Is Bret Hart a top 5 Wrestler in the past 25 years?

[Ruthless-RKO]

We cannot deny his worldwide impact during his prime, he has done a lot, sure he may have not won a lot of titles, but neither has HBK..

Would you say he is up there in the top 5 wrestlers list for the past 25 years..

I think he is, despite there being so many top names e.g. Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Shawn Michaels, Sting, The Rock, Kurt Angle, Macho Man, John Cena, The Undertaker, Triple H etc.

I would rank him without a doubt in the top 5 wrestlers list from the past 25 years.

Would you?

 

[George Steele's Barber]

If you are just talking in-ring ability I would say he is definitely top 5 but overall I would put him behind all of the guys you mentioned. I would add Angle and Macho to that list as well. Maybe even HHH.

If he didn't get hurt it may have been a different story.

 

[relentless1]

yes i definetly would, he became a 5 time wwf champion back when being champ 5 times really meant something, his matches were second to none in the ring

top 5 wrestlers:

ric flair
bret hart
kurt angle
chris benoit
HBK

 

[NotoriousMEAT]

Without question! Not just in the ring, but like you said, his global impact. Bret is truly one of my all time favorites. His passion, dedication, skill, all combine to make one of the all time greats.

On my top 5 list, combined of skill and overall impact, I rank Bret Hart #2.. only behind Shawn Michaels.

 

[Nate DaMac]

Not in my opinion. He's one of my favorites and from an in ring standpoint he's one of the best, but there's more to being an all time great than just ring work. Popularity/drawing power is hands down the most important part of the business so that puts guys like Flair, Hogan, Austin, and Rock in front of him and I'd say Shawn Michaels was a better in ring performer. I'd have him somewhere in the 6-10 area.

 

[TheHitMark-SirJoseOle]

Bret Hart in my opinion is deserving of that spot of being a top 5 wrestler of the past 25 years if it was my own personal list the guy came worked his way through the ranks of the WWF and when guys like Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage were moving on to WCW, Bret Hart was there to keep the WWF entertaining through and through. He broke the mold of what we were used to seeing in the 80s-90s with more colorful champions like Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage and The Warrior. Bret's greatest selling point was his ability to go in and make every match look like an epic battle with his style, plain and simple

So to see a guy that was far removed from the more flamboyant and over the top types, it was a nice change of pace. I think Bret deserves all the credit in the world for his part in the WWF during the early 90s and let's not forget the revival of the Hart Foundation as a stable in the later 90s, while WCW might have been the dominant company. The whole Bret being a face outside the US and a heel inside of it, added one of the best dichotomies I ever saw in the business.

However, I am not sure outside of the hardcore element if he makes that criteria, but that doesn't change how I feel about the guy's in ring ability and I think to the people that were still watching WWF at the time Bret was on top, definitely knew he was a high caliber performer all the way.

But yeah I could sit here all day and type away about this topic, but if we are just talking about his matches alone here are some that stick out big time, that make me a big fan, it's hard to fight my bias but here is my list of favorite matches with Bret Hart:

Vs Mr. Perfect (SummerSlam 91 and King Of The Ring 1993)
Vs Shawn Michaels (Survivor Series 1992 and WM XII of course, Survivor Series 1997 also has its obvious reasons for being memorable although I don't hold that match in the same regard as their other two PPV encounters)
Vs Owen at WM X
Vs Yokozuna (Both WM IX and X)
Vs Roddy Piper (WM VIII - in my view one of the most underrated matches in Bret's career)
Vs Austin (S Series 1996 and WrestleMania 13)

And there are so many others, fans should also look at his matches with David Schultz, Bad News Allen and Dynamite Kid from Stampede Wrestling, those are some classics right there as well.

 

[LongHessa]

Easily in the top 5. Not only top 5 but i would rank him number 1 of all time. He is IMO the best "wrestler" of the modern WWE/F era and globally was far bigger name and draw than HBK, Angle, Benoit, HHH, etc... People like to think that America is the WWE's only audience but its far from the truth, Bret was always HUGE overseas and off course in Canada. Best ever, period.

