TSC Evaluation #125: Bret Hart

mrken12 · Jan 16, 2019

In the last evaluation, Akira Hokuto got a score of 8.57.
TSC Evaluation #124: Akira Hokuto

If people have any requests for future wrestlers you want to see evaluated, let me know. I'll have one wrestler evaluated for each week every Wednesday. The leaderboard is updated every 5 threads so it's never too late to vote for previous threads.

For #126 it will be Chavo Guerrero Jr.

Pending requests: Jerry Lynn, Sgt Slaughter, Kenta Kobashi, Steve Corino, Bad News Brown, The Great Muta, Ultimo Dragon, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Austin Aries, Road Dogg
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Major Accomplishments

Cauliflower Alley Club
Iron Mike Award (2008)

Canadian Wrestling Hall of Fame
Individually
With the Hart family

George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame
Class of 2006

Prairie Wrestling Alliance
Prairie Wrestling Alliance Hall of Fame (Class of 2010)

Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum
Class of 2008

Pro Wrestling Illustrated
Comeback of the Year (1997)
Feud of the Year (1993 vs. Jerry Lawler
Feud of the Year (1994) vs. Owen Hart
Match of the Year (1992) vs. British Bulldog at SummerSlam
Match of the Year (1996) vs. Shawn Michaels in an Iron Man match at WrestleMania XII
Match of the Year (1997) vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin in a submission match at WrestleMania 13
Most Hated Wrestler of the Year (1997)
Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year (1994)
Stanley Weston Award (2003)
Ranked No. 1 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1993 and 1994
Ranked No. 4 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 2003
Ranked No. 37 of the top 100 tag teams of the PWI Years with Jim Neidhart in 2003

Quebec Wrestling Hall of Fame
Class of 2017

Stampede Wrestling
NWA International Tag Team Championship (Calgary version) (5x) – with Keith Hart (4) and Leo Burke (1)
Stampede British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight Championship (3x)
Stampede North American Heavyweight Championship (6x)
Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame

World Championship Wrestling
WCW United States Heavyweight Championship (4x)
WCW World Heavyweight Championship (2x)
WCW World Tag Team Championship (1x) – with Goldberg
WCW World Heavyweight Championship Tournament (1999)
Fifth Triple Crown Champion

Universal Wrestling Promotions
UWP Caribbean Tag Team Championship (1x) – with Smith Hart

World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment
WWE United States Championship (1x)
WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship (2x)
WWF Tag Team Championship (2x) – with Jim Neidhart
WWF World Heavyweight Championship (5x)
King of the Ring (1991, 1993)
Middle East Cup (1996)
Royal Rumble (1994) – with Lex Luger
WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2006)
WWF Superstar of the Year (1993)
Second Triple Crown Champion

Slammy Award (5x)
Best New Generation Spot (1994) – "Go Get 'em, Champ!" commercial
Best Music Video (1996)
Match of the Year (1997) – vs. Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XII
Put a Fork in Him, He's Done (1996) – The Sharpshooter
Which WWF World Heavyweight Champion, past or present, in attendance, is Hall of Fame bound? (1996)

Wrestling Observer Newsletter
Best Pro Wrestling Book (2007) Hitman
Best Pro Wrestling DVD (2006) Bret "Hit Man" Hart: The Best There Is, the Best There Was, the Best There Ever Will Be
Best Pro Wrestling DVD (2011) Greatest Rivalries: Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart
Feud of the Year (1993) vs. Jerry Lawler
Match of the Year (1997) vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin in a Submission match at WrestleMania 13
Feud of the Year (1997) with Owen Hart, Jim Neidhart, British Bulldog, and Brian Pillman vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin
Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1996)

Amateur wrestling

City, Calgary
City championships, Calgary (1974)

Collegiate wrestling
Mount Royal Collegiate Champion (1977)

National Wrestling Hall of Fame
Class of 2006

With a scale of 1-10 how would you rate Bret Hart in these categories:

-Mic work/promos

-Personality/gimmicks

-Ring work (along with some of your favorite matches/feuds)

-Overall rating (which doesn't have to be an average of the above scores)

mrken12 · Jan 16, 2019

CM_Burns · Jan 16, 2019

To me he's an 8. His fake titles don't make him an automatic 10.

