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The Best There Is, The Best There Was and The Best There Ever Will Be was a featured guest on this past weekend's edition of The LAW radio show & podcast. Hosts Jason Agnew and Dan Lovranski dove into the hot topics of the day with Bret Hart, and the Hitman didn't disappoint in delivering his take on a couple of big WrestleMania-related topics.
Regarding the man who has already stepped into John Cena's shoes in one role - dividing wrestling fan opinion - Hart is a fan of the challenger in this year's main event:
I think Roman Reigns is ready and he is really good, I think he is a really great talent and has a lot of potential.
However, Bret is concerned with the reaction to Reigns' ascent. But unlike many others who criticize the performer or the way he's been presented, the Hall of Famer doesn't pin that reaction on Roman at all. Hart sees it all as a response to another wrestler not being in The Big Dog's spot:
I can see why they want to push him but I really think the hearts and minds of the wrestling fans are with Daniel Bryan. His work rate in the ring and what he gives through the match just means so much more to the wrestling fans than anything else.
I think Daniel Bryan was a great champion and had his run was cut short and I think fans wanted to see him get that moment that he deserves. Even though he won the title and WrestleMania last year was such a big thing for him, the fans want to see him get his proper chance and I think the WWE put a line through that and I think that's probably a mistake.
This isn't terribly surprising. If there are a couple of views the five time WWF champ is known for, it's taking himself very seriously and valuing in-ring skill über alles.
Makes you wonder if McMahon's alleged original plan of keeping The Beard on top through SummerSlam when he would be defeated by Brock Lesnar for the title would have satisfied Bryan fans, and paved the way for a warmer reception for Reigns.
And if Hart is being honest and not towing the company line - and everything in his history indicates that's the case - this is promising for the future of the Roman Empire. While Creative may turn him into an unstoppable winning machine whose character never adapts, a la the current Face that Runs the Place, the Excellence of Execution's evalution would jive with signs we've been seeing over the last couple of months of Reigns settling into the role into which he's been rushed.
A move that WWE made for next weekend that Bret isn't a big fan of is having Hulk Hogan induct Randy Savage into the Hall of Fame:
Well I know we were a lot closer than Hogan was. I'm not quite sure why Hulk Hogan of all people is inducting him because my last conversations I had with Randy, he didn't have much good to say about Hogan.
In the end, though, he's more happy that his old friend is finally joining him in Vince's club than he is about any old beef he or the Macho Man had with Hogan:
Regardless, it is a night to remember Randy for all the great contributions he made. He was undoubtedly one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, he was a great champion in the dressing room, he was a Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, a real team guy and always had a lot of respect and love with all of the wrestlers. We will always miss the Macho Man.
There you go, Cagesiders. What do you think of Bret's survey of the WrestleMania landscape?