Bret Hart's Cageside Evaluation

A lot of interesting comments for the polarizing Bret Hart, some thought he's the best, and others not so much. Lets start with the positives!

1. Technical Ability - An easy #1 from the start of the comments. Many of you guys said he was the best ever in the ring when it came to technical ability. He was ahead of his time as we see many of today's wrestlers (Punk and Bryan) using some of the same techniques that Bred did way back then.
2. Heel/Tweener - Particularly in 1997 his work was down right legendary as he led the WWE into their Attitude Era. Unfortunately, much like Shawn Michaels, he was not around to be a part of the fun.
3. Size - He was one of, if not the first small champion in a time when size still mattered in wrestling. The cool thing with Bret is he wasn't portrayed as some small underdog (ex: Bryan or Michaels) with a lot of heart (pun totally intended). He was a master technician in the ring that could take on anyone in the world.
4. Best Matches Ever - I lost track of how many matches you guys loved of his! Not only did he put on classics with Austin and Bulldog, but he could drag solid performances out of the most pedestrian wrestlers.Seriously, if you have not seen him fight Austin at WM13 or Bulldog at SS you're homework tonight is to watch them.
5. Pink - The man rocked pink on a regular basis like no one else.

Favorite comment was an easy choice thanks to GuyinNY's highlight reel of Bret's career - "Bret "Hitman" Hart is the greatest technical wrestler of all time, and his in-ring influence rings clear today. Hart’s antihero/tweener/heel run in 1997 has become the stuff of legend and helped spark the Attitude Era. Before that, Hart became the first "small" man to ever be the Top Guy in McMahonland, when he succeeded Hulk Hogan. Hart carried the WWF through tough times in 93-96 with a terrific fighting champion babyface gimmick (not to be confused with his promos) as the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be (two of these three things were definitely true, and the third is so far.) His tag work against the Bulldogs was revelatory. Hart was a terrific IC champion, and his matches with Perfect and Bulldog have stood the test of time. Bret Hart was instrumental in putting over Stone Cold Steve Austin, and their 5* match at WM13 is generally regarded as the best double turn ever. His autobiography was the best since Mick Foley’s and the most enlightening since Lou Thesz’s, even if it was self-congratulatory. Dude walked the walk. His comeback on 1/4/10 was positively thrilling, though his subsequent comeback run (WM26/Vince, US title, Summerslam) wasn’t, considering he’d come back from a major concussion, a stroke, and a very severe bout of depression, it was a remarkable thing for a man in his 50’s."

via upload.wikimedia.org

Now onto the negatives...

1. Mark - Arrogant. Ego. Take your pick, this is Bret's obvious #1 flaw. He took pretty much everything way too seriously and it got really annoying. He got a touch of what The Ultimate Warrior had, believing way too much in his own character.
2. Mic Skills - Man when he got on the mic, whew, it was usually pretty bad or boring. I know as a youngster I checked out when Bret started a promo. His skills did get better as he got his heel on, but for a majority of his career, bland-city!
3. Grumpy Old Man - He's had some unfortunate things happen to him, some are his fault, some not, but either way he seems pretty pissed in his later years. In the prime of his babyface years he had an aura of class about him that few wrestlers could mimic. Life beat him down though and through interviews usually we get some really negative quotes from "The Hitman" that takes just a little bit of that class away.
4. O Canada! - We know about the screw-job, but it's what lead up to that event that you guys hate. I'm sure he had the chance to just do the job and move on, but no he had to stick to his guns or politic to force Vince's hand.
   
5. WCW Run - He held couple titles and headlined some PPVs, but ultimately this was a pretty forgettable run. I mean when "Do you doubt El Dandy?" is the most mentioned promo/match from that run, things didn't go so great.

Best comment goes to Gophermike for really sharing his honest opinion - "I really don’t like Bret Hart. Yes, he’s a very skilled technical wrestler. So was Shelton Benjamin. He’s so unbelievably arrogant and a total mark for himself, his voices is grating and whiny (sorry Canadians, but it sounds like you have to blow your nose all the time). He is incredibly boring and awkward on the stick, and his look was always awful (to say nothing of how broken down and sad he is now). It’s a damn shame, because he was a part of many of my favorite matches, and was involved in my favorite year in WWF history (1992), but the good barely outweighs the bad. If Bret had stayed a mid-card guy I’d give him a 5, but in comparison to guys like Michaels and Austin he’s not even in the same league outside of workrate."

Time for that magical poll! With 174 votes, Mr. Hart's average score is a 4.5. Solid grade and honestly higher than I thought it would be with the mixed reactions that he usually gets from the fans.

Okay, Cagesiders, that's all I got for today. Tomorrow we will be checking out a Total Diva...and no I don't mean Zack Ryder. BOOM!