The greatest WWE wrestlers of all time

There cannot be a ‘greatest WWE wrestlers of all time’ list without Bret Hart on it. So continuing with our series, here’s the great man at No. 6 on the list.

No. 6 — Bret ‘Hitman’ Hart

“We are never prepared for what we expect.”

Bret ‘the Hitman’ Hart could surely not have expected nor prepared for the events that occurred during his tenure with the WWF/E. From creating an undying legacy through his irreplaceable persona to getting infamously robbed of the WWF Championship title by his employer Vince McMahon Jr, the Hitman has seen it all.

Born in a wrestling family, Hart was the son of the great Stu Hart, the founder of the Stampede Wrestling promotion in Canada. He was trained by his father in the family ‘dungeon’ where he was put through painful submission maneuvers in an effort by the senior Hart to toughen his son. Soon the young Canadian began to make a name for himself in Stampede Wrestling where his high profile matches with the Dynamite Kid were the talk of the town.

Hart’s association with the WWF began when the latter acquired Stampede Wrestling in 1984. Very soon he adopted the moniker ‘the Hitman’ and formed a tag-team alongside his brother-in-law, Jim ‘the Anvil’ Neidhart. Hart was known for his ‘Pink and Black’ attire and trademark mirrored sunglasses, but most importantly, it was his wrestling background that elevated him to superstardom in the WWF. Gorilla Monsoon, a former wrestler and commentator during the time, recognized Hart’s superior technical wrestling ability and gave him the moniker – ‘The Excellence of Execution’.

In his 13 years with the WWF, Bret Hart won 5 World Heavyweight Championships, 2 Intercontinental Championships, 5 United States Championship and 2 World Tag-Team Championships. The Hitman had to go through the likes of Ric Flair, Mr Perfect, Roddy Piper, and the Undertaker to achieve these feats. He was also the 1994 Royal Rumble winner (along with Lex Luger) and the only two-time ‘King of the Ring’ in WWF history. Hart is known to have not injured a single wrestler during his entire career and he’s listed as a favoured opponent by the likes of Shawn Michaels, Undertaker and Stone Cold Steve Austin. The Hitman’s finishing move, ‘the Sharpshooter’ , has made many a wrestler tap out to give him the victory.

Till the eventful year of 1997, the Hitman was the top dog in the WWE. He was arguably the most popular wrestler in the nineties and was worshipped by millions worldwide. But 1997 saw Hart being screwed over by WWE chief Vince McMahon Jr during his last match in the WWF with Shawn Michaels (who also played a part), in an incident which is infamously known as the ‘Montreal Screwjob.’ After Hart lost the match to Michaels through unfair circumstances, he left the WWF and joined their rival company, WCW, under Eric Bischoff, who, according to Hart, did not put him to good use. The death of his younger brother and fellow wrestler Owen Hart in 1999 saddened the Hitman to a great extent. The younger Hart succumbed to death when a dangerous stunt he was about to perform at a WWE event went horribly wrong. Bret Hart, even to this day, is deeply affected by the tragic accident.

“A most solemn day. It’s so hard not to feel the blood thicken in my heart at the memory of Owen’s passing today.” – @BretHart, 2012.

The Hitman had a successful tenure with the WCW, but his career was cut short, in 2000, by a Goldberg mule-kick which gave him a concussion and ultimately led to a career-ending stroke. After 5 painful years of recovery, Bret Hart patched up with Vince McMahon and got associated again with the WWE. With the company’s help, Hart released the DVD containing his greatest wrestling matches – Bret “Hitman” Hart: The best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be (a must-watch for any wrestling fan out there). In 2007, the Hitman put his writing skills to the test by authoring the best-selling ‘Hitman: My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling’, a book that affirms the wrestler’s ability to narrate great stories in great detail. Bret Hart was also deservedly inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006 by his long-time wrestling opponent, Stone Cold Steve Austin.

The icing on the cake for every Hitman fan was when Hart made a long-awaited return to the ring in January 2010 to patch things up with Shawn Michaels. When the two wrestlers hugged each other after delivering straight-from-the-heart speeches, it made for yet another iconic moment for the Hitman’s fans. In the next couple of years, the Hitman took part in wrestling matches in whatever little manner he could, despite the stroke he suffered a decade ago which greatly limited his wrestling ability.

To this day, the Hitman is revered by millions of wrestling fans across the globe. Most of his peers have only the deepest respect for the Canadian superstar as the hard work and dedication he put in during his time with the WWF/E made a huge impact on the wrestling business and paved the path for the future generations to follow. Young and aspiring wrestlers go through endless videos of Bret Hart’s matches to learn how to orchestrate a wrestling match to perfection.

Each and every match featuring the Hitman unfolded a story, slowly but in sublime fashion. In the nonchalant nineties, no wrestler in the business had a fan following as huge as Bret Hart’s – not even Hulk Hogan. After all, Bret Hart was the man who made ‘pink’ cool!

The Hitman, throughout his career, truly lived by his last and most memorable moniker – The best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be…