Diesel vs. Bret Hart: Which match was best?

[Wolf Pac]

These two have never really had a bad match together in the WWF imo. I think all 4 of their matches are classics and they would always go a little hardcore in their matches which would make em even more fun to watch. In the first match, Diesel won by DQ but never got the WWF Title. In the second, they both went to a no contest due to interference. In the third which was contested under no DQ & no countout, so they could finally decide a legit winner, Bret Hart ended Big Daddy Cool's 1 year title reign with a suprise roll up, which happens to be one of my favourite roll up victories. And in the fourth, they both competed in a Cage match in which Bret won again with help from The Undertaker. Like the title says, which match out of their quadrilogy is the best?

 

[The Brain]

Good question. I’ve always liked the King of the Ring match the best. I liked Bret as the champion face and Diesel as the challenger heel. Diesel was really taking off in 1994 and he was a fresh new face in the main event scene. He had a lot of momentum and posed a serious challenge to Hart. I remember being really intrigued by the match. I think both men did a great job as Diesel was trying to use his size to overpower Hart while Hart was trying to take out Diesel’s legs to eliminate the size advantage. The ending wasn’t that great but it worked. It kept momentum on Diesel’s side while keeping the title on Hart and advancing the storyline with Owen.

The Rumble match was good too but I like KOTR a little more. Survivor Series didn’t impress me much and I haven’t seen the cage match in many years so I barely remember it.

 

[gunnascott]

I vote for the 1995 RR match. The match was intense with a great reversal from their KOTR 94 and saw Bret kinda taking the roll of a heel and Diesel being the face. The only reason this match wasnt class is because of the DQ finish but all of their match were great IMO

 

[DeathClutch]

I'm not a huge fan of their King of the Ring bout, though I've only watched it once or twice, their Royal Rumble 1995 match I always enjoyed as a kid though when I picked up the tagged classics dvd and rewatched the match I realized my opinion was clouded in sentiment and that it wasn't as great as I'd originally thought.
Survivor Series 1995 is probably their most known match and out of the top 3 PPV's was hands down the better match plus a clear winner doesn't hurt either, but I always thought their In Your House 6 cage match was their better match, though the ending kind of sucked it helped further Diesel/Undertaker and allowed Bret a clean-ish win to move on without Diesel being in the background.

 

[TheHitMark-SirJoseOle]

All the matches had something to offer in the way of the storylines, basically the first match was to get some momentum for the Owen and Bret feud since Jim Neidhart made his surprise return to the WWF to be in Bret's corner only to show his true colors later that night.

The Royal Rumble match was to build up further heat for HBK to go against Diesel at WrestleMania XI.

I am going to skip over to the In Your House cage match to mention that this match was to build off of what happened the previous month at Royal Rumble 96 when Diesel cost Undertaker the WWF Title. Taker's interference solidified that were would be a Diesel vs Undertaker contest at WrestleMania XII and it was one of my favorite matches in Taker's WrestleMania resume.

My personal favorite match and the one I really think is the best was Survivor Series 1995, Diesel (even in a weak WWF was still an entertaining champion, I care not what anyone says) and the match with him and Hart at Survivor Series 1995 I think had the best story because there were none of those outside factors to further other angles like I had mentioned. This match actually just focused on Bret Hart and Diesel's vying against each other for the WWF title and Diesel was just one week shy of a FULL year as champion when Bret came out of nowhere with an inside cradle and got the belt back for the third time. It was a very memorable time in a WWF that wasn't at its best in a commercial sense but critically speaking there were high points that I don't think a lot of folks always appreciate. Diesel vs Hart at Survivor Series 1995 was just that.

 

[Defekt]

I think their match at Survivor Series 1995 was unquestionably the best. In fact, Bret called it the greatest match of his career on the new WWE Great Rivalries DVD.

I remember watching that match live. Diesel had been the champ for a year, and seemed unbeatable. The match was very intense, then ended out of nowhere with a small package. My friend and I pretty much lost our minds with excitement.

 

[The Suplexer Perfecter]

I think their match at Survivor Series 1995 was unquestionably the best. In fact, Bret called it the greatest match of his career on the new WWE Great Rivalries DVD.

I remember watching that match live. Diesel had been the champ for a year, and seemed unbeatable. The match was very intense, then ended out of nowhere with a small package. My friend and I pretty much lost our minds with excitement.

You sure he said "his" career, or Diesel/Kevin Nash's career? Because for years Bret was saying him vs Bulldog was his best.

