can you take the chance. I will say that he probably would have. I'm going to say he probably would have gone on TV, vacated, but that doesn't do us [music] any good.

[00:04:38]Regardless if he didn't want to go or not, he was still going. As mad as I was that point with there was any choice, you know. I consider Bret a really good friend and you hate for something like that to happen. Bret wanted to stay.

[00:04:50]>> I think what sucks too is with Bret and Shawn is the fact that for them to [music] both have the stellar careers that they've had, that's the one question that they probably get more than >> [music] >> any other question since He didn't ask to leave the match. It just happened.

[00:05:05]Opponents realized within minutes they were reacting, not deciding. The pace shifted without warning and somehow it always landed exactly where he wanted.

[00:05:13]That control wasn't obvious at first, but once you felt it, you couldn't ignore it. I remember watching WrestleMania 12, Roddy Piper getting in the ring and explaining the Iron Man match and going, "I love wrestling more than anything in the world. [music] I can't watch a match for an hour."

[00:05:27]>> Yeah. Right. Yeah. And then getting to WrestleMania being like, "What?" That was the first time I realized maybe maybe there's something to this. Maybe I can watch a match for an hour. Well, look, it was a huge undertaking for us as well, but then again, that was the challenge.

[00:05:39]>> Not a better guy to be out there with than Bret. [music] >> Honestly, I mean and I know everybody always dwells on our rivalry and our differences, but I think we both would agree [music] like if we were going to be out there with somebody, we'd want to be out there with each other for sure.

[00:05:50]It did some kid from Toronto [music] who went and saw him at the Dinny Petty show uh the horrible mullet and and [music] he took the time out after to come find me.

[00:06:01]And and that to me just spoke to what Bret is as a person, [music] you know. When you hear about giving back to the industry that made you, he truly exemplifies that. More so than anyone I I've met because I'm [music] not the only guy he helped.

[00:06:16]And he didn't need to. Like he was WWF champion at this point.

[00:06:20]>> We've been on TV around here, but we we're just wondering like how we should go about it and we work out at TK's gym, so if you ever want to stop by, there's a little plug there.

[00:06:28]He was never the loudest voice backstage and he didn't try to play politics the way others did. But when he spoke, people listened, especially management.

[00:06:37]There was a period where Vince McMahon trusted him not just as a performer, but as someone who understood what a match should be. That trust didn't come from charm. It came from consistency, from knowing that if Bret was in the ring, the job would get done right. [music] He didn't need to push for control. His reputation did that for him.

[00:06:56]And that kind [music] of quiet authority tends to last longer than any title run.

[00:07:00]And that's kind of weird to see [music] and it's odd to see is you in the sharpshooter. Mhm. Cuz you don't see in your career a lot of people put you in >> [music] >> those types of wrestling positions.

[00:07:13]Yeah, cuz you're not going to get the right sell from me. [music] So, did you have to think about that as like okay, he's going to when he puts me in this sharpshooter, what am I going to do?

[00:07:20]>> I going to sell this?

[00:07:21]>> Yeah. Like a grimace [music] from the Undertaker.

[00:07:25]>> It was unusual. Like if I grimaced, it was like that's got to be painful cuz Undertaker don't sell crap. All right, there's really tough because not only you having to protect this Undertaker, nothing hurts me. You want to do the right thing by protecting Bret.

[00:07:38]Finishers finish, yeah. I And I tell you what, to Bret's credit, [music] where I shot him out through the ropes, I Bret that nobody did that for out of for to Bret out of the sharpshooter. When he put the sharpshooter on and he did that for me, that was him putting that character over. I grew as a talent [music] working with with Bret. Oh man, you never know. People are crazy.

[00:07:57]There's anyone that dude jumped up on the WWF and attacked uh Who did he attack?

[00:08:03]>> He attacked Bret Hart during his like speech.

[00:08:04]>> That's crazy. Bret Hart has got to be like how old is he now?

[00:08:07]>> 61 and he's a stroke survivor. So up and the guy tackled him. Jesus Christ.

[00:08:12]>> Joe, seriously, you think anybody's going to jump on stage when you're on?

[00:08:15]Respect for him was never loud, but it was always there. Veterans trusted him because they knew he would protect the match and protect them. Younger guys felt the pressure immediately. You couldn't cut corners with him. You couldn't improvise without purpose.

[00:08:29]There was always that sense that he was measuring everything you did.

[00:08:32]>> [music] >> And even if he never said it out loud, you knew when you didn't meet the standard. That kind of presence creates distance whether people admit it or not.

[00:08:40]>> [music] >> So, some guys um obviously Flair being one of them has said that Bret's overrated. Some say he's not. What do you think from I mean, you've wrestled him a million times. Um [music] If if I had a wrestling company, I would want Bret on [music] my team. I think he's great. Yeah, he's great. One thing about Bret [music] is like one thing I know is I learned a lot when I was with working, you know, for Vince and then [music] working, you know, at at WCW.

