By Paul McIntyre
Bret Hart announced that he is battling prostate cancer on Monday, and the worldwide reaction of the wrestling community has proven just how beloved and respected the legend truly is.
Fellow wrestlers, both active and retired, came out to wish him the best, and fan of 'The Hitman' emerged to offer their wholehearted support.
What was perhaps most heartwarming about the entire response, however, was that it was offered to a wrestling alumni who in many is rarely acknowledged in the way he deserves to be.
Fellow wrestlers, both active and retired, came out to wish him the best, and fan of 'The Hitman' emerged to offer their wholehearted support.
What was perhaps most heartwarming about the entire response, however, was that it was offered to a wrestling alumni who in many is rarely acknowledged in the way he deserves to be.
Bret Hart is, without doubt, one of the greatest wrestlers in the industry's long and memorable history. A titan and icon of the business. A lot of the time, however, it feels as though WWE will only acknowledge this in the most perfunctory manner possible.
The unfortunate truth surrounding Bret's career is that he often found himself at odds with people of influence within WWE. And while I'm sure old wounds have healed and burned bridges have been reconstructed, he's never quite been treated with the reverence enjoyed by some of his predecessors (Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, Ultimate Warrior), peers (Shawn Michaels), or successors (Steve Austin, The Rock, Triple H).
His influence and legacy is too indelible to overlook, but his career lacks the flamboyance and ostentatiousness that WWE prefers to highlights most prominently. He is in many ways a product of a bygone era, one of the last, unadulterated pro wrestlers in a company that now desperately attempts to brand itself as entertainment.
I have no doubt that his contributions to the company are appreciated, and he is fondly remembered. I also think that the company chooses not to promote his career the way they do their more favoured performers like Shawn Michaels and Ric Flair. It's a deliberate agenda that gains little attention because it is ultimately harmless in the grand scheme of things.
The problem is that, for a great many people, wrestling history doesn't exist if WWE don't make the effort to publish it. Which means that Bret Hart is only as good as the rest if WWE tells them he is.
Thus, I felt compelled to write this article. A proclamation of Bret Hart's legend. And I largely feel the the need to write it because I think that I and many others are guilty of taking this man's exceptional career for granted.
It occurs to me that the WWE Network is largely responsible for my emerging and quickly growing appreciation for Bret. I should also credit the cast of the highly entertaining New Generation Project Podcast whose coverage of Bret's career from 1993 to 1997 motivated me to explore his career with renewed interest. Listening to that podcast, I made a conscious choice to look back and watch this man's career.
I knew Bret Hart was very good. Superb, in fact. That's sort of the point, though. We accept this fact without acknowledging it.
Bret Hart's great, isn't he? Moving on.
We are aware of Bret's outstanding ability. But we never quite take the time to appreciate it.
WWE reduces a lot of characters to bullet points, diluting the rich and illustrious characters they once promoted in favour of easy consumability.
And so, Steve Austin is beer, two middle fingers, and a pick up truck. The Rock is an eyebrow, a bunch of catchphrases, and a couple of movies.
Bret Hart, meanwhile, is technical ability and more technical ability. Oh, and also Canada. And Montreal which, for the purposes of this article, I refuse to waste words on.
Montreal, and what happened there, should not define anyone involved, and, despite its importance to wrestling history, it doesn't need to be retreaded whenever Bret is mentioned.
'The Hitman' is so much more than all of that. If technical ability was the only thing in Bret's favour, he would not have made it as far as he did from 1992 to 1997.
So good was he that Bret was entrusted with the greatest responsibility of all. He was entrusted to carry the company on his shoulders. Because something separated him from the rest.
Bret Hart was a star.
He was the right man, in the right place, at the right time. Sometimes, though, even that is not enough. The fans didn't have to embrace him as the heir apparent to Hulk Hogan and co. So why did they?
Apart from the inescapable quality of his work, I think it was predominantly because of the seriousness with which he treated himself and the seriousness with which he treated the wrestling business. He believed in it, and he believed in himself. The fans responded accordingly, and they believed everything he ever said or did in his job as a wrestler.
