Bret doesn't draw anymore so why bother?

[Lexy]

His interaction with Michaels was a completely missed opportunity and his interactions with McMahon have been less than impressive. But again, despite all that, as a fan during the Hogan Era, it's good to see Bret Hart's face, at least.

I agree with you, I've lurked for quite a while so that's how I can say that, almost all the time, but I've got to speak out on this.

I don't know how they would've done the segments any different considering the kind of production they do now with goofy skits back stage, Horny, and heavily scripted speeches. I thought they've been about as good as can be expected. I too am a fan from the early 80's that has stuck around wrestling since then all the way up until now. Hell, I used to watch, in person, Jerry Lawler, Jeff Jarret, Bill Dundee, and Hulk Hogan wrestle at my local hometown Army National Guard Post on Saturday nights. I have seen the "Legends" for the most part and I have shook alot of their hands when I worked in Radio for 6 years.

But what the WWE has done to work Bret into their live show has been about as good as can be expected. Especially when one considers the different conditions his body is in and the fractured relationships, or lack of, he left behind after Montreal. This hasn't been the easiest thing for the WWE Creative Team to do as well. I think that's even more true when you think that probably half of them (the creative writing team) have hardly a clue who Bret "The Hitman" Hart is and what he meant to the WWF/WWE and wrestling in general. They get alot of these writers straight out of college who have just enough knowledge of wrestling to get them by.

I'm not disagreeing with you per say. But what I am doing is adding a slightly different perspective to this.

Vince's ratings problems is his own making. It's his ego that drives the company's direction and he hasn't quite figured out that he doesn't know everything and he's not as sharp, or up-to-date as he used to be. And in all fairness, his dad left the company in pretty decent shape with cash reserves in the bank to cover any problems in the future. Vince needs to advertise on mainstream media, not just USA, WGN, and Syfy. He needs to SPEND MONEY so that his company will MAKE MONEY. Plus, he needs a superstar that all the fans can relate to and not one the company molds into whatever is cool at the time (John Cena).

I couldn't help but think while I was at RAW on Monday that when he was here in Nashville, he was in a city and region that really got wrestling where it is today. Many of the fans here go a very long way back and are some of the most educated wrestling fans in the world. Many of the "Legends" from both promotions, no the majority of them, passed through this part of the US on their way to Stardom. He really could capitalize on the visits that the WWE make to Nashville and Memphis. You know, TNA's Headquarters were just three blocks away from the Sommet Center on Monday. Everyone was laughing about that in the waiting lines outside the arena. Anyways, I'm rambling so I do apologize for that. But hopefully you see my point here. LOL!

 

[mattant79]

I'm enjoying seeing Bret back in the WWE, It was going stale and with TNA having all those changes, Vince felt he needed to do something and it has worked for me.

I wish Bret could still wrestle though, Would have loved to see him VS Vince at Wrestlemania, But nevermind.
I'm loving Raw at the minute.

 

[BigShot723]

The first night Hart appeared on Raw the show received a 3.3 rating. This could have been attributed to the fact that the show was going head to head with the TNA debut of Hulk Hogan and therefore Raw was affected. So they tried it again last night. With the full support of the followup show after the Royal Rumble and Edge's return on Raw. The Hitman drew a 3.6 the same rating they drew the last two weeks with Dule Hill from Psych and god only knows who the week before that. So what im saying is does Vince really think Bret can still draw or is this part of some sick control thing to humiliate Hart on television? What do you think?

First where the heck are you coming up with your INFO?? Because it is soo wrong buddy! Bret Hart first raw on Jan 4th did a high 3.6 closer to a 3.7 rating. Where you got 3.3 I have nooooo clue! So his first show did .2 higher than the last raw, and it was the highest viewed RAW Since the RAW after Summerslam in Augest! Here is some more Stats, when Bret was on TV they did a 3.7 and a 4.4!! Yess a 4.4 is what they did at the end of the show with him and McMahon!

Now on to Last Monday show they did 3.63 rating, which is close again to a 3.7 Rating. Guess what the first Hour only did a 3.5! 2nd Hour which is the Hour people knew Bret Hart would be on did a 3.8!

