One of the greats in the pro wrestling industry, Bret Hart made his in-ring debut in 1976 as a referee for Stampede Wrestling, having joined the WWF in 1984 and won the company’s first of five world titles in 1992.
After almost a dozen conquests and other types of awards, he starred in some of the hottest rivalries and some of the most brilliant fights of the 1990s, against opponents such as his brother Owen Hart, his brother-in-law British Bulldog, Shawn Michaels and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. After 13 years in the WWF, he said goodbye with the controversial Montreal Screwjob at Survivor Series 1997 and headed to rival WCW, to which he was linked until 2000 when he announced his retirement after suffering a severe concussion in a match against Goldberg.
SummerSlam 1992
WWF Intercontinental Championship :
Bret Hart (c) vs. The British Bulldog
Real-life brothers-in-law “The British Bulldog” Davey Boy Smith was married to Bret’s sister Diana Hart. During the weeks leading up to their fighting, Diana and her mother Helen portrayed the family as being divided. Bruce Hart, Bret’s brother, has publicly supported his brother-in-law, while Owen Hart has shown support for his bro. Still, Diana revealed that she didn’t know who to root for, just hoping neither of them would get hurt. Before the big duel, The British Bulldog was hospitalized due to a bacterial infection in his knee, but he still decided to fight as initially planned, because he was going to perform in front of the British public, at Wembley Stadium , in London.
At stake would be the WWF Intercontinental Championship , which had been in Bret Hart’s possession for more than four months since WrestleMania VIII, when the Canadian beat Roddy Piper.
Survivor Series 1992
WWF World Heavyweight Championship :
Bret Hart (c) vs. Shawn Michaels
Sometimes you don’t need a great story behind a great fight, and this is living proof. Shawn Michaels was simply the intercontinental champion and the WWF decided that the main event of Survivor Series would be a clash of champions, with the WWF World Heavyweight Championship on the line. Some say that the quality of the match helped transform the then WWF product forever, making fighters from tag teams and bodybuilders without bodies given more opportunities.
King of the Ring 1993
King of the Ring Tournament Semi-Finals:
Bret Hart vs. Mr. Perfect
Seven of the eight participants in the King Of The Ring tournament had to pass a qualifying round. The exception was Bret Hart, who did not need to qualify to enter. On the other hand, Mr. Perfect needed a third qualifying match to beat Doink the Clown.
In the quarter finals of the tournament, at the King Of The Ring pay-per-view , Bret Hart got the better of Razor Ramon, while Mr. Perfect defeated Mr. Hughes, which meant that the two had to face each other in the semi-finals.
WrestleMania X
Owen Hart vs. Bret Hart
At the previous year’s Survivor Series , Owen Hart was eliminated from one of the traditional team matches between the Hart Brothers and a faction led by Shawn Michaels , due to a miscommunication with brother Bret.
After the match, Owen interrupted his brothers’ victory festivities to verbally attack Bret, creating a wound that would open at the 1994 Royal Rumble , when Bret and Owen challenged The Quebecers for the tag team titles . That match was stopped by the referee due to an injury to Bret, which frustrated Owen, who attacked his brother. Interestingly, the night ended with Bret as co-winner of the Royal Rumble match, alongside Lex Luger.
Monday Night Raw (July 11, 1994)
WWF World Heavyweight Championship :
Bret Hart (c) vs. The 1-2-3 Kid
At WrestleMania X, Bret Hart won the title by defeating Yokozuna in the main event and in the months that followed he was involved in feuds with his brother Owen, who had defeated him at WrestleMania , and with Diesel.
However, on the June 20 Monday Night Raw there was a match between The 1–2–3 Kid and Nikolai Volkoff to determine who would face the “Hitman” for the title on the July 11 episode. And who surprisingly took the win was The 1–2–3 Kid, who habitually fought in the tag team division , although he was a fan favorite.