His look was a deliberate contrast to steroid-infused main event performers like Hulk Hogan and Ultimate Warrior. His ability with a microphone never set the word alight in the way Steve Austin's did, but his words contextualized the stories he was a part of and the character he was performing as. His entrance didn't have the panache and showmanship of The Undertaker, but crowds would erupt when he entered the building.
Something about Bret Hart inspired wrestling fans in unique fashion.
Young fans would clamour to receive the honour of wearing his trademark visor, because he was a role model to them. A role model in an era when wrestling desperately needed one. And he chose that path because he respected the responsibility that he was given by Vince McMahon and WWE.
When he was scheduled to wrestle Diesel, he spoke about attacking the seven-foot-champion's legs; when he was scheduled to wrestle Shawn Michaels, he spoke about slowing down the pace of the match to take away Shawn's speed advantage. He invested himself in making wrestling real, and it worked. He treated it like the sport it should be and not the pale imitation of 'entertainment' WWE wants it to be.
He was a selfless, adaptable performer. Bret gave Glen Jacobs his first match on WWE pay-per-view and guided him through the entirety of it, appreciating that he might one day be a star with the right guidance and opportunity. Glen Jacobs later became Kane.
Steve Austin was responsible for his own ascent to global superstardom, but Bret Hart was the fuel that propelled the rocket strapped to Austin's back throughout 1996 and 1997.
'The Excellence of Execution' bettered everyone he worked with, and he took seriously every opponent, working effortlessly to produce magic with everybody from Hakushi to Razor Ramon, from Jean-Pierre LaFitte to Vader.
He also never doubted El Dandy. (Which is all I'll say about his time in WCW.)
In summation, the career of Bret Hart's was a magical one. I have my personal favourites, and they don't often change. But I can honestly say that Bret has emerged gradually as a new favourite of mine. Winning me over was, like his iconic 60-minute Iron Man match, more of a marathon than a sprint. But he did it.
Sadly, Bret's battle with prostate cancer is just the latest in a long succession of tragic incidences in his life. Few men have lost the number of friends and family that Bret has lost to the wrestling business. We here at Questionable Critics, like everybody else in the wrestling community, wish him the best.
For those of you who may be wrestling fans but know little or nothing about Bret Hart, take the time to explore his career like I did. I don't regret it, and neither will you.
He truly is 'The Best There Is, Best There Was, and The Best There Ever Will Be.'
The unfortunate truth surrounding Bret's career is that he often found himself at odds with people of influence within WWE. And while I'm sure old wounds have healed and burned bridges have been reconstructed, he's never quite been treated with the reverence enjoyed by some of his predecessors (Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, Ultimate Warrior), peers (Shawn Michaels), or successors (Steve Austin, The Rock, Triple H).
His influence and legacy is too indelible to overlook, but his career lacks the flamboyance and ostentatiousness that WWE prefers to highlights most prominently. He is in many ways a product of a bygone era, one of the last, unadulterated pro wrestlers in a company that now desperately attempts to brand itself as entertainment.
I have no doubt that his contributions to the company are appreciated, and he is fondly remembered. I also think that the company chooses not to promote his career the way they do their more favoured performers like Shawn Michaels and Ric Flair. It's a deliberate agenda that gains little attention because it is ultimately harmless in the grand scheme of things.
The problem is that, for a great many people, wrestling history doesn't exist if WWE don't make the effort to publish it. Which means that Bret Hart is only as good as the rest if WWE tells them he is.
Thus, I felt compelled to write this article. A proclamation of Bret Hart's legend. And I largely feel the the need to write it because I think that I and many others are guilty of taking this man's exceptional career for granted.
It occurs to me that the WWE Network is largely responsible for my emerging and quickly growing appreciation for Bret. I should also credit the cast of the highly entertaining New Generation Project Podcast whose coverage of Bret's career from 1993 to 1997 motivated me to explore his career with renewed interest. Listening to that podcast, I made a conscious choice to look back and watch this man's career.