To sum it up you couldn't be anymore wrong with Bret Hart not being able to DRAW.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Well, now I wouldn't exactly say that Bret Hart isn't a draw. On the January 4th episode of Raw, the segment with the first confrontation between himself and Vince McMahon drew a 4.4, which is somewhere in excess of 6 million viewers. I haven't read anything as of yet that shows the ratings breakdown of all the Raw segments for this past Monday, but I wouldn't be surprised to see the confrontation segment draw a similar number. Raw as a whole has been consistently generating a 3.6 rating and drawing somewhere between roughly 5.3 and 5.4 million viewers each week. Even if Vince is disappointed the show hasn't drawn a 4 overall as of yet this year, the ratings do show consistent interest in what's happening on Raw right now so that's something in and of itself.

As to why they bother doing it, because it's just plain interesting. It's a good angle and, even if this wasn't a consideration of Vince's, the audience is enjoying it. I've been watching wrestling as long as I can remember and, for me personally, it's just good to see Bret Hart again. Does nostalgia play a part in it? Probably so but there's more to it than that for me. Bret Hart being smart enough to know that his actual wrestling days are over does help in that as well. We don't have to worry about Bret Hart tarnishing his legacy and fond memories that older fans have by watching him pathetically try to compete with much younger and healthier wrestlers just for the sake of staying in the spotlight.

 

[theBIGdealAndyP]

well i gotta say i diasagree that hart cant be booked to draw ratings, he may not be that monster push of ratings, but with the right build, the right vignettes, the right storyline, you can make the new kids care about this guy. of course people who werent old enough to watch him pre- 1997 dont really care about him, i dont care about the majority of wrestlers from before the 90s, but ive seen enough footage (supplied by WWE) to atleast understand why i should care about them, i dont think theyve made it a point to introduce this guy to the new audience, there was the promo with old footage of him coming to the ring- but what about a couple wrestler recounts? let Edge go out there and have him explain who bret hart is and why he matters, then, if that doesnt get peoples attention, then you can say he doesnt draw anymore...

 

[axl626]

This Bret Hart return never made much sense to me. It would have been great a few years back because the majority of the audience knew who Bret Hart was and they weren't born after he retired. Many kids today got their first glimpse of Bret during that packaged segment dealing with his history. If I pull the name Bret Hart out with someone who doesn't watch wrestling they would have no idea who he was, but The Rock? People know him. He's been the most successful wrestler, in my opinion. The Rock is a draw for everyone, from Attitude era fans, to movie fans, to kids today. He had something to promote and it would have been huge because he's almost never out of form.

Bret Hart was never going to live up to the fans expectations and that's not a slight against him. They would have found something wrong with it no matter what. But every year at Mania there is a legend involved somehow and it seems Bret will be this years. I will say I started watching wrestling in 98 so I didn't see much of Hart and what I did wasn't that special but I won't take anything away from him since he did manage such a huge following. As for why they're bothering with him? This story needs a conclusion and it seems that this is the end of a 13 year long feud. Bret will likely be gone by Backlash or a little afterward. I do wish that Bret interacted with others more, maybe some of the younger guys in a backstage segment, but that's more along the lines of what I said at the beginning of this paragraph.

 

[CaptainZaltan]

First of all, I think people are downplaying or fail to understand the significance of Bret's medical issues. A lot of people lose the ability to speak altogether (other than a few token words) after having a stroke, and many lose function in various parts of their body. We have no idea how it's affected Bret really.

Second, Bret hasn't had to cut a promo in years. It's not like most other veterans who have been working the indies or international promotions and then make their return. Bret literally has no idea what the crowd are about or how to get over with them. He's working with a different crowd in a different time. In the era of charismatic, comedic/sarcastic baby-faces Bret is still trying to get over with a tough-guy act. In the PG era he's still throwing around the word 'ass' a lot. I have to wonder if the WWE isn't pushing this too fast and expecting too much. They should have put more emphasis on longer backstage promos which can be pre-taped, and shorter in-ring interviews. At least until Bret's rust wears off. Anyways, it's entirely possible he will make the adjustment by Wrestlemania, so don't write off the feud yet.

