Bret Hart Now Open to Being Involved in the WWE

[Dragonslayer]

Whoa, when I read the news, I as well had a mini-markout moment right there. Of course I know it is still a long shot before (and if at all) we might say The Hitman back on WWE TV, and I will believe it only once I see it... but damn, it is really good to hear that.

For me, it's really not so much that his presence would be much needed - though he could undoubtedly play a good role as a (general) manager type of character. Personally, I think as a manager piece for the Hart Dynasty, he would give them instant credibility for one thing, and of course he could work very well in any program involved with HBK, if they really got their shit sorted out.

But for me personally, it's more that I'd be glad to see Bret Hart "coming home". He just had his greatest time in the WWE, he was a credible champion in a time of ridiculous comic characters; and maybe now with WWE having moved away from the more edgy Attitude era, where he somehow didn't fit in as well as others (HBK etc.), he might have a good place again. It just would be good to see him back in a WWE ring again, and see he's lost some of that bitterness he appeared to have built up after his departure from WWE, and of course after his unfortunate premature career end.

However, I would not want to see him in a wrestling role ever again. Firstly because of the stroke, obviously; Bret used to be the "Excellence of Execution", and that nickname was not randomly given; I think it really would tarnish his legacy if he was to wrestle again at his current athletic level, which obviously will be nowehere near where it was back then. Besides, he's 52 years old now, so even without having suffered the stroke, he most likely would be a tad too old to still put on great matches.

But as an on-screen character, in some Manager capacity or form, or even for one angle or something... it just would be uber-awesome to have him back for one last time.

Damn, I can imagine the crowd reaction now... I mean, it's been teased quite often, with his music playing but no one coming out... but if he really appears, the roof would go off in an instant. Imagine if they had him come back in Canada, too; I can literally see people in the audience crying, lol.

But well - this news has me definitely on edge right now, I really really hope there's some truth to it and that we may yet see The Hitman back in WWE once again, just for old times' sake. He deserves a proper conclusion to his career in WWE, and despite being inducted into the HoF, he has been gone for a very long time from WWE now - I guess 12 years since Montreal? So yeah... it just would be nice to have him back once more. But that's just my two cents, heh.

 

[gregfj2]

If Hogan and Flair can get huge pops as old men, then why not Bret. I wish his legacy didn't have to end with the screwjob image. Ted Sr looked great on tv recently, and WWE can only help itself by giving face time to Bret. If WWE can't make peace with the guy then I suspect the company would be seen at fault forever. (And Bret - the wrestling world LOVES YOU so why be bitter at all?) But maybe I'm a fool - what if this is only temporary hype just to sell a DVD? Wouldn't surprise me.

 

[MaciniRocks]

Ok I threw this idea off my friend and fellow long time wrestling fan in one of our random "lets book this" sessions....

So I am going to play devil's advocate against myself.... saying that Bret comes back... this is how I'd do it if I had the power.

We see the Dynasty getting the crap kicked out of them for weeks and have backstage moments of them being frustrated at whats going on and them saying they are too good for that with their lineage, ect. Then on a Smackdown in Canada they lose again... this time tapping out. After the match they sit in the ring looking ashamed and shocked... and out of nowhere that familiar music hits and down comes Bret Hart. He cuts a promo on the Dynasty saying he is tired of the family being embarassed and is going to take them back to their roots. This happening in Canada guarantees them being babyface.

The next few weeks we see segments with Bret and HD in the "dungeon" training... and little by little they start gaining momentum. They don't start on a winning streak but everytime they lose they look better but that loss leads to more training, ect. (during this process we also start to turn Cryme Tyme heel to counter the new babyface Dynasty)

They eventually get that big win and start a small streak. At the same time, DX has captured the Tag Team Titles. And with HD's new found momentum they face DX at a PPV. They give it all they have and it looks like they are going to win... when BAM Bret throws in the towel.

This leads to shock on the face of HD and they end up getting the living hell beat out of them by HHH. The next night on RAW Bret runs down HD calling them rip-offs. Mentioning Tyson isn't even in his bloodline, saying DH is stupid by not learning from his father's mistakes and using steroids... you get the idea. Super heel promo... while HHH is smiling his happy ass off HBK doesn't look too pleased and even seems a bit squeamish at times.

Eventually there is a rematch. The finish comes when HBK superkicks HHH and "punches" out Bret. New champs: Hart Dynasty. HBK sides with HD and promises to take them to new heights, which he does and slowly they are put over more and more with HBK at their side.