Charisma/Star Power- 8. He had a good look/gear, was very into his character, and good theme. He never really had that ultra superstar thing to him though where I need to watch all of his stuff or was extremely excited for him.

Mic- 7. He wasnt electrifying on the mic like a Flair or Rock, but he was very believable most of the time. Content and conviction-wise he's a 10, his delivery was kind of boring sometimes though.

Ring- 10. One of the best ever. His matches didn't necessarily look like real fights, but they were still logical and looked like a struggle. Great catalog, tons of classics, including great matches with average or below average workers. 10.

Everyone knows his obvious stuff, but his match with Flair at Souled Out 98, his match with that pirate guy in WWF on PPV, and his match on PPV with Davey Boy when Davey was heel were all really good less known matches from him.

Silkk · Jan 16, 2019

I mean he's no doubt a legend but I'll give him a 8. Had a HELL of a run in 97 that I went back & watched not too long ago. But he never did it for me as a babyface unless he was in Canada.

95% of his WCW run was trash too, this moment being one of the few exceptions.

CM_Burns · Jan 16, 2019

I put his WCW being bad mostly on him. His stuff with Flair, Macho, and Hennig to start was OK, then his second half of 98 was trash with feuds with DDP/Sting/Booker T. If you can't perform well with any of those guys it's probably on you.

Riley Escobar · Jan 16, 2019

TheAlbionist · Jan 16, 2019

Technical :10
Look :10
Promo :10 (eventually)
Popularity :10
Cancer survival :10
Personal reputation :10
Wife :10

The ONLY downside to Bret was his attitude when faced with Shawn for a couple (ok, and he let it go on more than a couple) of years.

Still a 10 all round.

The best there was and the best there ever will be.

TL15 · Jan 16, 2019

He's a 9

When he was on, his Swag was through the roof...but you can tell he's the kind of wrestler that NEEDS to be on top or else he is pouting backstage

He's in the same league as HBK, Undertaker, Macho, Piper, and Sting to me.

Can't put him at the top of the mountain with Hogan, Flair, SCSA and The Rock... but he's right under there

and as always it's fyck Terry Bollea though :pacspit:

The Intergalactic Koala · Jan 16, 2019

Dude is wrestling in pink and black tights. Bret was one of those wrestler's that worked the shoot and shoot the work because he's a pure worker. In the ring, he mean business either if it involves putting people over or fighting for his life.His promos were...

Yet when he could, :wow:

. Mostly as a heel since he becomes a pure prick :banderas:

. While champs wanted to wrestle top dogs, dude wanted to main event with El Dandy :salute:

. He knew realness, yet sadly his career ended up in smoke due to WCW's whatever the hell and Goldberg's clumsiness. Beyond all of that, Bret represents everything I loved about professional wrestling from the pure athletics to the intense rivalries (Austin/Bret will go down as one of my favorite feuds of all time).

10/10

PlayerNinety_Nine · Jan 16, 2019

If you put the number 1 in front of 0 you have my exact opinion of him. :wow:

I remember watching some of his matches with Mr. Perfect when I was a kid and being "This might be on the same show, but this isn't the same as the Hogan shyt :ohhh:

"

He's in my personal all time Top 5.