 

[wrestler36]

This can be a complex question, since this can be a personal preference question, or impact in the business. Personally, he's in my top 5, if not number 1. But if you're talking from a business standpoint, unfortunately, I don't think he's considered a huge draw, at least in the US. From a casual, mainstream perspective, he's nowhere near the household names of Hogan, Savage, Goldberg, Austin, Rock, etc. Nor was he a major player during the upswing of the late 90s early 2000. That being said, he carried the WWF during the post Hogan era, proving he's a huge draw overseas in places like Germany and England. He also can be considered a launching point for very over talents like Austin and DX. So it's really a dichotomy of personal preference vs impact on business in a $$ bottom line fashion. That being said, it's a yes/no for me. On a personal level my favorite would probably be Bret Hart because I loved his technical wrestling, his no nonsense approach and his ability to put on non repetitive, exciting matches (see King of the Ring '93 for a wrestling tutorial). From a business standpoint, unfortunately, I don't see him in the top 5, or quite honestly in the top 10

 

[asiatic7]

For solid in ring work, yes. I mean, this is a guy who wrestled a main event match with the flu! Bret is one of the greatest tag team wrestlers of all time. His matches with The British Bulldogs and The Nasty Boys as one half of the Hart Foundation were classic. He brought MORE prestige to the IC title than just about anyone with classic bouts with Mr. Perfect, Davey Boy Smith, Piper, man i could go on and on! His WWF championship reigns were full of Classics as well, most notably, the ironman match versus HBK. Bret always had five star matches throughout his career. One thing I WONT give Bret is he had no charisma and average mic skills. He wasn't a top 5 PERFORMER, but on WRESTLING alone, he is DEFINITELY top 5.

In any order you want... HBK, Bret, Angle, Guererro, Savage! I picked these guys because their MATCHES always told a story, and they were hardly ever in a bad match...

PEACE

 

[GODBLESSTHEMACHOMAN]

Bret Hart is one of the best ring technicians to ever lace up a pair of boots and step into the squared circle. BH's matches with Shawn Michaels, Steve Austin ,the classic match from Summer Slam in England with the British Bulldog, and many others, the is could go on all day. My all time top five would include... 5. Randy Savage
4. Bret Hart
3. Ricky Steamboat
2. Kurt Angle
1. Shawn Michaels

 

[ECWnumbawan]

Ring wise, as stated yes, without question. To me personally in an overall perspective view, impact wise I would not. Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold, HBK, Undertaker and I would think John Cena would be my picks. Bret no doubt had it in the ring but to me he just never had the presence of a star like the names I mentioned did.

 

[shayneomac]

I don't even know how you can dispute Bret Hart's place in the top 5... As a draw in Europe, he drew more than any of the above stars (Summerslam 1992)... As far as overall persona is concerned, anybody who TRULY watched wrestling in the mid-late 90's knows how much his mic-work evolved... As a heel, he was one of the top promo guys (just google "Bret Hart loses it" to see the best promo of 1997)... He was the single biggest heel in wrestling during the USA vs Canada angle... + he sold out Wembley stadium when he was a midcarder... I think that the new generation needs to pay a little bit more respect to arguably the greatest ever performer... & as far as in ring performers go, if it wasn't for Bret Hart (& Macho Man), then guys who are HBK's size would NEVER be headlining Wrestlemania... & when it comes to pure wrestle matches that rely on storytelling rather than big bumps, he is in a league of his own (even Vince McMahon said so)

 

[sTyLnK]

As Bret said in a recent interview. Wrestlers after him started becoming more fast paced and technical in the ring. How many people followed Hogan in the ring? He was slow and a terrible wrestler. Everyone wanted to be like Bret.

 

[Midnite Express 2009]

Without a doubt, yes.

Bret Hart was the most technically sound wrestler in the world for a span of about 7-8 years. You have to fully grasp what that means. This was during the time that Hulkamania was starting to wind down and the New Generation was coming up, but Hogan was still a force, and a few Hogan clones were still being shipped within the business. Then there was Bret Hart. There hadn't be a WWF champion like him since Bob Backlund. The man was amazing to watch in the ring. His matches were classics, no matter who he went up against and in his prime, nobody could touch him, wrestling wise. Sure, his promos weren't 5 star gems, but they didn't need to be. He did his talking in the ring, and that's why he was a 5 time WWF champion.


If putting together a top five list, mine would include Bret somewhere between #3 and #4. He'd be right in front of Austin, but behind men like Flair & Harley Race. The reason why is because I liked the showmanship he had in the ring as well as how he carried himself as WWF champion. It was like, every reign was his first and he always appreciated being champion, something I don't think a lot of guys do nowadays (with the exception of John Cena). I can't name someone who was better, during that era other than Shawn Michaels, but of course, Shawn was special for other reasons. Truly Bret Hart is top five without a doubt.

 

[WWFnotWWE]

this is the great debate of all time. People of the 80's are going to put Hulk and Flair up in the top 5 but for me who really didnt start watching it till the mid 1990's I would have to go with
HBK
Undertaker
SCSA
Bret
Sting
I know Hulk and Flair did a lot to get the sport to where it is today but they need to go away and let the new guys lead wrestling today.