Now HHH and Bret don't take this lying down. HHH attacks HBK backstage one night during this feud (around say late February) and afterwards Bret screams "You were the one who was responsible for my career ending. Well you know what I'm going to return the favor. At Wrestlemania you and HHH's match will be a retirement match... and I'm going to be in Hunter's corner."

You can book the match however you want but the finish would see Bret "screw" Shawn the same way Shawn "screwed" Bret.

This would satisfy everything we would want to see including an extra:

Bret with the Dynasty
Dynasty vs DX
Dynasty getting super over
HHH going heel
HHH vs HBK retirement match Wrestlemania
Bret "getting vengance" for Montreal...
And Bret having a purposeful reason to be involved in WWE again...

 

[Tastycles]

I think if there was any real mileage in this, then Bret Hart would have been the guest host when WWE was in Calgary, you know as like a try out. I can't see a long term employment to be honest, Hart doesn't have the health for it in all honesty, and he was hardly the greatest in the world on the entertainment aspects of wrestling, so he wouldn't even be that good as a GM. If he does ever do this and it went beyond a single guest host appearance, or as a special referee or something somewhere down the line, I'd be very suprised.

 

[reddevil69]

Shit myself, no! Interested, yes.

I would love to see Bret Hart back as something like a manager, GM, or even a color commentator. I think that it would add a shit ton of money to the WWE and it would make whichever show he ends up on must see T.V. I mean, c'mon, what wrestling fan doesn't want to see Bret Hart back?

With that said, I don't happen to think that Bret Hart is the be all end all in professional wrestling like this forum tends to paint him up as. He was great and a joy to watch, but let's face it, he didn't have the one thing and that a wrestler must have, IMO, to be considered one of the best ever, LONGEVITY. If he comes back, though, and stays for awhile, he could fix that. Bret Hart isn't on my list of best ever and I know that I am going to get flack for this, but, IMHO, BRET SCREWED BRET! Enough said!

I'm as big a Taker fan as anyone, but how can you say Bret had no longevity? that's just not true mate. He started wrestling in 1979 and if you only want to count the years from WWF , he was there for 14 years! From 1985-1991 he was upper mid card and semi main event for most of those years with the Hart Foundation...they were champs on two occasions and that was when the pecking order was World Champ, IC Champ, Tag Champs, and those were the main headliners...from late 1991 until Nov. 1997, he was on top for six years and was the IC champ twice and the WWF Champ 5 times during that period, how is that not longevity? 14 years in his position in the company is a great career, it's not like he was Bob Holly who had a 15 year tenure and never headlined a show in his life.

as far as your opinion on who screwed Bret, who gives a shit....if you're a Taker fan then you'd know in reality, in their private lives Mark Callaway and Bret are close friends to this very day, I'm quite sure he doesn't think that Bret screwed Bret seeing as, from all accounts I've ever read or heard, he was more pissed off than anyone in the lockerroom about the screwjob.

 

[AJAnder]

Wow, if he appears in WWE Hell has offically froze over hahahaa. Do you think Bret and Shawn will come face to face after years in the middle of the ring? It would be something the fans would want to see, those two in the ring face to face talking it out after years of slience.

It would be interesting to see that face to face. I know that Bret can't really wrestle anymore cause his health issues but a face to face or maybe even a debate ran by Vince in the middle would be awesome.

If Bret comes back part of the deal will probably be he'll either be on SD or something so Bret doesn't cross paths unless he can now stand HBK. BUt I know that I'm not the only one who'd like to see Bret and HBK in a face to face confrontation on RAW or a PPV.

AKA Everyone on this forum has just shit their pants.



First off, everyone should obviously take this with a grain of salt. Bret Hart isn't saying he is or has any plans to return to the WWE in the future, all that's being said here is that he's no longer strictly ruling it out, as he did in the past. That alone is enough to have me giddy with excitement though, because just the fact that Vince is spending time having discussions with Bret and Bret is actually listening is enough to give me some hope.

What do you guys think, do you buy a possible Bret Hart return in the future? It would obviously be more of an on-screen personality, as his wrestling ability at this point would likely be very, very limited (thanks Goldberg!). Do you think I'm just being a bit too eager here? What would you like to see Bret do in the WWE right now?

Collective IWC orgasm in 3...2...1.

 

[powerade]

some of you are reading the "GOD" thing the wrong way...

Apparently, Hart was tentatively penciled in to team up with Shawn Michaels vs. Vince and Shane McMahon at Backlash instead of "God."