Ratings-wise, how do you draw conclusions? Regardless of who the 'guest-host' is each week, WWE draws about the same ratings. And in the modern era of WWE, guest appearances by old wrestlers don't really improve the ratings either. Furthermore, when the 'big name' guys like Cena get injured, do the ratings tank? Or stay surprisingly consistent? Look at it this way: William Shatner was on Raw last night as well. While the guy is incredibly famous and draws at conventions and pretty much whatever he's involved in, the ratings didn't spike for him either. It's not just about putting someone famous on television; it's about how they are used and presented and promoted. Austin and the Rock are the exceptions; if either guest hosts RAW the ratings will jump, because they will draw back a lot of the casual wrestling fans from the Attitude era who haven't watched since 3:16 shirts went out of style. But even in that case, those casual fans would likely only tune in for one week (especially given how much the product has changed over the years). They will say to themselves "well, it was cool to see Austin/Rock again. But the show sucks now".

Overall, the real reason for doing this angle is because the WWE needs to put a positive spin on this and put it to rest. Vince, Bret and Shawn need closure on this, as do many of the old-school fans. Bret and his family were a big part of the WWE once, and neither Vince nor Bret should go to their graves cursing the others name. The fewer scandals out in the open, the better, for a family entertainment company like the WWE.

 

[SharpShooter083]

I have been a WZ follower for a long time now and would randomly come onto the boards to see what the hot topics of the week were and to hear the opinions of my fellow fans. While I have been tempted to on multiple occasions I have never made an account or felt the need to post a reply to any subject, up until now that is. I have a few thoughts and opinions as far as how Bret looked with Vince/Batista this past Monday night........

I agree when everyone talks about not analyzing so much and just sitting back and enjoying the show. I've been a wrestling fan for almost 15 years now and seeing Bret back is awesome, especially seeing as how many of us thought it would never happen. It's a great way for all parties involved to move on and benefit from the debacle that was Montreal. Bret deserved a way better exit from WWE and pro wrestling in general then the Montreal/Goldberg kick incidents respectively.


First, I didn't view the initial kick/hockey punches from Bret onto Vince as weak at all. Yes its true that Bret is older now but anyone who knows Bret or has ever watched his matches knows that he never was a fast puncher. He was more slow and methodical when he used his fists and this past Monday was no exception.

Secondly, when I saw Batista get involved I instantly cringed. Nothing against Batista but he's had a reputation of being overly aggressive at times resulting in injuring his fellow superstars. I was just hoping that while he was wailing on Bret that one of those blows didn't connect with Bret's head. Bret being involved physically against Vince is one thing but against Batista is a totally different story. If they do decide to go with the Cena/Hart v. Batista/McMahon at WM26 instead of the 2 singles matches then they have to keep the Bret/Batista contact to a minimal to avoid further injury to the Hitman.

Third, everyone is talking about how Bret is out of shape and about how he has all this ring rust. True he hasn't been in a match in almost 9 years but he has almost 2 months to get into shape and get his timing back. Hell he knew months ago that he would be back and headed for a match at WM so it wouldn't surprise me if he was already in the process of working out and getting back into the ring.

Fourth, as far as Bret's health goes and what he's able to do/not do in the ring it should be simple....Bret's style won't change. Yea he most likely won't be doing any superplexs from the top rope but Bret is a technical wrestler who's aresonal consists of picking apart a body part and working on it. Side headlocks, arm bars, back breakers, leg grape vines, etc. All things that Bret made a career off of that he can still do today. It's not like he used to be a high flier doing moonsaults or hurricanranas.

In closing just give Bret a chance. After all the guy has been through, after all he has overcame and after all he has given to biz and to the fans over the years, he truly deserves it.

