Bret Hart was such a crucial wrestler for the WWE during 1992-1997. He was definitely the most important wrestler of that period in the WWF. And he's one of the most influential and important wrestlers in the history of the WWE.
As people have pointed out just about every star in the company from late 1992-early 1997 was either made into a star by Bret Hart, or made into a more credible and bigger star by Bret Hart. The only exceptions I can really think of are Lex Luger, Vader, Mick Foley, and Triple H, as Luger had a brief mini-feud with Bret that's long forgotten and Luger got his own push. Vader came into the WWE right when Bret took his break in 96, Foley rarely worked with Bret, and Triple H was a lower card guy until 1997 when him and Shawn were running the show backstage. Bret left an impact on pretty much every major star in that period. Let's look back......
Rowdy Roddy Piper
Now I'm not going to say something as outrageous and ridiculous like Piper wasn't a star until he wrestled Bret or something like that. I'd be the biggest dumbass in history to say something like that lol. Piper predates Bret obviously. BUT...Bret Hart did give Roddy Piper the greatest match of his WWE career, hands down. And TUFFY, to even mention Sid/Hogan in the same breath as Piper/Bret is a major insult to both Bret Hart and Roddy Piper, as the Hogan/Sid match was NOWHERE NEAR the level of the Hart/Piper match. Agreed that Savage/Flair was the best match of the night though. But I just wanted to mention Roddy Piper, because Bret did help show that Piper can wrestle a good match, especially when Piper was on his way out, as this was pretty much the end of Piper's run during his prime in the WWE.
The British Bulldog
While the British Bulldog became a star on his own accord (though the Hart Foundation/British Bulldog matches from the mid 1980's helped to establish all of them), it's well documented that while he was a great athlete most of his classic matches were led by his opponent. None have been more documented than his match with Bret Hart at Summerslam 1992. It's well documented that Bret had to carry him through the whole match because Davey's brain went splat and he couldn't remember anything (drugs are suspected to this). This match made Davey a bona-fide superstar and possibly an eventual world champion had he not got busted for drugs and fired mere months later. Who made that possible? Bret Hart. Not to mention that just about all of the Bulldog's greatest matches were with Bret Hart.
Shawn Michaels
Bret was Shawn's first major opponent during his singles career. It was supposed to be Marty Jannetty, but due to his drug and legal issues, he was gone. So Bret had the task of establishing Shawn as a credible singles wrestler, and he did just that. Bret got Shawn ready for the I-C title which he would win in late 1992, which of course set Shawn on the path of his HOF career. Not to mention Shawn Michaels is one of many wrestlers like Owen Hart, Kurt Angle, Rey Mysterio, Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, and CM Punk who would've never gotten a second look for a main event run had it not been for Bret Hart. Bret Hart paved the way for guys with amazing wrestling ability and a smaller stature to be a main event player in the Vince McMahon Jr. led WWF. Randy Savage, Ric Flair, and Ted Dibiase were the only smaller guys to get main event runs (and Dibiase never got the title) after Vince led the company, but Savage was very muscular and had larger than life charisma, and he was best friends with Hulk, so Vince couldn't ignore him. And Ric Flair is Ric Flair. Shawn Michaels couldn't have had his legendary career in the WWE without Bret Hart paving the way for smaller guys. Simple as that.
The Undertaker
With the exception of the few matches he had with Hulk Hogan (which was more for the story rather than in-ring action), and the one match he had with Jake Roberts at Wrestlemania VIII, the Undertaker never had a great match in his career, until he wrestled Bret Hart. Up until 1994-1995 ish, the best match of the Undertaker's early WWF career was a match he had at Madison Square Garden against Bret Hart just a few weeks before the 1992 Royal Rumble.
[YOUTUBE]http://youtu.be/ChEdSymhFr8[/YOUTUBE]
[YOUTUBE]http://youtu.be/5AS2mmcn-k8[/YOUTUBE]
And by the time Bret and Taker wrestled in 1995-1996, those instantly became the best matches of the Undertaker's career. Bret Hart didn't help the Undertaker become a big star obviously, because at that point from about 1993-1995, Bret Hart and the Undertaker were clearly the top two babyfaces in the company with Scott Hall (Razor Ramon) and Lex Luger next in line. But Bret did help establish the Undertaker's in-ring career as helped to show that the Undertaker could put on a good match. And I'm sure the experience of wrestling Bret helped Taker improve in the ring and show him how to lead a match as he would in the future as his career progressed. This isn't a case of Bret making Taker a superstar, but making him a better wrestler.
Razor Ramon
Razor's first one on one feud in the company was with Bret Hart. Razor debuted around October 1992 and was instantly put in the Flair/Savage feud, but after that died down and Savage was put back to commentary and Flair was on the verge of leaving, Bret was champ and his first challenger was Razor. Their match at 93 and the fact that Razor was feuding with the champion instantly established Razor as a top-tier main event heel. Unfortunately Razor would be pushed down the ladder for the next few months until his babyface turn in late 1993, but his good showing against Bret proved he was a player in the company. And though Scott was a 7-8 year veteran by that time, wrestling Bret only made him better. Scott Hall has even said that in shoot interviews. Razor is a guy who got established because of Bret Hart.
