Bret Hart: WW........Whoops!

[closet_fan]

i am sure i wasn't the only one who noticed that little "F" slip Bret made last night when he was talking to the NXT guys.

I know there really won't be an repercussions because it was an innocent slip, but does the wildlife fund get any money every time the "F" bomb is made?

 

[Dave]

I wouldn't think so.

The World Wildlife Fund are a charity and wouldn't look very good if they started to attack people and companies because of a simple accident. Bret Hart is probably not of the soundest mind, right now and suffered a stroke years ago. How would you think of the WWF if they brought a law-suit against a stroke victim for making a mistake on a worldwide TV show? Yeah! They wouldn't come off very well at all.

The fact of the matter is that any exposure for the WWF is good exposure. What happened last night was a genuine mistake in the eat of the moment and no court case would ever realistically be brought against the WWE because of it. No judge would hear it and it would be a waste of money in the long run because the charity would undoubtedly lose.

As for royalties, I doubt that they will get anything.

 

[Lee]

Bret does it all the time, and to be fair I don't exactly blame him. If I'd worked for a company for 13 years, it changed its name when I was away and I returned I would still call it by its old name. He does it all the time, and Buzz Aldrin did it a few weeks ago.

I always laugh because:
A) I know somewhere someone saving a panda is pissed off
B) You just know Vince is annoyed at it
C) You know someone will feel the need to make a thread about it

 

[outerfox]

It's not a big deal, either way. Vince still calls it the World Wrestling Federation from time to time as well as on DVDs only WWF is blanked out, but the full name is still said. You'd think that they would let them call it back the WWF since they moved to a family friendly PG era now. But I'm sure somewhere some hardcore card-carrying member of the World Wildlife Fund threw a little hissy about Bret's slip up.

That's what it will always be to me and most everyone who was a fan before they... "got the F out".

 

[CarlSinclair]

The general public (not current fans) still call it WWF... because that is what it is to everyone, they can get the F out all they want but to me its always going to be the WWF..

I mean for me, the Fink shouting out "and NEW World Wrestling Federation Champion" was one of the most epic things in wrestling, it may be gone but never forgotten, apparently not be Bret either.

 

[RupertPupkin]

That's not the first time Bret has slipped up, and most fans who grew up with wrestling in the early 90s still call it that now.

It was an honest mistake and I'm sure he'll eventually get on the WWE train.

 

[LMaruko]

Hart made an honest mistake, and I could tell the guy was thinking "Oh, shit," after he said it.

Like it was mentioned; he worked for the "WWF" for years, and then he had a couple years of a hiatus. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if Dusty Rhodes or Gene Okerland say it once in a great while.

 

[Bobby B]

Wasn't the only error either - the scene at the end once he was out and the NXT-ers had dissapeared, he scratched his face/moved a hair out of his eye. Not the best sell of a total beat down.

Don't think the World Wildlife Fund are going to complain too much - honest error.

Out of interest - was it bleeped out everywhere? Was for me in the UK.

 

[gd]

I think we're missing the bigger issue here, how atrocious Bret is on the mic. You have to cringe everytime he comes out. Difficult to watch, most of the time. Just stumbling over his words and barely remaining coherent. Not want you want out of a GM, at least I'd think so.

The WWF thing probably isn't a big deal though. Slightly increases the chances of a Panda attack though.

 

[Ruthless-RKO]

It happens more or less every week..its an honest mistake, it just happens...i don't think the world wide fund get anything out of it if they use "f", if anything, they should be glad they are helping getting the WWF name around...

Yes someone mentioned it before, buzz the astronout guy said it a few weeks ago...bret does it everyweek..

 

[Workshop]

I think Bret's mistake served as sort of a throwback--we hadn't heard that acronym on WWE television for quite a while; it just seemed to give the NXT storyline a bit more passion and authenticity.

Michael Cole saying "he fucked up!" on NXT, on the other hand...

 

[wushady]

If I remember correctly they where allowed to still use the WWF initials if only spoken. They were only forced to stop using WWF in print and on merchandise. Since they want their logo on everything they chose to change it to WWE. Many people mostly the old timers have slipped and said WWF over the years.

I've always been a huge Bret Hart fan and always will be, but I have to admit he's horrible on the mic. He stumbled through that whole promo.

 

[jaywalkingbackwards]

i think the real point here is that i hate bret when he comes out. i know people like him strictly for the nostalgia, and because hes the best ever. lets face it though, when he speaks, my disbelief in the characters is thrown out the window. wade barret was killing on the mic, then bret would ruin any emotion built up. and i just hate how he puts his hand in his pocket and holds the mic. everything about him seems so nonchalant.

i think he needs a gimmick. something to actually give him character and feeling on the mic.

 

[Hawkeye]

The guys old lol.He hasn't been in front of camera's in,like forever so it's just nerves,it's cool.I thinks it's pretty funny.