 

[Lexy]

Overall, the real reason for doing this angle is because the WWE needs to put a positive spin on this and put it to rest. Vince, Bret and Shawn need closure on this, as do many of the old-school fans. Bret and his family were a big part of the WWE once, and neither Vince nor Bret should go to their graves cursing the others name. The fewer scandals out in the open, the better, for a family entertainment company like the WWE.

I think this sums things up quite nicely right now! I certainly can see the WWE doing this in the era of "PG" because it's the "right thing to do". With the WWE trying to change its image in the mainstream media, they can't afford to have a big superstar out there like Bret, who was visibly and admittedly screwed, not on their side.

 

[Rated_R_4_Royal_Rumble]

Actually the first time was a 3.6 too. A 3.6 is an average Raw, the best drawn Raw of recent times is a 4. something and that was with Donald Trump. Which would you rather have on Raw? Exactly. Really who cares about ratings, we're fans, we enjoy or not enjoy a product. It's like saying "Man the seventh season of 24 went down in ratings from season 6, it's because Tony Almeida doesn't draw like he used to!" That's obviously the case, it's wrestling as a whole that has seen a decline in numbers since the days of 8.0. I'm sure if you stuck the Rock and Austin on there it wouldn't be a big jump either.

I had read on the mainsite the day after the January 4th Episode that it was a 3.3 so pardon me. But even still Raw draws the same whether Bret is on tv or some random celebrity so why does it matter? If WWE has a PG demographic then why do they think kids wanna see Bret return when they weren't even alive when he was a wrestler. The only thing they have to go off is storys from their parents. Honestly I didn't enjoy Bret's return to Raw anymore than any other episode because I frankly don't see what all the hype is about the guy. He is a good technical wrestler but not the greatest. The guy just seems kinds high on himself and it seems like he is willing to let McMahon spit on his legacy to make a couple extra bucks.

 

[Tougie]

I agree that his popularity has diminished. I mean playing off the Screwjob that happened before most of the crowd was probably born? and thinking that a few clips are going to make children interested? Fact is if you werent watching wrestling when that happened you wont really care. Even the 1/4 Raw was just a pointless watch, not saying TNA's show was much better but having Bret go out to the ring, talk, get assaulted by McMahon 2 straight times really makes no sense because even a kid can tell that its going to end up with Bret eventually kicking his ass. This storyline should have been done around 2006 IMO toward the end of the HBK-Vince fued leading into WM22. All that fued talked about was how Vince screwed Bret. Now its almost completely irrelevant to the PG crowd and even die hard Bret fans like myself dont even seem to care. I would have loved to see Bret do something by this point with the Hart Dynasty, hopefully he still does as Monday was only his second appearence. Also, making Bret seem truely like a beaten, defeated, and broken down old man (Although Vince beat him down?) really doesnt make much sense considering he isn't over to begin with.

 

[The Pizzaman]

How many people watch wrestling to just up the ratings? if you are a wrestling fan, you watch because you enjoy what you are watching. There are people saying that Bret Hart has not increased the ratings so why bother with him. The thing is that Bret was, and still is one of the biggest icons of this industry and he can still cause a lot of excitment. He may have had a stroke but the training he has endured over the years will help his body heal faster. Bret was screwed by Vince and consequently has been absent from WWE for over 12 years. however , i doubt that he has been just sitting around and not still training and keeping his body fit. His stroke may have put him in a wheelchair but he got to the level of fitness to get out of it and to be able to walk again. Im not saying that he is capable of resuming his career full time but if he feels able to lace up the boots again then i say let him. He is still capable of kicking ass and certainly able to put a figure 4 on Vince at wrestlemania. Vince may be trying to humiliate Bret but I dont think its going to work. As a lifelong wrestling fan, I for one want to see him wrestle again and to at least get closure and revenge on the events from over 12 years ago.