Yokozuna
Bret made him a world champion. Of course Hulk Hogan killed that right aftewards, but Bret put him over and made him a champion. Though to be fair, Hulk later put Yoko over, but Bret did it first.
Bam Bam Bigelow
The best matches Bam Bam had in the WWF were against Bret Hart. It seemed that Bam Bam was stuck in dumb mid-card feuds throughout his WWF tenure (Doink the Clown, Tatanka, Lawrence Taylor, etc.), but just when people thought Bam Bam was a buffoon, a great match with Bret Hart always reminded fans that Bam Bam was great. I say instead of Yokozuna, Bam Bam Bigelow should've the monster heel WWF champion.
Diesel
The best matches of Kevin Nash's WWF career as Diesel all involved three guys, Taker, HBK, and Bret Hart. Taker only had a match with Diesel by the time he was one of the top stars of the company and on his way out, so Taker did little to nothing in getting Diesel over. It was Bret and HBK (and Scott Hall) that established Kevin Nash in the WWF. And while it's well documented that Shawn often took advantage of him to make himself look better (a spot at the end of their Wrestlemania XI match is a notable example of this), Bret Hart probably more than anyone put more effort in making Diesel look like a superstar. From walking him through their first main event match at King of the Ring 94, to Bret's careful in-match spots to make Diesel look like a credible Hulk Hogan like babyface at their Royal Rumble 1995 match, to letting Diesel destroy him after the conclusion of the 1995 Survivor Series match, thus establishing Diesel's tweener stage at the end of his WWF career, no one in the company did more to make Diesel look good and establish him than Bret Hart.
Jerry Lawler
Jerry Lawler's career in the WWF will be remembered for two things. His commentary, and his 3 year feud in the mid '90s with Bret Hart. His feud with Bret was his only real feud in the WWF. Most of his other feuds were silly feuds like with Doink the Clown, or short ones like with Jake Roberts and the Ultimate Warrior. Feuding with Bret Hart beginning at the 1993 King of the Ring and going all the way through that summer made Lawler one of the top heels in the company along with Yokozuna and Shawn Michaels. Their feud was so good that it won the PWI feud of the year award and the Wrestling Observer feud of the year award. It was a great feud and the highlight of Jerry's in-ring WWF career.
Owen Hart
No wrestler in WWF history benefited from Bret Hart more than Owen Hart. Bret was the one that pushed for Owen to get pushed. Early on Owen was a lower card jobber via singles or tag team. But once Bret became a top guy, he went to bat for him, and Vince finally gave Owen a chance. Bret carefully booked (in the ring) their match to make Owen look excellent, and then Bret put him over, instantly establishing Owen as one of the top heels in the company. Then he had his career highlight with his 1994 feud with Bret Hart. Owen wouldn't have been a major player in the WWF without Bret Hart. Plain and simple.
Hakushi
Hakushi is only remembered in the WWF for three things. Being an underrated in-ring talent, his matches with Sean Waltman, and his matches with Bret Hart. Hakushi's matches with Sean Waltman were lower-mid card attractions that usually opened up ppv's and stealing the show. His matches with Bret Hart were the top matches other than Diesel's championship matches. No one would've even bothered looking at Hakushi were it not for Bret Hart. A shame, because Hakushi was a great in-ring talent.
Jean Pierre Lafitte
His career highlight was his run with Jacques Rougeau as the Quebecers. Upon becoming a singles wrestler in 1995, he was given a stupid gimmick as a pirate, was tormented and mocked endlessly by the Kliq, and was given one of the dumbest reasons for a feud in history by stealing Bret Hart's jacket. He was destined to fail. And ultimately he did. BUT, no one would even remember him today, once again if it wasn't for Bret Hart. Bret worked with him to put on some underrated gems of matches. Even today, in interviews, Bret usually makes sure to drop his name in, even putting him over 15 years after his career was over.
Stone Cold Steve Austin
I don't really need to document this too much as everyone knows how crucial Bret Hart was to Stone Cold's career. But in short, Bret established Stone Cold immediatly by putting him over (kayfabe) as the best wrestler in the WWF upon his return in late 1996, then having a classic feud and having IMO the greatest match in WWE history at Wrestlemania 13, which helped turn Stone Cold into a babyface. The rest is history. We got the biggest star in WWE history, largely due to you guessed it....Bret Hart.
Brian Pillman
While Bret didn't do a whole lot to establish Brian Pillman as he was already a big name thanks to his stints in WCW and ECW and his extremely over and groundbreaking gimmick as the Loose Cannon. But Pillman instantly became one of the top heels in the company when he was added to the Hart Foundation stable. Brian would've probably been left in the mid-card, or undercard had he not been added to that stable.