[00:09:08]Sometimes and Larry's back there, he could probably echo on this is that sometimes you need guys who whose wrestling is [music] is entertaining enough that the announcers can talk about other matches. They can talk about angles while these guys perform.

[00:09:22]>> [music] >> Cuz Booker sometimes used to complain, "Man, they always talk about something else during my match." And I said, "You know why, [music] Booker? Because you're so athletic and your wrestling is so aesthetically pleasing [music] to watch that they don't have to talk about your moves cuz they speak for themselves."

[00:09:36]Mhm. And guys like that and like that's how Bret [music] was. Bret could wrestle and guys like Benoit and Chris Jericho and guys who are technically really sound, they're they're wrestling Eddie Guerrero, their wrestling is pretty to watch, you know. It's real pretty It's you know, it's pretty. Yeah. So, you don't have to talk about every move they make. You can talk about it later on.

[00:09:56]Hogan will be wrestling Sting, and blah [music] blah blah. You can talk about that. Other angles during these matches.

[00:10:02]>> The tension with Shawn Michaels didn't explode overnight. It built slowly through small moments, different attitudes, and a growing sense that trust was slipping.

[00:10:10]Bret was known for structure and respect inside the ring. Shawn moved with a different energy, more unpredictable, more personal. [music] Over time, that difference stopped being creative and started becoming real. What made it heavy wasn't the disagreement itself. It was the feeling that the rules weren't the same anymore.

[00:10:28]When that line gets [music] crossed in a locker room, it changes how you see everything.

[00:10:33]And it will never be over.

[00:10:35]>> [music] >> Not ever, Bret. Not until your ass goes back to Calgary and sits on the couch and watches Stone Cold every Monday.

[00:10:46]The [music] The problems that I did have with Bret, if if you're going to ask me if I agree with what happened at the Molson Centre, [music] 1,000%. I back Vince on that 1,000% because uh what he was going to do was wrong.

[00:11:01]>> [music] >> What Bret Hart was going to do was wrong. His Canadian legend status wouldn't allow him to do what was right for a company in a business that did what was right to him for What was he going to do that you're referring to?

[00:11:14]You're referring You're saying what he was going to do was wrong. What was it?

[00:11:17]>> He would not step away from the WWF um and and and put Shawn Michaels and and put the WWF over and put them into the spot they needed to be in.

[00:11:29]Um what he wanted to do was walk out on TV and hand over the belt and say I'm going to WCW. When things went off script, he didn't panic. He slowed everything down and rebuilt the match in real time.

[00:11:40]>> [music] >> Wrestlers who shared the ring with him often pointed out how calm he stayed under pressure. No wasted motion, no visible frustration, just adjustment.

[00:11:49]That composure forced others to match his level or fall [music] behind. You couldn't shake him. And once you realized that the pressure shifted onto you, What are your thoughts on on Bret Hart?

[00:12:00]>> [music] >> Bret's Bret's one of a kind, and he's uh you know uh People are going to People are going to find this hard to believe, but he's my favorite person here in the WWF.

[00:12:10]Bret and I, the fact that we antagonize each other is is is is what we have. You know, our our budding egos is that's what's good about me and Bret.

[00:12:21]That's why there's always going to be something with me and Bret. And >> [music] >> and to me, that's okay. I mean, I I think that it's okay that we have a mutual understanding that we don't like [music] each other. Lots of people don't like me, and I know that, and I think it's okay. So, I think uh he's a he's a calm, cool, collected guy.

[00:12:36]>> [music] >> I am the only man, I think, on the face of God's green earth that had the ability push his buttons to the point where he >> [music] >> got mad. And I've done that to Vince McMahon, I've done it to Bret, I've done it to everybody.

[00:12:47]But that's I mean, that's that's what I do, and that's for me to you know, I I have to take advantage of it. His relationship with Vince McMahon didn't fall apart because of competition. It broke because trust changed direction. For a long time, Bret believed the system would hold. Then he realized decisions were being made without him in mind. That shift didn't create noise right away. It created distance, and in that environment, distance is where problems start to grow.

[00:13:14]Me and Bret were were really close.

[00:13:15]>> [music] >> When he was the champion, I mean, he conducted himself in that manner. There was no doubt that he was the world champion. [music] But one of the greatest things about working with Bret in the '90s, everything was about the character.

[00:13:27]Bret, he was a wrestling purist. But [music] he wasn't real gimmicky. It's funny cuz he always he always calls me like doing the Frankenstein character, right? Don't worry, Bret, you didn't hurt my feelings.

[00:13:37]>> [music] >> I want to be known more than just this character. Working with him forced me to figure out how to have [music] good wrestling matches and be in character, too. And [music] we once we figured it out and we got a formula, and we had some really killer matches. I got to ask, who's a better wrestler, [music] you or Bret Hart? And I'm like, oh, better wrestler, Bret. And for sure, Bret was so precise and [music] so good in everything he did. Just to the transitions, to the working of the holds.