 

[reddevil69]

Ok I have waited 12 years to get this off my chest so here we go. I hate bret hart. there I said it. Truth be told i never met the guy and dont hate him on a personal level but i always thought he was very overrated and the only time he was interesting was the shock value of him winning the tittle and matches with owen, austin, and hbk. His matches with taker, vader, deisel and just about everyone esle except mr. perfect were hard to watch. So he decides to go work for the competition and when he leaves he tells vince mcmahon he is not going to drop the tittle to HBK because he doesnt respect him. I'm sorry bret but who the hell do you think you are telling the guy who decided to put you over that he cant decide who to put his tittle on when your leaving to go to his biggest competitor. Last time i checked shawn puts on tremendous matches and oh he has a personallity to boot. You go to the competition with just as much interest in you as there is in mcmahon and what happens, oh thats right vince ends up kicking wcw to the pavement and how was your run in wcw,oh thats right no one remembers anything except goldberg kicking you in the head. You can try to blame wcw for the failure there just like you blame everyone else for failures in your whole career but your contract had something called creative control which pretty much means you can choose to do whatever you want and in your idea of being creative you joined the nwo just like every other lazy wrestler at the time trying to get cheap heat instead of having the oppertunity to become the biggest face of all time by "doing what you do best" and wrestling. McMahon is right in calling you pathetic and i know thats all written for tv but that what u are bret pathetic. I remember when they made your dvd and asked you to do a run in at wrestlemania in hbk's match and u refused because you didnt want to tarnish your legacy. That great and all Bret because im sure your legacy wont be tarnished by having mcmahon put you down for 5 minutes with one kick and coming back a couple weeeks later and having him spit in your face. And we all know you'll win at wm but the only reason that match will be any where close to memorable is because vince will be willing to take a huge bump for you. You've always said you love your fans but what have you done to prove it. And Bret i know you've had it rough with owen , the stroke , and the survivor series stuff but my man we've all had it rough all you had to do was what your boss told you to do just like the rest of us do every freaking day we go to work. I apologize if i offend anybody with this post and i also appologize for the length

That's funny, because I don't ever hear anyone take Austin or Flair to task for refusing to do what the boss told them to.

Flair walked out on WCW in 1991 and took the belt to WWF...that's ok though right? Jim Herd, Flair's boss told him to drop the belt to Luger and he refused and left the company. Now we all know that Herd was a total fuckwad but the point is, he was still flairs boss and gave him an order to do something. Not something unethical but to do his job that he was being paid for and he refused and then tried to damage the company upon his departure. Yet no one bashes him for that, and HBK and HHH sucked up to him for the last decade in WWE.

Austin flat out refused to put Brock Lesnar over in 2002, and when Vince told him that was the plan and there is no changing it, Austin jumped on a plane and went home, leaving an arena full of fans on RAW that paid to see him disappointed. on top of it he slaps his wife around a week later, yet no one mentions any of this when they talk about Austin.

Bret stands his ground one time after 14 years of loyal service and after turning down three times the money from WCW a year earlier to stay loyal to WWF and all anyone can say is "he should have done what he was told".

Well what Flair and Austin did was far worse in my opinion and far more damaging to the respective companies they worked for than what Bret did in Montreal, yet Bret is made out to be a cry baby and the most ungrateful wrestler in history.

what a crock of shit.

 

[JJYanks121]

I think this sums things up quite nicely right now! I certainly can see the WWE doing this in the era of "PG" because it's the "right thing to do". With the WWE trying to change its image in the mainstream media, they can't afford to have a big superstar out there like Bret, who was visibly and admittedly screwed, not on their side.

The only problem with the logic here is that the "real heat" between Vince and Bret ended years ago. This would explain why Bret has a DVD set and was inducted into the hall of fame. Bret discusses how it played out in his book if you ever want to hear the one side that you'll get on the matter.

As for why it's being done, Bret was a star in his day. The same way TNA has brought back older stars for nostalgia, so has WWE. Unfortunately, I think in both cases, most of the "nostalgic" performers have come back as shells of their former selves. When you see this type of thing, often times you realize that it's better perhaps that they just stayed away. In Bret's case, to use him as a guest host, but a legit guest host who acted as a true GM who understood the business for one night could have been real cool. Instead, WWE had an idea to push a feud between him and Vince (one that I already stated has been resolved years ago in real life-ironically, it was Shawn and HHH that Bret continued to dislike longer and I still do not know what his feelings are on them at this time), but for whatever reason, the feud isnt' drawing. Now, I dont' look at it as "Bret isn't drawing". At this point, I feel that the WWE has a core audience that tunes in every week that is quite loyal. The only way that rating goes up is with a stellar guest host that is marketed well which brings in fans outside the WWE realm (Shaq obviously is a prime example here). Those "new fans" will tune in to see him, but not totally be into the wrestling or the storylines. Unless a fantastic show is presented and hits a nerve with that viewer, there's a good chance that viewer will be lost come next week.

