Views from the Hawke’s Nest: Bret “Hitman” Hart – The Best There Is, The Best There Was, The Best There Ever Will Be Disc 3

Action Zone

September 29, 1994

Bret Hart(c) vs. Owen Hart [WWF World Heavyweight Championship]

Vince McMahon said this was Owen Hart’s last shot at the title. I’ve never seen this one.

Bret was running through Owen early, but Jim Neidhart tripped up Bret to give Owen a chance. The British Bulldog came down to even the odds. Owen was in control when we came back from a commercial break. Neidhart attacked Bret’s knee at one point from the floor. Owen then targeted the leg a lot. He applied the figure four on the wrong leg, as the show went to commercial. When we came back, Bret was making a comeback. Owen fought back. Bulldog pushed him off the turnbuckle and got crotched on the ropes. This was a surprisingly comedic bump. Bret pinned him: 1…2…3?

That was an awful finish to a solid television main event. Babyfaces needing to cheat to win always seems like the stupidest thing to me. It’s just bad storytelling unless you’re doing a double turn right after or in the very near future.

Match Rating: **3/4

 

In Your House

May 14, 1995

Bret Hart vs. Hakushi (w/ Shinja)

Woah!

Neither man had full control for a while. Hakushi finally cut Bret off by sending him into a turnbuckle. Shinja occasionally helped him out. Bret was giving Hakushi so much in this match. Hakushi actually connected on a diving headbutt for a nearfall. He then went for a springboard splash, but Bret avoided it. Bret then made a comeback. Bret Hart hit a massive lariat. Shinja tripped up Bret one more time, but Bret then took him out with a tope suicida. Hakushi fought back. Dynamite Kid suplex to the floor. ASAI MOONSAULT ON BRET IN 1995! GREAT SASUKE, EAT YOUR HEART OUT! They actually teased the Dynamite Kid/Tiger Mask finishing sequence before Bret caught him with a victory roll: 1…2…3!

FUCK FUCK FUCK THIS WAS GREAT! This match really took me by surprise (and I’m probably overrating it as a result). Bret gave Hakushi so much in this match and really made him seem like a potential main eventer (despite the awful gimmick by the looks of it). The match peaked at all the right times, they saved the biggest moments for last, and the finish made both men look good. This is a gem that is probably not discussed much because it didn’t lead to anything. Do not sleep on it though.

Match Rating: ****1/2

 

Survivor Series

November 19, 1995

Diesel(c) vs. Bret Hart [No Disqualification for the WWF Heavyweight Championship]

They started the match taking off turnbuckle pads. This is serious. Diesel was mauling Hart early on. This went on for a such a long time. He used a chair at one point. He called for the Jackknife, but Bret avoided it. Bret had to bite Diesel to slow him down. Bret went after the left leg of Diesel. He applied the figure four to the wrong leg. Bret went for the sharpshooter, but Diesel poked him in the eyes twice and then sent him into an exposed turnbuckle. Bret came back by going after the left leg some more. He actually tied Diesel to the ringpost with a chord. Bret then used a chair on Diesel, and he specifically went after the knee. Bret went for a diving attack with a chair, but Diesel crotched him. Diesel finally escaped the chord and then fought back but his injured leg was failing him. He still had the advantage though. Hart dropped him on an exposed turnbuckle and then fought back. Bret went for a corkscrew pescado, but Diesel avoided it. Bret got to the apron, but Diesel sent him though an announce table. The crowd popped big for that. Diesel called for the Jackknife. Bret seemed dead, but he was just playing possum! SMALL PACKAGE: 1…2…3!

Diesel was very pissed after the match and attacked Bret and some referees.

Bret Hart always talks about wanting his matches to make sense. I don’t think there’s been a match on this set that illustrated that desire more than this one. Diesel is way bigger than Bret, and Bret could not use his typical strategies to defeat him. He truly used the No DQ stipulations to his advantage. This was some very engaging storytelling, and it has to be one of the top five Kevin Nash matches ever (for whatever that is worth).