[00:14:07]>> [music] >> And that's one of the things that I always enjoyed about him, cuz he just always [music] made people better. A better performer?

[00:14:14]Showman? Me.

[00:14:16]But there's a difference.

[00:14:19]He wasn't the kind of mentor who pulled you aside and walked you through everything. Most of what the next generation learned from him came from watching, not talking. Wrestlers studied how he built matches, how he stayed consistent, how he avoided unnecessary risks. That influence was quiet but deep, and even today, you can still see pieces of his approach in people who never actually worked with him.

[00:14:40]The Montreal Screwjob remains one of the most infamous incidents in professional wrestling history. On November 9th, 1997, during the main event of the Survivor Series pay-per-view, [music] Bret Hart, the reigning WWE Champion, was set to soon leave for rival company WCW, but refused to first drop the title in his home country of Canada. In a shocking turn of events, Vince McMahon orchestrated a secret plan. During the match, McMahon ordered the referee to ring the bell early, declaring Hart's opponent, Shawn Michaels, the new champion. Worst of all, making it appear that Bret [music] had tapped to his own signature move in his home country. This betrayal ignited a firestorm of controversy and is widely agreed upon as the most controversial moment to happen live on a WWE broadcast.

[00:15:24]He was never the loudest talker, but when he picked up a microphone, people paid attention. There was no exaggeration in his tone, no need to oversell a moment. What he said felt grounded, [music] and that made it harder to dismiss. Opponents have mentioned that facing him didn't start at the bell. It started the moment he spoke. The confidence didn't feel forced, it felt earned. Fans believed him because he didn't try to be anything else. And in an environment built on performance, that kind of authenticity creates a different kind of pressure before the match even begins.

[00:15:56]I'm very bright on TV.

[00:15:58]>> [music] >> In real life, I'm all black, just you know, small. My real talk my brother, uh Jimmy drew no heat on my on one of my glasses, and [music] that's what it was missing. I got the whole idea from Bret Hart, though. That visor look that he had, I put my own spin on it. It's been working. He was never replaced. Others became louder, bigger, more marketable, but none of them filled the same space.

[00:16:21]What he brought wasn't built on hype, it was built on precision. And precision is not something you can copy, it's something you either have or you don't.

[00:16:30]Then like when when Bill Goldberg kicked me in the head um and ended my career, [music] it was such a lousy way to go cuz I didn't know I didn't know my career was over. [music] And um when I did go home, and it took me a year to find out that my career was [music] over.

[00:16:49]And right around the time I found out that I couldn't my like my doctors told me that I could never wrestle again.

[00:16:53][music] And then WCW [clears throat] fired me, and um but from the day I got hurt, my million-dollar salary got cut. Every week it got cut in half and got cut in half and got cut in half and kept getting cut in half till there was nothing left. [music] Opponents didn't just prepare for a match with him, they adjusted their entire approach. You couldn't rely on shortcuts or timing tricks. Bret forced you into a structure where everything had to make sense. Wrestlers have admitted they had to slow down, think more, and stay disciplined longer than usual. That kind of mental pressure builds over time.

[00:17:28]>> [music] >> It wears you down in ways the crowd doesn't always see. And once you start playing his game instead of yours, the balance shifts without you even noticing it.

[00:17:37]>> [music] >> The way other wrestlers talk about him is never simple. Some respected him immediately. Some didn't get along with him at all. But almost all of them at some point acknowledged the same thing.

[00:17:47]When you were in the ring with Bret, you were dealing with someone who took every second seriously. Not just the big moments, but the transitions, the pauses, the small details [music] most people ignore. That kind of mindset changes how a match feels.

[00:18:00]It slows everything down in a way that forces you to stay present, and not everyone liked that.

[00:18:06]>> [music] >> Some found it limiting. Some found it demanding. But nobody ever called it careless.

[00:18:11]There are people who had louder careers.

[00:18:13]There are people who reached higher peaks in terms of attention. But when conversations turn to reliability, to structure, to making a match feel real without forcing it, his name keeps coming back. [music] Not because of nostalgia, but because of consistency.

[00:18:27]Wrestlers who worked with him often describe the same experience from different angles. You didn't have to guess what [music] he was doing. You had to keep up with it, and that's a very different kind of pressure. You can disagree with how things ended. You can question decisions he made or didn't make. That's part of the story. But once you step away from the noise and look at the work itself, the pattern is clear.

[00:18:49]He didn't rely on chaos. He relied on control. And control, when it's done that well for that long, leaves [music] a mark that doesn't fade easily.

[00:18:58]In the end, nobody tells you how to feel about Bret Hart. They just describe what it was like to be across from him. And once you hear enough of those perspectives, you start to understand why his name never really leaves the conversation.