SummerSlam 1994
WWF World Heavyweight Championship : Steel Cage
Bret Hart (c) vs. Owen Hart
It all started nearly a year earlier when Owen Hart was eliminated from one of the traditional Survivor Series team matches , between the Hart Brothers and a faction led by Shawn Michaels , due to a miscommunication with his brother Bret. After the match, Owen interrupted his brothers’ victory festivities to verbally attack Bret, creating a wound that would open at the 1994 Royal Rumble , when Bret and Owen challenged The Quebecers for the tag team titles . That match was stopped by the referee due to an injury to Bret, which frustrated Owen, who attacked his brother. Interestingly, the night ended with Bret as co-winner of the Royal Rumble match, alongside Lex Luger.
In visible conflict, the two brothers measured forces in the ring at WrestleMania X, with the victory smiling to Owen. However, Bret redeemed himself that same night by beating Yokozuna to win the WWF World Heavyweight Championship . Meanwhile, the sibling rivalry continued, with their brother-in-law, Jim Neidhart, siding with Owen. And to solve the problem once and for all, a Steel Cage match between Bret and Owen was scheduled for SummerSlam , with the company’s main belt at stake, and whose quality of the show deserved a five-star rating by Dave Meltzer.
In Your House 5: Seasons Beatings (December 17, 1995)
WWF World Heavyweight Championship :
Bret Hart (c) vs. The British Bulldog
At In Your House 4 in October, The British Bulldog fought for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship, then held by Diesel, with Bret Hart, who already knew he was going to fight for the title at Survivor Series , taking on the role of commentator. At one point, Bret Hart hit his brother-in-law, causing Diesel to be disqualified, who lost the match but not the belt.
Bret Hart won the title at Survivor Series , but in the weeks leading up to the pay-per-view it was announced that British Bulldog would be entitled to a shot at the WWF World Heavyweight Championship after the event.
WrestleMania XII
60-minute Iron Man match for the WWF Championship :
Bret Hart (c) vs. Shawn Michaels
At a time when he was still chasing the dream of becoming world champion, Shawn Michaels came from a black 1995, as he lost the WWF Championship match to Diesel at WrestleMania XI, was attacked by a group of marines in a bar and consequently forced to relinquishing the intercontinental title , suffered a concussion at the hands of Owen Hart and was betrayed by close friend Diesel at a house show at Madison Square Garden.
However, HBK ‘s fortunes began to change in 1996, when he won the Royal Rumble match to earn the opportunity to face WWF Champion Bret Hart at WrestleMania XXI. Weeks later he also beat Owen Hart at In Your House 6 to keep that right. Bret Hart has been champion since Survivor Series 1995, when he defeated Diesel. In the following months, he retained the belt in duels against The British Bulldog, The Undertaker and Diesel.
Survivor Series 1996
Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin
After being defeated by Shawn Michaels in an Ironman match that lasted more than an hour and losing the WWF Major Title at WrestleMania XII, Bret Hart took a sabbatical. At the same time, a star named Stone Cold Steve Austin was emerging , who won the King Of The Ring tournament in June and after that achievement began to tease Hart. After eight months without a fight, The Hitman accepted Austin’s challenge, in a match that would determine the main candidate for the title that Shawn Michaels would put in play against Sycho Sid in the same PPV.
WrestleMania 13
Submission match: Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin
(Ken Shamrock as guest referee)
After being defeated by Shawn Michaels in an Ironman match that lasted more than an hour and losing the WWF Major Title at WrestleMania XII, Bret Hart took a sabbatical. At the same time, a star named Stone Cold Steve Austin was emerging , who won the King Of The Ring tournament in June and after that achievement began to tease Hart.
After eight months without a fight, The Hitman accepted Austin’s challenge for the 1996 Survivor Series and ended up winning.
However, the rivalry continued for a few more months, with both being left until the end in the Royal Rumble 1997. At one point, Hart thought he had eliminated Austin, but this elimination was not official because the referees did not see it because they were attentive. to a brawl between the already eliminated Mankind and Terry Funk.
At the next PPV , In Your House 13: Final Four, Bret Hart won the vacant WWF World Heavyweight Championship in a match that also involved Austin, Vader and The Undertaker . However, a day later on Monday Night Raw , Austin cost Hart the title, allowing Sycho Sid to become champion. However, with the submission match scheduled for WrestleMania 13 between Hart and Austin, Hart had the opportunity to regain the title in a steel cage match and even came close to winning, but Undertaker interfered and helped Sid achieve the victory.