Something we must accept is that this day and age, wrestling simply isn't that popular. Certainly not Attitude Era or Hogan Era popular. Think of it more as the "new generation age" part 2 (ironically headlined by Bret Hart). It is possible that something will set off a wrestling boom again, though I think it's less likely this time around. Regardless, it isn't Bret Hart that will do it. Bret is a wrestling purist's wrestler. He was never an "entertainer" in the sense that he could draw without his matches. Thus, having him involved in wrestling when he's not going to wrestle (nor should he) is not the way to expect to provide a quick ratings boost.

With all that said, Bret has a great mind for wrestling as he grew up in it and spent his life doing it, and could make an excellent GM or manager or any such role that doesn't include wrestler. Any of those options would probably work better than the current one because many of the fans that do know Bret probably know that there's no real issue and thus, know the storyline is forced, and all the younger fans know little about Bret to begin with. Thus, him being involved in wrestling is good and gives WWE another big name former champ on payroll, but one man does not equal ratings. It never has, it never will.

 

[Rated_R_4_Royal_Rumble]

How many people watch wrestling to just up the ratings? if you are a wrestling fan, you watch because you enjoy what you are watching. There are people saying that Bret Hart has not increased the ratings so why bother with him. The thing is that Bret was, and still is one of the biggest icons of this industry and he can still cause a lot of excitment. He may have had a stroke but the training he has endured over the years will help his body heal faster. Bret was screwed by Vince and consequently has been absent from WWE for over 12 years. however , i doubt that he has been just sitting around and not still training and keeping his body fit. His stroke may have put him in a wheelchair but he got to the level of fitness to get out of it and to be able to walk again. Im not saying that he is capable of resuming his career full time but if he feels able to lace up the boots again then i say let him. He is still capable of kicking ass and certainly able to put a figure 4 on Vince at wrestlemania. Vince may be trying to humiliate Bret but I dont think its going to work. As a lifelong wrestling fan, I for one want to see him wrestle again and to at least get closure and revenge on the events from over 12 years ago.

I'm sorry to tell you that Bret Hart will not be wrestling again. He had a stroke that keeps him from doing anything overly physical like pro wrestling.

Hypertension accounts for 35-50% of stroke risk. Epidemiological studies suggest that even a small blood pressure reduction (5 to 6 mmHg systolic, 2 to 3 mmHg diastolic) would result in 40% fewer strokes. Lowering blood pressure has been conclusively shown to prevent both ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes. It is equally important in secondary prevention. Even patients older than 80 years and those with isolated systolic hypertension benefit from antihypertensive therapy. Studies show that intensive antihypertensive therapy results in a greater risk reduction. The available evidence does not show large differences in stroke prevention between antihypertensive drugs —therefore, other factors such as protection against other forms of cardiovascular disease should be considered and cost.

High Blood Pressure is the majority risk factor of a stroke. Wrestlers have high blood pressure constantly as a result of the strenuous road travel and physical contests they take part in every day. Bret could never get back in the ring as a pro wrestler after having a stroke particularly at his age. (52)
People may have been excited to see Bret when he first came back. But his appeal has long since wore off. It's sad that he is willing to sell himself out to Vince McMahon for a paycheck. Vince is humiliating him on tv and for anyone who did wanna see him come back. Even seeing him tower over McMahon at Wrestlemania this year won't truly bring joy to our hearts. Because it's not happening because McMahon is sorry for what he did. It's happening because Vince gets to take joy in humiliating him and Bret is allowing it because Vince is a billionaire. Anything involving Bret getting the edge at the end of this will just have been done because thats what Bret agreed to.