INSTEAD OF "GOD"....meaning instead of Triple H
not that bret would have been god...

This is pretty cool though, hard not to get excited at the possibilities of it but its probably still a long way of anything happeneing....but who knows.

 

[Dre Guevara]

I had a "Fred Sanford" moment myself upon reading this yesterday, however, @ age 52, I'm not expecting Bret 2 come back & get in the ring, like a couple of y'all said, I can see him in a manager's role with the Hart Dynasty or even as the PERMANENT GM on Raw, where I can see him making HBK's life a living hell. speaking of which, I wonder if Shawn would be man enough 2 finally apologize 2 Bret about the screwjob if this happens.
I really won't believe it until I see happen.

 

[Baximus]

I'm honestly shocked that no one has referenced the most interesting part of this:

The ending to Punk-Taker was a screwjob with Bret in mind.


Look, its safe to say that Vinny Mac has slowly been building back up his heel character, starting with putting Teddy on probation. To me, it was obvious Vince was behind the screwjob since Teddy and the ref both said that they had to do it and Vince wouldn't let him talk in the back.

Vince is going to be exposed as the guy behind it when he screws over Taker again at Hell in a Cell. That brings back evil Vince to the WWE. Here's where Bret comes in: He saw that Vince hadn't changed his ways and he wasn't going to let it happen a third time. At survivor series, he's going to be in the Undertaker's corner and return to the E for the first time in 12 years. There's a certain symetry to it.

 

[koo2bme]

I'm happy that Bret Hart is considering a WWE return. Everyone is right though his wrestling days are pretty much gone due to the stroke he had in 2002.

If he did come back today, I could see him as a general manager on Raw. Screw the guest host shindig. And place him in a feud with D-X and have Bret has a heel. I don't know if that could happen, due to the fact that we don't know if Bret, Shawn, and Triple H could co-exist behind the scenes. I do think that eventually since Shawn is a born-again christian now that him and Shawn could possibly, maybe patch things up. But with Triple H, IDK.

Bret Hart is always going to be popular in the wrestling industry, and If he does come back I'd like to see Bret have one more go-around in the WWE, and leave the WWE on good terms and in a positive way.

 

[Spaceman Spif]

Holy crap, mark out moment. I'd love to see Bret Hart back. He is my favorite of all time. However I doubt as many have already expressed, it'd be in any sort of wrestling form. He'd have to be a manager for someone or the Raw General Manager, maybe even the new on-air 'CEO' or something. It's awesome that Bret is now willing and wants to talk to Vince and the WWE, that's not even really a step, it's more a leap for Bret. This is so cool.

 

[WWEIsLife]

I for one hope this does happen as Bret has always been my Favorite Wrestler of all time. I think he would make a great Manager for The Hart Dynasty or even take over as Raw General Manager. So Come Back Hitman please.

 

[Fuel The Fire]

I think he is one his way back because they did keep bringup bret hart at the ppv , with dx and his triple h comments, and the taker screw job, its all got to set up to him, then out of no where you go to wwe.com and that new thing there doing with the pictures and make a nother picture out of it, its a bret hart type of picture now, now it seems like there bringing alot of attention to it, but only time will tell.

 

[XgringolocoX]

what gets me more excited than seeing Bret on TV every week is knowing that he'll be around to talk to the younger guys. I think those are the contributions that will be the greatest should this come to pass. *fingers crossed*

 

[Nature Boy]

I have always had a Huge respect for Bret Hart.

He is one of the soothest ever in the ring.

It was 3 weeks before my 10th Birthday when he won the IC Title against Hennig at Summerslam '91 and it was an incredible match.

Back then though, and all the way through I was always an NWA/WCW supporter, so while I watched Superstars and Challenge and later RAW, I always was more excited to see Ric Flair, Sting, Pillman, Windham and the like.

Since Monteral however, while it was a horrible thing for McMahon to orchestrate, I have got more than a little tired of Bret whining for the past 12 years.

It's a shame that he was so horribly used is WCW, and it's a huge shame that Goldberg wasn't more careful.

I think the Best There Is DVD and the HOF induction were wonderful gestures by the WWE, and big of Bret to accept.

I think if the WWE and Bret Hart were to work together again, then in some ways the relationship could prove very fruitful.

Of course they would have to finish the Montreal Screwjob once and for all, and a confrontation/angle with Michaels would be fantastic Wrestling TV.

I don't really see him as GM, or at least not in the long term.

