I'm really glad Bret Hart is in a peaceful place right now...

[jmt225]

... but as a fan I can't help but still wonder "What if?".

I finally got around to watching Bret Hart and Shawn Michael's 'Rivalry' DVD and it was extremely fascinating and heartbreaking.

Whether you think Bret was right or wrong in the Montreal ordeal, I think we can all agree that the final outcome is really sad. Sure everything seems fine and dandy today, but when you think about where Bret's career could have gone if the WWF would have just kept him under contract at the time, I mean... the possibilities are endless, for him and for the fans. You get MORE HBK/Hart matches, more Hart/Austin, Hart vs. Rock, Hart vs. Foley, maybe Shawn doesn't injure his back, and of course most importantly, maybe Owen doesn't die. Maybe we get a Bret/Owen tag run and see them face the likes of Edge and Christian and the Hardys. Like I said, the possibilities are ENDLESS.

It's beyond fucking depressing when you sit there and think about it all. I'm happy Bret has come to peace with it, but man... as a fan of his and as a fan of pro wrestling in general, to me, Vince letting him go was the biggest mistake in pro wrestling history. I don't care about the "boom period" that followed for the WWF... I strongly believe that would have continued regardless with or without Bret keeping a predominant role on television. When you think of everything that happened with WWE on and off screen since Bret was released, I don't know how anyone couldn't come to the same conclusion as myself.

 

[Stormtrooper]

I'm the exact opposite.

Bret was really at the end by November 97. The Canada/USA stuff could only keep going for so long before it got stale, and then Bret would be kinda where Taker and HHH are now, where they only have a limited schedule. He worked with Austin already, he was done with Michaels, he worked Taker too. I mean sure Hart/Foley and Hart/Rock would be cool, but it would be completely non-believable that Bret would lose to either til 99, when both became Main Event guys. Not to mention Bret not at all fitting in with the Attitude Era, which was coming regardless of him being there.

I agree totally about the Owen thing though. Owens career would have completely changed had the screwjob not happened.

Besides, Survivor Series 97 created the Mr. McMahon character, the top heel of the Attitude Era (by far), one half of the greatest rivalry ever (with Austin), and among the greatest villains of the past 30 years. No screwjob, no Mr. McMahon.

 

[Dirk]

Careful with that title, brother. You made me think Bret died. Almost had a *ahem* Hart attack.

 

[Alastor]

The one rivalry I would have wanted to see is Bret Hart vs Kurt Angle.

Would love to see Y2J vs Bret in the main event too.

 

[Richard Blonoff]

My opinions falls somewhere in between that of Stormy and JMT on Bret.

I think there were some good feuds on the horizon for him. Even a Bret Hart on the verge of retirement could work a watchable feud with a Triple H or Foley or Rock, but I think he would be used to put those guys over. Even if he would have stayed and would have dropped the title to Michaels down the road, I don't think he would have ever held the title again. He likely wouldn't have been a great draw in the AE. He was a fairly conservative guy by most accounts, and I wouldn't be surprised if he would have quit the company in protest of the antics of the AE.

Look at the flipside though. As Stormy pointed out, the Screwjob helped launch the Mr. McMahon character. You have to wonder what would have happened if that character was never created and helped push Austin to the top of the wrestling world, and eventually help the then WWF win the Monday Night Wars.

 

[Pay Per Ghost]

For Bret it sucked. Going to WCW, and the things that happened then.

I do wish Bret was in WWF by god he could've ridden that Canada vs USA for another year and then the Austin Era would be upon us. It would've been great, but as people said, his departure perhaps was the biggest boon in disguise, in the form of a certain, Mr. McMahon.

 

[The Dragon Saga]

I started watching wrestling in 1996, Bret Hart was my favorite wrestler, still is now that I've experienced his back catalog of matches but I guess I'll never get the full feeling as I didn't watch him week to week for too long. I can recall watching WCW when Bret jumped and not liking it, was never a big fan of WCW, stuff was all over the place and matches were mostly crap outside the Crusierweight's.

Sometimes I wonder what if he never had that match with Goldberg. He could have joined TNA for whatever we know. Could have had a ton of fantastic matches, because to this moment I consider Bret Hart the greatest in-ring talent I've ever seen. Wrestling is storytelling and he told every story imaginable inside the ring.

 

[Con T.]

See, everyone always looks at it as what he could have done in WWF; I take the opposite way of thinking.

What would have happened if WCW actually used Bret Hart correctly?

The truth is, WCW never got the money matches out of Bret that they could have. Hogan and Bret is the obvious, but Bret and Savage would have made money, Hart and Nash could have made money. Even the money matches that did happen were at the point WCW was beyond making money. Bret and Goldberg in the middle of the streak, Bret and Sting, hell, even Bret and the Giant could have been an interesting upper mid card match.

We can say that WWF would have been interesting, but we had seen a good number of the matches that they had to offer. Shawn and Bret still had potential, and maybe Austin and Hart could work again. But I can't help but wonder what WCW could have done if they just used him right

 

[One to Remember]

I definitely agree with Mr. J, his WWF tank was pretty much out of fuel but he still had alot to offer WCW and like most guys of his caliber in the 1990s and early 2000s he had dream match appeal. He should had fought with Hall and Nash with some other Canadian up and comers like Lance Storm for example or reformed the Hart Foundation in some capacity. Him warring with Sting in the capacity as a WWF guy would also sold. I just don't know if he would had been better as a heel, a face, or some type of antihero.


P.S. I'd want him to stay clear of Goldberg since he was the one who sent him to pasture anyway..

 

[KnowMyRole-ShutYourMouth]

Bret's a miserable, bitter fuck. He's far from a peaceful place. He owned up to close to, if not, anything in that documentary.