 

[LSN80]

Could it be that other then the past few weeks, raw has been horrible with guest hosts and hornswoggle and dx dominating the show w their antics? Who cares what the ratings are, just having bret back on tv, something none of us ever thought we'ld see happen, is enough. Why do people pick at things for the smallest reasons? The thread starter completely overlooked the fact that even if Bret DOESNT appear again until WM 26, they have a build for a match based on the interaction with him and Vince over his two shows, coupled with the screwjob. A damn good one at that, and when does that ever happen?

 

[Undercurrent]

My question to those who are obviously quite focused on the ratings would be....how in the blue how does it affect you? It doesn't. End of story. Get over it already.

The crowd has been quite responsive to Bret and that is evident not only by their cheers but by all the Hitman signs and t-shirts. His new shirt is one of the top sellers on WWEshop.com so again ratings are clearly not everything. He is a valuable asset to the company and no one within the WWE would likely disagree.

The ratings have been down for quite sometime and not even Bret Hart himself can save Raw from the subpar and predictable programming Vince and company have been putting on for years. I have had so many individuals who were once fans of wrestling express interest in the WWE again simply because of Bret's involvement. Rome wasn't built in a day but nothing is ever good enough for the smart marks.

 

[axl626]

That's funny, because I don't ever hear anyone take Austin or Flair to task for refusing to do what the boss told them to.

I'll keep this short and I don't really like Bret Hart either but this one is an issue to me. Whenever people say "who's better? Rock or Austin?" I always go for The Rock. Why? Because he was a great wrestler but he was also a good person. He didn't beat his wife or bitch and moan that he wasn't getting his way. Rock tried to put over The Hurricane, Austin wouldn't put over Lesnar. Luckily it seems karma has caught up with Austin as Rock is a big star while Austin is stuck doing C and B movies. So yes, some people do not like Austin.

As for why I don't like Bret? That's because from what I've heard his WCW contract allowed him control of his character and what did he do? He sat at home most of the time. He was WCW's worst buy, and that's saying something. When he did finally come back he got kicked and had to retire. I was a WCW fan through and through and barely remember Hart wrestling. I remember Hart for the NWO 2000, so I think my dislike is warranted.

 

[ZeroVX]

As for why I don't like Bret? That's because from what I've heard his WCW contract allowed him control of his character and what did he do? He sat at home most of the time. He was WCW's worst buy, and that's saying something. When he did finally come back he got kicked and had to retire. I was a WCW fan through and through and barely remember Hart wrestling. I remember Hart for the NWO 2000, so I think my dislike is warranted.

I'm sorry, but that is flat out wrong. Bret didn't sit at home because he wanted to. He sat at home because the morons at WCW couldn't think of anything for him to do. You know what he first did when he came to WCW? He was a referee for a Larry Zybysko/Eric Bischoff cage match to decide who owned the company. He just came off of the screwjob, and he was refereeing a match between one guy who hadn't wrestled in years and one who didn't wrestle at all.

And then he get involved in the Hogan/Sting failure, coming out and claiming that the referee made a fast count, even though he didn't. After that, he joined nWo during their 3rd or 4th revival, but got shuffled aside because Kevin Nash was booking and wanted to promote himself. Aside from his one five-star match with Benoit in tribute to his brother Owen, winning the world title twice, and trying to start a feud with Goldberg but failing, he did very little, until he got kicked in the head. Then he got beat up some more in the following weeks, which lead to his concussion getting worse and worse, and then he had to retire.

I'd like to know where you got the idea that he sat at home by choice. I really would.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

I think the Bret Hart storyline is doing just fine. His debut was a bit of a disappointment,but things have picked up since then. The crowds seem to be reacting to Bret pretty good because during his two appearances, he has gotten some pretty good pops. The reason for Bret not being a huge draw probably has a lot to do with the fact that not everyone in the PG era knows who he is. There's a lot of young kids and teenagers out there, and some of them probably have no clue as to who this man is or what his legacy in the wrestling business is.
Ratings might pick up as this storyline develops because we still have a good amount of time before Wrestlemania 26.