Match Rating: ****

 

In Your House

December 17, 1995

Bret Hart(c) vs. The British Bulldog (w/ Diana Hart Smith & Jim Cornette) [WWF Heavyweight Championship]

Jerry Lawler pointed out on commentary that Bulldog was wearing the same tights he wore at Summerslam 1992.

After some uninspired action, Bulldog cut Bret off with a kitchen sink. Cornette took a shot at Bret when he had an opportunity. Bulldog’s heat segment was just lifeless. Bret finally decided to make a comeback. Bret went for a superplex, but Bulldog crotched him on the ropes. Bret bladed and started bleeding a gusher. Bulldog was in control again. He couldn’t put Bret away though. Bret avoided a bow & arrow and almost got the sharpshooter, but Bulldog avoided it. They did the Tiger Mask/Dynamite Kid I finish, but Bulldog kicked out. Bret hit a pescado, but Bulldog reversed another dive attempt into a powerslam on the floor. Bulldog went for another one on the exposed floor, but Bret came back with a lariat. Bret made another comeback in the ring. Bulldog went for an O’Connor Roll, but Bret reversed it: 1…2…NO!  La Magistral Cradle: 1…2…3

I thought this was okay. Davey Boy Smith just was not that interesting when he was in control, and the majority of the match was him in control. There was some decent drama down the stretch considering the likelihood of Davey Boy winning. So, I give them some credit for that.

Match Rating: **1/2

 

Wrestlemania

1997

Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin [Submission Match]

Ken Shamrock was the special guest referee.

They started brawling right away. They ended up in the crowd. They went pretty deep into the crowd, but they ended up in the ringside area quickly enough. Bret cut him off on the floor and then worked Austin over in the ring. Austin caught him with a weak stunner to slow him down. Bret came right back with the figure four/ringpost spot. Bret went to Pillmanize Austin, but Austin came back with some chair shots. Austin was finally in control and applied the Boston Crab. He went for a sharpshooter, but Bret avoided it. They brawled on the floor some. Austin got busted open before they got back in the ring. Bret relentlessly attacked Austin, and he used a chair on Austin’s injured leg. Austin got desperate and kicked Bret square in the balls. He then hit a superplex. Austin tried to choke him with a camera chord, but Bret saved himself with a ringbell shot to the head. Sharpshooter! Austin almost escaped, but Bret maintained the hold. Austin refused to quit and then, in an infamous wrestling moment, passed out in a pool of his own blood.

Bret attacked Austin some more after the match. Shamrock suplexed Hart to keep him away.  In a wise life decision, Bret walked away instead fighting Shamrock.

This match was incredibly significant, as it was very innovative at the time. I don’t think this is the best version of the all-over-the-arena-brawl style that proceeded to dominate the next few years, but it certainly deserves some props for doing it on a big stage first. The character work towards the end puts the match over the top as a great one for me. Austin’s stubborn resiliency, and Bret growing fed up with him were great moments for each character.

Match Rating: ****

 

One Night Only

September 20, 1997

Bret Hart(c) vs. The Undertaker [WWF Heavyweight Championship]

Bret had just won what would end up being his last WWF Championship from The Undertaker at Summerslam a month earlier, and he was in the middle of his great heel run.

Taker was running through Bret early on. Bret exposed a turnbuckle, but he couldn’t take advantage of it. Bret finally slowed Taker down with a DDT. Taker came back by sending Bret into the exposed turnbuckle. Taker was back in control after that. Bret was going after Taker’s right knee. Bret got the advantage by going after the left leg though. He applied the ringpost figure four. Bret had to break the hold per the rules, but he then applied a regular figure four in the ring. Taker reversed the pressure and started a comeback. Bret cut him off with a kick to the injured leg though. Taker came back and hit several legdrops on Bret’s left leg. Bret eventually reversed one into a sharpshooter. Taker escaped the hold. Bret went for it again, but he got goozled. Bret went to use the ringbell, but Taker booted him in the face. Taker went to use it, but the referee took it away. Bret chopped down the leg and then went after it again. Taker immediately fought back. This is the weirdest match. Taker went for a tombstone. Bret tried to escaped, but he ended up choking himself in the ropes. WOW. Taker didn’t stop attacking Bret, and the referee disqualified him. AWFUL finish.