I think he would make a great trainer/booker.

He could even start his own promotion and use it as a training ground for the WWE (or even TNA) ala Dory Funk Jr or Harley Race.

There is lots of things Bret could contribute.

But like most things in wrestling, I won't believe it until there is confirmation.

 

[Mustang Sally]

AKA Everyone on this forum has just shit their pants.

I too just shat my pants at reading the subject line of this thread.

Yeah, I pretty much shit myself. I love Bret.

Well, this topic has certainly generated a lot of shit, huh?

Personally, I don't think it will ever happen. Bret would be so difficult to deal with, trying to call the shots on what he will or won't do. I think it would be great if he was the leader of the Hart Dynasty; maybe he would hate what the company is doing less if he was working with family. On the other hand, he might hate it more.

Even if he comes aboard, I don't think he would be enough of an on-air presence to keep our interest for long, unless he was willing to deliver (and take) a few bumps here and there.

But if Bret is willing to do this, I would have to question why after all these years. What is the man's personal cash flow position these days?

 

[drobs85]

For all those saying bret cant be a commentator, or a good gm, because he has voice restrictions. Did any of you watch his 2006 Hall of fame speech? he sounded pretty clear and understandable to me. He even got loud at certain points. So if you havent watched that, go on youtube. He can talk just fine. in fact he was up there for almost 30 minutes.

 

[Razor]

AKA Everyone on this forum has just shit their pants.

Eh...The Hart Foundation have their manager now.

Bret Hart coming back will be great, if he actually pulls his weight. I don't need Bret Hart back if he's not going to put on the promos we know him capable of. He should really throw his weight around to help get the new people over. If he comes back and helps push someone like Benjamin to the sky, I'm going to be pissed that they wasted a living Legend on yet another push for the Fuck-Of A Thousand Pushes Benjamin when you have Ziggler, Swagger, MVP, and numerous others that only need that little bit.

Hart in anyone's corner is going to push them to the Heavens. Especially if he is in a corner against HBK. The IWC would have a collective orgasm 10000 times over, and promise whomever he's behind as the best in the business for a million years. *Fingers crossed it's Swagger*

So, what I'm saying, is I hope McMahon doesn't fuck it up whenever he finally gets Hart back into the building. He could do sooooo much for his future business. However, I'm afraid that he is going to use Hart to build Punk and Taker, who need no build from Hart. Swagger, MVP, Miz, anyone on Smackdown whose name isn't Punk or Taker, they could all use the bump that comes from fucking Bret Hart in their corner.

 

[Slam Master]

Bret Hart was always a serious kayfabe, silent, old-school pro so for all we know he could have already worked out some of the past differences with the guys he had problems with. It would be great if he came back, he and HBK worked it out enough to tolerate each other, and started a program of promos in which they start taking shoot back and fourths at each other again like the old days. That would make my millennium. It could bring the intrigue, excitement, intensity, and mystery back to the product that its lacked for a few years.

 

[Felderino]

Fingers crossed Vince and Bret can work something out and he does return. Not sure what he'll do but I don't care, just seeing Bret on WWE television will be enough to keep me watching. It will definitely add some excitement that's been missing lately, who doesn't want to see a HBK vs Bret standoff! However I won't believe it until I see Bret in the middle of the ring, lets not count our chickens on this one.

 

[byrnside]

Don't know if anyone's mentioned this yet, but JR did mention this in his blog:

"Loved this email...what's most likely to ocur...Bret Hart appearing on WWE TV or Fedor signing with UFC? Easily it's Bret Hart making an appearance on a WWE show as I never see Fedor signing with UFC under the ridiculous terms of his recent contract demands."

Now who knows, I'm not THAT into UFC so I don't know what the contract negotiations and stuff are like. But I feel like, and maybe I'm way over speculating, JR's making it sound like they're close to figuring something out.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

HOLY SHIT MARK THE FUCK OUT

how could you ASSHOLES not tell me about this?!?!?! Damn right I just shit my pants!! I shit my pants so much that shit is actually oozing out of the bottom of my pant legs. My teeth fell out. My hair too. Im bleeding. I went blind. THATS how much I marked out.


That being said, not sure how great it would be. I think he absolutely should be on the creative team, maybe just make him the head booker / creative guy on SD, which is more of a pure wrasslin program than anything. For an on camera character, I just dont know. Face GMs never last real long, regardless of how gold Hart used to be and likely still is on the mic. I would LOVE to see him in a creative / booking capacity though. Awesome news.