But I've only seen their Royal Rumble and Survivor Series matches, enjoyed them both very much. Just shows Bret could make anyone look good.

 

[safeco1999]

It's amazing how WWF at the time had the Diesel/Bret storyline sort of going on in the background while Hart had his feud with his family. I always appreciated that. It wasn't like today, where we get the same match in 3 consecutive PPV's for no reason.

The Royal Rumble match was their best. It was back and forth, and these matches were a perfect example of great story telling and ring psychology. Bret was smaller but quicker and attacked Diesel's legs for his sharpshooter, while Diesel brought brute strength.

It was a great match, and just when you thought it would end with a DQ, it would keep on going.. and going.. and going.. until things were out of hand. And in the end, mutual respect was shown, which was a great way to end it.

It's one of those matches where, despite there being no clear winner, you felt you got your moneys worth.

 

[Peoples_Champ]

SS 95 was the best match, but IYH 6 had the best finish.

Btw, in Bret's autobiography, Nash thanked Bret late in Bret's career for the matches. Nash told him that he never had better matches with anyone else.

As a matter of fact, now that I think about it, Bret's Royal Rumble match with Razor was pretty good as well. It was Razor's only title shot in his career if I recall.

 

[bigsexyNWO]

i enjoyed all there matches some of big sexys best work. I am a huge fan of the small champion vs the big monster challenger Bret works so well in that situation with all the big men nash,taker,sid. SS 95 was just a great match but my favourite is In your house 6 cage match i love the finish great match.

 

[Millennia]

Survivor Series 95.. one of the first broken announce table spots, and an awesome back & forth battle, told an excellent story..and a believeable ending make this epic world title clash my favorite DIESEL vs BRET HART match up

 

[JUSTINMFNBEEMER]

ss is still in my vcr, where ever the hell that is. seriously, an amazing match, you had shades of heel bret when he tied up diesels legs in the corner and worked the knee, you had chair shots, you actually had nash take some good bumps and be able to get back up, bret going through a table, sure it might have been gimicked, but it looked a lot more believable then the table spots now a days, and that small package (not a roll up people) was absolutely awesome, me being canadian and all my friend and i went nuts and got yelled at for being so loud by my mom lol, then the after match with two jack knifes and diesel declaring "im back", just the best

 

[MFR0mack]

Btw, in Bret's autobiography, Nash thanked Bret late in Bret's career for the matches. Nash told him that he never had better matches with anyone else.

Bret claimed a lot of people said things like this to him in his book & honestly, I found it a little disingenuous and trying to live up to his gimmick like he's always been known to do. Nash stated publicly for years while he was in WCW & after that what he considered his "best" match was with Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania XI.

Anyways, I go with Surviver Series '95. No run-ins, no swerves, just a solid 20+ minute match with a good ending. Solidified Diesel's heel turn (which really, built him up better for WCW & the NWO angle than it did for the WWF) was an amazing piece of entertainment.

 

[harrythem]

If I had to pick one I'd pick SS 95, just because that was the first table spot I ever saw in the WWF and, at that time, it was a real shocker to see.

Wasn't really impressed by their other matches and their rage in the cage match just pissed me the hell off

 

[byrnside]

It's a pretty close call for me between Survivor Series and Royal Rumble 1995. I've only seen the other two matches once or twice and don't really remember them other than the endings. Royal Rumble 1995 is a favorite of mine just because that was the first PPV I ever ordered. Looking back at the match itself it was pretty good but all of the outside interference/draw ending takes away from it for me which lands me at Survivor Series '95 as my choice. Overall it was just a solid match and it was unique for these two in that there was no interference. It was just the two great champions going at it. I also really like it now because this was the start of Diesel's tween and eventual heel turn. I always think Nash is at his best as the too cool heel and in late '95 to early/mid '97 no one was better than Nash at it. The surprise small-package ending is probably what makes this match for me just because, even as a big fan of both of these guys, I never saw it coming.

 

[mr.nobody]

SS 95 hands down the match was brutal I thought Diesel was going to kill Bret in the ring. I loved heel Diesel plus Bret was champ again. The table spot had me jump off the couch as a kid.

 

[djthriller1207]

All of their matches were pretty good in my opinion. Their Survivor Series 1995 match is probably the most memorable, but their other matches were good also.
I haven't seen their SS 1995 match & their RR 1995 match in a while, but I've seen the In Your House match and the KOTR match. The KOTR match was great and the In Your House match was good.