Taker attacked the referee and Gerald Brisco after the match. What an awful way to end an unnecessarily long match.

This was the weirdest match. The fans were reacting to almost everything, but they didn’t seem really invested in the match. Both guys got more boos than cheers, and it made the nearly thirty minute match awkward at times. The major in-ring story was Bret going after Taker’s leg, but Taker stopped selling it down the stretch. On top of all that, there was an awful disqualification finish to this match, because The Undertaker can’t do clean jobs when he should. I cannot believe that I am writing this, but Diesel did this match with Bret far better at Survivor Series 1995.

Match Rating: 1/2*

 

Nitro

October 4, 1999

Owen Hart Tribute Match

Bret Hart vs. Chris Benoit

Owen Hart tragically died in this building a few months earlier. I have never seen this match before. It’s a shame Benoit was a part of it.

Harley Race did the ring introductions. Benoit’s WCW TV Championship was not on the line for obvious reasons. Bret got the first advantage. Benoit started to come back, but after a commercial break, Bret was back in control. Benoit caught him with a tombstone to get the advantage again. Bret was fighting back, but Benoit cut him off again with a tope suicida. There was another commercial break, and Bret was back in control. Bret went for a sharpshooter, but Benoit reversed it into a crippler crossface. Bret got to the ropes.  Benoit hit the Three Amigos and then a diving headbutt. The crowd rallied around Bret who then made a comeback. Benoit hit a German and went for the crossface, but Bret reversed it into the sharpshooter. Benoit had to tap out!

This ended up being much better than I was expecting after seeing so many of Bret’s long matches in a row on this set. Benoit brought a level of physicality and intensity that felt like it was missing from a number of Bret’s matches that I saw on this DVD. It makes you realize how Bret could have had (that perhaps I would have considered at least) the best run of his career in 1999-2004 WWF with Foley, Rock, Austin, Benoit, Eddie, Angle, Brock, etc. all around. If the Montreal Screwjob never happened, would Bret have finished his career like Shawn Michaels? Would he have had his best matches as he got older and retired as the best performer in the company? He could have ended his career on a high note instead of cashing large checks in a company that did not know what to do with him.

Match Rating: ****

 

Check out some free Bret Hart matches!

Bret Hart vs. The Miz

Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart

Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels

Bret Hart vs. Ric Flair

Bret Hart vs. Triple H

Mr. Perfect vs. Bret Hart

Bret Hart vs. Lex Luger

Bret Hart vs. Issac Yankem DDS (Cage Match)

Bret Hart & The British Bulldog vs. Owen Hart & Jim Neidhart 

The Hart Foundation vs. The British Bulldogs

 

Thanks everybody for reading! You can send feedback to my Twitter or to my email address: [email protected]. Also, feel free to check out my own wrestling website, FreeProWrestling.com. Check out a full/organized list of all the wrestling show reviews I’ve done at 411mania.

8.5

The final score: review Very Good

The 411

Bret Hart is a strange wrestler to go back and examine more closely. Based on the tag team matches Hart selected to be included, I'm not sure The Hart Foundation was as good of a tag team as I had been led to believe (The original Hart Foundation time is the part of Bret's career that I had the least exposure to going into this set, and I'm sure there are matches out there that reflect their quality better). Bret's career as a singles performer from an artistic perspective is "good," but there is much less excellence than you would expect given his reputation. I had seen pretty much all of Bret's most celebrated singles matches before, but few of them seemed all that great to me this time around. Seeing them all in a row certainly made his weaknesses stand out. While the great majority of the matches made sense in the ring, there were few of them that were especially compelling and even fewer that I found exciting. If you were living through the WWF in the early nineties and were growing sick of Hulkamania, I can understand why Bret Hart would seem like a breath of fresh air on top. From everything I can gather, he was the right choice to lead the company at that time. I just do not see him as anywhere close to one of the best in WWE history. This is the rare WWE set where I found the matches less entertaining than the documentary.