Bret Hart Praises Drew McIntyre, Recalls 1993 King of the Ring Win

– Bret Hart spoke with Sports Illustrated for a new interview and spoke about the King of the Ring tournament, Drew McIntyre and more. Highlights from the interview are below:

On winning King of the Ring in 1993: “King of the Ring was one of my greatest nights. I prided myself on working different styles with different guys, and I appreciated that every single one of my matches that night was different … There’s always a lot of pressure on you on a big pay-per-view, especially a pay-per-view like that since it was the first one. But I was up for the challenge.”

On the key to his success in King of the Ring: “I knew the guys I was working with and I looked forward to all the matches I had that night. Bam Bam was probably the best big man in the business. When I think of Curt Hennig, I think of Mad Magazine with the ‘I Spy’ that had the white spy and the black spy that were constantly at odds with each other. Me and Curt were a lot like that. We had great chemistry together and I don’t think we ever had a bad match. If I had to pick one guy to wrestle one more time, just for my own enjoyment, it would be Curt Hennig. As for Scott Hall, that was the best match we ever had together. It was all different stuff, too. The match with Bam Bam was so different from the match with Curt, and the match with Curt was different from the match with Razor. That’s what I remember the most about that night.”

On Becky Lynch: “Becky’s been around the business long enough to know she has to look at everything as a challenge. She’s already broken some major barriers, and now she gets to live out her dreams every day, which is magical. She’s up for any challenge in any match, and she’s really focused, really skilled, and hard-working. Women are stepping into new challenges all over the world, and that includes pro wrestling. There’s no limitations anymore, and that’s a great thing. I think she can overcome anything that anyone throws at her.”

On being in WWE 2K20: “I love the idea of someone playing the game and taking someone like Daniel Bryan to wrestle Bret Hart. That never happened in real life, so it’s fun to imagine.”

On Drew McIntyre: “I always respected big guys when I wrestled them, respected their size and their ability, and tried to bring out the best of them. A big guy I’ve been a big fan of for a long time is Drew McIntyre and his work. I’m glad that he had a rebound and he’s doing really well.”

On his not winning the World Championship: “It was a long climb to the top for me, that’s for sure. Sometimes you need to retreat, circle the wagons, and come back with a new plan. I think that’s what happened with Drew. But he’s so polished now and he’s finally getting the chance he deserves.”