 

[ThatWrestlingFan]

I could really careless if Bret does draw or not, I'm really interested in this where it's going. Bret Hart is awesome, always has been and always will be, I'm a big Hart fan. Even though Owen was always my favorite, Bret was still awesome and I always cheered for him. Though, I admit a McMahon vs Hart match would be sad to watch considering Bret can only take so many hits, so it'll only be him hitting Vince McMahon and stuff. Imagine him jumping from the ladder? That's suicide right there! But yeah, Bret Hart is awesome and I hope to see more of him on WWE TV.

 

[reddevil69]

I'll keep this short and I don't really like Bret Hart either but this one is an issue to me. Whenever people say "who's better? Rock or Austin?" I always go for The Rock. Why? Because he was a great wrestler but he was also a good person. He didn't beat his wife or bitch and moan that he wasn't getting his way. Rock tried to put over The Hurricane, Austin wouldn't put over Lesnar. Luckily it seems karma has caught up with Austin as Rock is a big star while Austin is stuck doing C and B movies. So yes, some people do not like Austin.

As for why I don't like Bret? That's because from what I've heard his WCW contract allowed him control of his character and what did he do? He sat at home most of the time. He was WCW's worst buy, and that's saying something. When he did finally come back he got kicked and had to retire. I was a WCW fan through and through and barely remember Hart wrestling. I remember Hart for the NWO 2000, so I think my dislike is warranted.

first of all, the only person with complete, irrefutable, uncontested creative control of their character was Hogan and Hogan only, period, end of story. That has been confirmed by Nash,Hall,Zybysko,Schiavone,Booker T and Hart.

Bret had nothing to do with his poor booking in WCW. They simply dropped the ball with him. They took a guy who was a month removed from the biggest story in the history of the business and made him a ref for Starcade? Talk about momentum killer.

Bret could have been a huge draw if they knew what the hell they were doing in WCW, but at that point they were on the way to becoming a sinking ship...the one good idea they had that really made them money was the NWO and it had been done to death by mid 1998 and was burning out...that was when they should have done something fresh with Bret, but of course Hogan's ego wouldn't allow that to happen and instead they went with Goldberg/Hogan for free on Nitro and that was the beginning of the end.

Nash said it himself that he would have let Bret have a run mowing through all the NWO guys and finally beating Hogan. He said WCW was a heel factory tailor made for a guy like Hart and they did nothing with him.

and furthermore, I'm really glad to see that you are able to completely ignore Bret's great run with the Hart Foundation from 1985-1991, and his great singles career from 1991-1997 in WWF and that the only thing you can remember is his lame WCW run which lasted two years.

you are a true wrestling fan, putting all of us to shame with your knowledge of the business...How could anyone not realize that WCW is what really means the most out of Bret's 20 year career? What was I thinking all these years?

I'd like you to stop and think for a minute, in 1992,93,94,95,96,97- for that period, take away Bret's matches and how many "great" matches does the WWF have at that time?...with the exception of a handful from HBK, most of which came in 1996 with the exception of the ladder match in 1994, there are not many guys who had better matches than Bret, and most of them had their best matches with Bret.

your reasoning for disliking Bret is lame at best, pathetic is more appropriate. That's like saying Wayne Gretzky was overrated based on his tenure with the Blues or Rangers, or Joe Montana was not that great and taking his years as a KC Chief as your only basis for his career. Learn your history before you comment on one of the greatest wrestling careers of the past 30 years.

 

[Tastycles]

I sincerely don't imagine that Vince thought he'd suddenly start drawing 4.0 as soon as Hart debuted. When Hart was main eventing Raw in the 90s, it was drawing somehwere in the vicinity of 2.6, so I'm sure Vince wasn't going after the TV audience per se. Hart has been brought back for two reasons. The first is for him to combat TNA's nostalgia factor that is currently ongoing, and the second is in order to sell PPV buys for WrestleMania when people see the closure between him and Vince. I'll judge his value when those buys come in, not now.