Ill Lou Malnati · Jan 16, 2019

Bret "The GOATman" Hart :cool:

StarClout · Jan 16, 2019

I'll give him a 9. he's in my top 5 GOAT wrestlers, but has a few blemishes but I'll get into those later

He was one of the first 3 wrestlers I had ever seen as a kid (other two are Taker and Hoegan) :wow:

Mic Work: Owen was better on the mic, but Bret had that believability about his promos (When he said he'd kick HBK's scrawny ass at Survivor Series, or when he told Austin he was gonna make him quit at Mania, you felt that shyt :wow:

)

Ringwork needs no explanation. If you couldn't have a good match w Bret, you just didn't have it :ld:

Personality/Gimmicks: Everyone knew about the shades, the "Best There" catchphrase, and that he was really damn good in the ring. That transition to clean cut babyface to 97 heel run was gold and gave us classics such as the I Quit match with Austin, and the Montreal match before the Screwjob was finna be a 5 star match, etc

Only blemishes I can give him are how acted like a baby and he refused to drop the belt , and his WCW run. Ironically, he was starting to finally become the Hitman again in 99 till Goldberg ended his career :francis:

. He was a traditionalist as that was instilled into him from Stu, and as such he knew damn well that if you leaving a promotion for whatever reason, you do your final jobs and go out on your back ( :dame:

). In the words of Cokeboy, he didn't adhere to that tradition that was instilled into him by Stu. He knew Vince was a snake from jump and should've just dropped the damn thing in Detroit to Shamrock the night before and all of that would've never happened. Like Cornette said, HBK was an extreme dikkhead, but at least he was an extreme dikkhead who was actually staying so :yeshrug:

Sadly he will always have his career defined by that November night in Montreal. I'm sure he's sick of talking about it at this point since he's made up with everyone except HHH

TL;DR: HitGOAT is HitGOAT for a reason, but I cant give him a 10 cause of the few (very big) blemishes on his otherwise storied career

Playaz Eyez · Jan 16, 2019

Giving him a 9 cause I appreciated him more as I got older than I did as a kid, being that I was more of a Shawn Michaels fan and preferred Owen Hart (gave Owen an 8 btw). One of the greatest technicians ever, and as a got older, personality wise, he was far better as a heel than a face. Thought he was pretty standard and boring as a face honestly. Legendary catchphrase, great distinctive theme, legendary finisher (so much to the point where it's a transitional move now), and various classics. Didn't resonate with me younger, but I grew to be a fan later. His 1997 was damn near flawless. He also played a key role in Stone Cold's career. Him and Stone Cold's match as Wrestlemania 13 is my favorite Bret Hart match. The bleed streaming down Austin's face is iconic, and without Bret Hart, Austin's career doesn't take off like it does.

His WCW run was ass, even before Goldberg kicked him into retirement. Him being in the NWO in 2000 was trash. Though I thought Bret was always better as heel, in WCW, he should always have been a face. Should've been a super face like Sting was at one point and been firmly against the NWO. Outside of the Chris Benoit match, I don't remember too many WCW Bret matches. The stench of him being in the NWO is firmly burned in my memory and I hate it.

stro · Jan 16, 2019

10

Dude was working on such a higher level than everyone in the WWF during his tenure, his one perceived weakness, promos, was actually a strength as during the earlier days of his singles run he stood out from being more real than the cartoony guys before him, then was arguably THE top promo guy in 1997, and his WCW promos were always a highlight even when (and this was usually always the case) he really had no angle or anything to talk about and would just come out and ramble for a bit.

It's a real shame that his prime was wasted on so much of the cartoony New Gen shyt where he was wrestling dentists and pirates so HBK could get the shine. Bret in either NJ or AJ in the 90s would have been :banderas:

I think you can really make the argument that Bret was a hotter heel than Hogan in 1997, and Bret vs America angle is ultimately what truly changed WWE's fortunes forever via 1. The momentum it gave Austin, and 2. the creation of Mr. McMahon via Montreal.

PlayerNinety_Nine · Jan 16, 2019

Cobratron said:
Bret "The GOATman" Hart

I think you mean GOAT 'The GOATman' GOAT :wow:

TSC Evaluation #125: Bret Hart

Overall Rating

1 (Awful)

2

3

4

5 (Average)

6

7

8

9

10 (Legendary)

Veteran

Veteran

Superstar

Can't Change My Damn Avi :beli:

Superstar

GOAT

Superstar

Veteran

Veteran

Produced, Arranged, Composed and Performed by....

Be Well.

Moderator

Veteran

Superstar

Produced, Arranged, Composed and Performed by....