 

[Midnite Express 2009]

How many people know of the WORLD WILDLIFE FUND 1st of all? Really, if you're under the age of 40 & you don't live in an area that doesn't really have too much going on for itself, then you really don't know about nor care about the world wildlife fund, although wildlife does matter. The thing is, Bret did this before. I caught it & instantly wondered if Vince would fire him for anymore infractions. I know that Vince doesn't get in Bret's ear like he did Ross and does Lawler & Cole, but I'm not sure if Vince gives Hart scripts before hand. The thing is, I hate the name WWE anyway, and anytime someone drops the "F" in there I smile, because it reminds me of when they didn't have to block off everything or use those distortions against the "F", especially when they show the old Raws on WWE Classic. Nothing's going to happen to Bret. He'll leave when he's good and ready to leave, saying WWF or not.

 

[BWEEZY2009]

Love Bret as a performer.. but he's awful on the mic.

I thought his shoot on the NXT guys single handedly made me lose some interest in the angle because he botched 3 lines. The end of the show was pretty good though!

 

[Splinter48708]

Personally...Bret Hart worked for the World Wrestling Federation...Not World Wrestling Entertainment. This is as different as night and day to me.

Why is that? The older guys, like Bret, Hogan, Savage, Warrior, etc worked in a totally different company to me. It was a time when people suspected wrestling of being gimmicked and as scripted as Knight Rider, but, it wasn't acknowledged in public by any of the major wrestling outfits (until a much younger Linda McMahon told the Pennsylvania Athletic Board that they shouldn't have to be regulated because they product was, in fact, scripted out in advance so that there was no need for that oversight). Wrestling back then looked more real, as well. The old school guys are slowing dying out and/or becoming the "Fat overweight slobs" that Rick Rude would insult weekly (Are you reading this Dusty Rhodes?) Sure, the table was set by guys like Flair, Rhodes, Hogan and the other oldsters.

Now, WWE has the 2d or even 3d generation of the old guys working for it and, for them, it's more natural to think of the company as WWE instead of the WWF.

So, yeah, I can see ole Bret calling the company he works for by it's former name and I'm sorry the panda bear would get all upset over a slip. At least in the USA, Bret was not censored, even on the tape delayed West Coast feed.

 

[TheAnimal]

I dont think he is terrible on the mic. He is natural in the sense that it is like he is trying to have a conversation with them, not trying to cut a promo, he doesn't interact with the fans too much in his promos. You cant criticise him about coherency because he has had a stroke, im grateful each time i see him on TV in the good shape he is in, because strokes are a very serious thing.

And the hand in pocket thing doesnt matter too much, because if you think about it, he is in charge so why wouldn't he be cool/casual about it? I know he was supposed to be pissed off and that but as GM he can be like that.

Im pleased hes not one of those GMs like Steph and Bischoff who go on about business all the time. He is a wrestling guy and he is a wrestling GM. Bischoff/Steph seemed like it was about balancing books.

But to get to the point of the thread, its a slip from the guy who was probably the WWFs best servant, i dont think anyone can blame him for it.

 

[Game Boy]

I for one am a big Hart fan and I think it is amazing that he is even in the WWE right now. I actually attended RAW last night in Charlotte and I felt honored to say that I saw him live at this point in his life. It was truly an awsome experience.

 

[Blush]

I feel he did well, considering he had a stroke. He was never the most charismatic on the mic either, but he did do much better than his stint as the genie in that Aladdin musical a few years ago.

 

[waylonmercy]

Bret Hart is a excellent role model who is probably one of the best charitable individuals in wrestling. If WWF were to make a huge stink about it and the media caught on the WWF would look bad as Bret Hart has spent so many years in the World Wrestling Federation, the reference wasn't intentional and he wasn't using it in a context to upset the WWF, and having suffered a stroke it would make them look bad attacking someone like him because of his past medical issues. To me its like attacking Jim Ross because he has Bells Palsy. You can NEVER make JR look bad only yourself.

 

[LigerBomb]

The poor man has had numerous concussions and a stroke. So he makes a mistake from time to time; big deal. Heck, I'm perfectly healthy up top and even I slip up every now and again.
Going after him or WWE would be stupid on the Fund's part and not make them look good at all. Why risk the bad publicity? I think they would go after WWE if they were trying to brand a product or merchandise/generate revenue but that's an entirely different situation than Bret Hart slipping up during a live promo.

 

[pessimism101]

Nothing will happen because Bret Hart said "WWF" in a different context than what the World Wildlife Fund would take exception to. The WWE is only banned from promoting and marketing (selling) anything that uses the verbal initials "WWF" as well as the WWF scratch logo. If Hart had called it "WWF Monday Night Raw", then there may be an issue. Merely using the initials without promoting or marketing anything on live TV is technically still allowed, but frowned upon by the WWE, not the Wildlife Fund.

 

[Vash21]

Nothing would happen because the World Wildlife Fund has already gained their recognition from the name.

To start some kind of stink over it now would appear petty and unbecoming a major environmentalist group.

an to be honest I think that the WWF label is slowly drifting out of the public eye.

The World Wildlife Fund should hope it drifts away completely. Even with its new PG programming wrestling is still looked upon poorly by many people.

Course some of those people probably dig boxing or MMA so what do they know.