I knew Bret Hart was very good. Superb, in fact. That's sort of the point, though. We accept this fact without acknowledging it.
Bret Hart's great, isn't he? Moving on.
We are aware of Bret's outstanding ability. But we never quite take the time to appreciate it.
WWE reduces a lot of characters to bullet points, diluting the rich and illustrious characters they once promoted in favour of easy consumability.
And so, Steve Austin is beer, two middle fingers, and a pick up truck. The Rock is an eyebrow, a bunch of catchphrases, and a couple of movies.
Bret Hart, meanwhile, is technical ability and more technical ability. Oh, and also Canada. And Montreal which, for the purposes of this article, I refuse to waste words on.
Montreal, and what happened there, should not define anyone involved, and, despite its importance to wrestling history, it doesn't need to be retreaded whenever Bret is mentioned.
'The Hitman' is so much more than all of that. If technical ability was the only thing in Bret's favour, he would not have made it as far as he did from 1992 to 1997.
So good was he that Bret was entrusted with the greatest responsibility of all. He was entrusted to carry the company on his shoulders. Because something separated him from the rest.
Bret Hart was a star.
He was the right man, in the right place, at the right time. Sometimes, though, even that is not enough. The fans didn't have to embrace him as the heir apparent to Hulk Hogan and co. So why did they?
Apart from the inescapable quality of his work, I think it was predominantly because of the seriousness with which he treated himself and the seriousness with which he treated the wrestling business. He believed in it, and he believed in himself. The fans responded accordingly, and they believed everything he ever said or did in his job as a wrestler.
His look was a deliberate contrast to steroid-infused main event performers like Hulk Hogan and Ultimate Warrior. His ability with a microphone never set the word alight in the way Steve Austin's did, but his words contextualized the stories he was a part of and the character he was performing as. His entrance didn't have the panache and showmanship of The Undertaker, but crowds would erupt when he entered the building.
Something about Bret Hart inspired wrestling fans in unique fashion.
Young fans would clamour to receive the honour of wearing his trademark visor, because he was a role model to them. A role model in an era when wrestling desperately needed one. And he chose that path because he respected the responsibility that he was given by Vince McMahon and WWE.
When he was scheduled to wrestle Diesel, he spoke about attacking the seven-foot-champion's legs; when he was scheduled to wrestle Shawn Michaels, he spoke about slowing down the pace of the match to take away Shawn's speed advantage. He invested himself in making wrestling real, and it worked. He treated it like the sport it should be and not the pale imitation of 'entertainment' WWE wants it to be.
He was a selfless, adaptable performer. Bret gave Glen Jacobs his first match on WWE pay-per-view and guided him through the entirety of it, appreciating that he might one day be a star with the right guidance and opportunity. Glen Jacobs later became Kane.
Steve Austin was responsible for his own ascent to global superstardom, but Bret Hart was the fuel that propelled the rocket strapped to Austin's back throughout 1996 and 1997.
'The Excellence of Execution' bettered everyone he worked with, and he took seriously every opponent, working effortlessly to produce magic with everybody from Hakushi to Razor Ramon, from Jean-Pierre LaFitte to Vader.
He also never doubted El Dandy. (Which is all I'll say about his time in WCW.)
In summation, the career of Bret Hart's was a magical one. I have my personal favourites, and they don't often change. But I can honestly say that Bret has emerged gradually as a new favourite of mine. Winning me over was, like his iconic 60-minute Iron Man match, more of a marathon than a sprint. But he did it.
Sadly, Bret's battle with prostate cancer is just the latest in a long succession of tragic incidences in his life. Few men have lost the number of friends and family that Bret has lost to the wrestling business. We here at Questionable Critics, like everybody else in the wrestling community, wish him the best.
For those of you who may be wrestling fans but know little or nothing about Bret Hart, take the time to explore his career like I did. I don't regret it, and neither will you.
He truly is 'The Best There Is, Best There Was, and The Best There Ever Will Be.'