The Rock
Bret was Rocky's biggest ally during the early stages in his career. It has been well documented that Shawn and Triple H hated him and tried to bury him (and ultimately failed). Unfortunately they were also helping to book for the company at the time. So in April of 1997, Bret and the Rock were going to have a match on Monday Night Raw (their only one on one encounter), and Bret was booked to beat Rocky and win the I-C title. Bret refused (THANK GOD). He reasoned that he didn't need the I-C title because he was a main eventer (which was true), and that Rocky as a newcomer needed it much more, and Bret beating him would've buried him. This was obviously done to bury Rock, as what other logical good reasoning could you put behind this decision? And thankfully Bret was smart and selfless enough to refuse to beat him. It's also been well documented that Bret went to bat for Rocky at other times during their one year together in the company and usually stood up for him against Shawn and HHH. The rest is history.
So yeah, you could say that Bret Hart in his time did more for his fellow WWE superstars than any other guy on the roster. Even today, as an icon and legend and HOFer, he is constantly heaping praise on the new generation of wrestlers in interviews. You can always catch him talking about how great guys like Cena, Orton, Punk, Mysterio, Melina, Natalya, Miz, etc. are. So even as a retired wrestler he is still doing his job in putting over the younger wrestlers and generation.
In addition to his impact and effect on every major star in his era, he also influenced and changed and impacted the WWE from a company standpoint in a number of ways.
1. He pioneered and led the way for smaller wrestlers with more in-ring ability to become main event players. I already detailed this in my passage on Shawn Michaels, but again, without his rise to the top and the main event, it's arguable that Owen Hart, Shawn Michaels, Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Kurt Angle, Edge, Christian, Jeff Hardy, and CM Punk would've been able to do the same.
2. He helped to pioneer the WWE's success on a global scale. It is well documented that Bret Hart is the biggest foreign draw in WWE history. It's also well documented that Bret was a bigger draw across the world than in America, the home country of the WWE. During the WWE's downturn in the early '90s they largely relied on tours in countries like Canada, England, Germany, France, South Africa, India, Japan, Italy etc. These pioneering tours and forays onto television helped the WWE to establish itself in markets across the world and not just America, and Bret Hart was the leader in this. Bret Hart helped these tours to sell out in droves, and Bret was a superstar in these countries, 10X bigger than Hulk Hogan or Ric Flair. Bret Hart's sellout tours in these countries helped the WWE to become a global company rather than just an American company.
3. Another thing that he gets not credit for was his influence on the Attitude Era. Everyone gives DX and Stone Cold credit, but most fail to mention Bret's impact on the Attitude Era. To start off with, Bret Hart brought the idea of the Ladder Match to the WWE, having the first one with Shawn Michaels in 1992. The Attitude Era is known for it's Ladder and TLC matches. These wouldn't have happened without Bret's idea and vision. He also did the first table spot in WWF history at Survivor Series 1995 when Diesel pushed him off the ring apron, and Bret went through the table. Where did he get the idea to do his spot? Some of Sabu's work in ECW. Of course he helped establish the two biggest stars of the Attitude Era in Stone Cold and the Rock. But the one aspect of his impact on the Attitude Era that literally gets no credit, is his pioneering use of the worked shoot promo.
While Stone Cold was already doing his cursing, and Goldust (his homosexual character) and Sunny (her sex appeal and bikini shots) were pushing the envelope sexually, and Brian Pillman was doing the "Loose Cannon" gimmick, Bret Hart was really the first to break kayfabe with his ranting, worked shoot promos during the early months of 1997. Rants on Stone Cold, Shawn Michaels, and most importantly Vince McMahon. The WWF was beginning to break kayfabe for the first time ever when Bret was ranting and acknowleding Vince as the real boss of the company. A few examples.....
[YOUTUBE]http://youtu.be/9sPcdgPx1nE[/YOUTUBE]
[YOUTUBE]http://youtu.be/FxCDDlSw9-A[/YOUTUBE] (This is one of my favorite moments/segments in WWE history)
[YOUTUBE]http://youtu.be/KvnRFOunIew[/YOUTUBE] (Pt. 1 of Bret's heel turn)
[YOUTUBE]http://youtu.be/vI1dt3q-XUQ[/YOUTUBE] (Pt. 2 of Bret's heel turn)
His pioneering worked shoot promos, his usage of pioneering hardcore elements (Ladder Matches, table spots), his establishing of the top Attitude Era stars, on top of his innovative Canada/USA storyline (where he was a heel in America, and a babyface everywhere else), he was just as much of am important ingredient for the Attitude Era as anybody (Stone Cold, DX, Vince, etc.)
Bret Hart was the heart and soul of the WWF in the post Hogan and pre Attitude Eras. He was the glue that held it all together. While Vince tried to put the title on other wrestlers, they all failed and he went back to Bret everytime who worked, until Stone Cold came along. Bret Hart was the most important wrestler of the early and mid 1990's, and one of the most important wrestlers in the company's history. Anybody that says otherwise is full of crap and ignoring what really happened in that time period (aka: WWE fans of the last 10 years that have been fed the "HBK is the greatest ever" WWE spiel.)