 

[SickJames]

No, and I love Bret too and his wrestling is awesome, but you have to be realistic, see you said TOP 5 in the last 25 years. Now a lot of ppl will come in here and blindly say yes or because he's their favorite, but realistically he isnt in the top 5, and barely makes the top 10 in the past 25 years

the past 25 years (13 of which he wasnt in WWE, and when he was in WCW how relevant was he? okay then... and he only had one great moment in his own mind he said and that was simply having on the metal plate when Goldberg speared him)


Top 5 stars is not a top 10 and if you had to be realistic The Rock and Stone Cold top that top 5 in the past 25 years, the only match that was big enough to main event Mania 3 times because that's how good those two were together

Austin was the first to help kick off the Attitude Era, most successful era in wrestling, The Rock became more popular in 2000 and was really blowing up, going and doing movies while still coming back wrestling and now he's really the biggest star Vince could bring back and has that mainstream appeal, more than Austin and Hogan have, his return was more powerful than any return in the past decade or so because of HOW it went down.


The Undertaker has changed, adapted and stayed relevant more than any other star in history, easily makes the top 5 with his gimmicks


Shawn Michaels was more popular than Bret and though Bret's the better wrestler, Shawn's the better performer.

John Cena is top star right now



I'd say those are top 5 and I think that's fair considering all of those have wrestled more and stayed relevant, I know what happened to Bret but still look at Hogan, came back, but he cant wrestle now, and he's not a top 5er now, nor is Ric and he can still go


There's your top 5


Bret's top 20, maybe because then you have Jericho, CM Punk, Randy Orton, HHH others


and even HHH could even be argued into the top 5 before Bret, i LIKE Bret but what I say is true


yeah you could say Hogan and Flair Austin Rock and have Taker, Shawn or HHH be your fifth pick but just for the past 25 I dont know, I guess on one hand I could say okay but seeing Flair and Hogan shit on their own careers, I dont know

I see Rock, Austin, Taker, Shawn and Cena or HHH as a more respectable top 5 who have all had more respectable careers and done right by WWE and wrestling in general moreso than Hogan and Flair, not taking anything away from them, but facts are facts

 

[Foshinzo]

As an in-ring performer? Without a shadow of a doubt. My top 5 in ring performers of the last 25 years (in no particular order) are: Hart, Flair, Savage, HBK, and probably Angle, mostly because he brought such intensity and believability to his matches. Still, I'm leaving off Steamboat, Sting, Bulldog, Perfect, Owen, HHH, Jericho, Malenko, Misterio (WCW days), Eddie, Benoit, Edge, etc. That top 5 alone is impossible to really rank. If I add personal bias to the list alone, Eddie would probably have to beat out someone for a top 5 spot (sadly, probably Savage).
Now, if we're talking about an overall package, then no way in Hell is Hart a top 5. Top ten if I were really giving him a lot of credit, but never top 5. In Attitude Era WWF alone, he would have to compete with HBK, Rock, Austin, HHH, Foley, and Undertaker. I don't think Hart was a more complete package than even Foley was. It all amounts to the two most obvious flaws in him: he couldn't tell a story on the mic and his television personality was just boring. That's why when wrestling moved towards an edgier market, Hart was left in the dust; he had zero edge. Bret was just boring. Period. I liked Bret well enough back in the day, but I never loved him because he didn't do anything to make you love him. It's the same for Cena; he's clean cut, he does everything well, but there was never really any, "wow factor," to him. Like I've said a million times, Cena to me is like the watered-down love child of Hogan and Hart. You take Hogan's wrestling ability, or lack there of, mix it was Hart's personality, or lack there of, and you have Cena. He's a marketing machine. Kids don't care about actual wrestling, and their parents want them to cheer for the squeaky clean, lily white, generic hero. Cena at least had a little edge to him when he did the rapper gimmick, as dumb and painful as it was, but that's long gone. I've seen so many people say that Cena will eventually turn heel in a big way like Hogan and he'll reinvent himself. No he won't; he's going to just fade into the rest of the pack like Hart did until he retired.

So, besides my little Cena rant, that's how I feel about Bret. The man was one of the single greatest in-ring performers IMO, but the buck stops there as a total package.

 

[S.J. Maximus]

Bret Hart is one of my all-time favorites and while I agree with Sick James that Bret hasn't quite had the biggest impact on the last 25 years of wrestling, Sick James seems to completely ignore that the last 25 years are from 1986-2011, not just 2000-2011.

That being said, there is no doubt that Hulk Hogan tops the list. That shouldn't even be a question. Throw Austin and Flair in there for their contributions and then the other 2 spots could be debated between HBK, Bret, Rock and Taker. Rock was the biggest draw / had the most star power but I think Bret was a bigger draw than the other 2 guys and he was better in the ring out of the other guys too. On the mic, Bret was easily the worst and once again Rock was the best so I'd probably give the last 2 spots to Bret and The Rock. HBK and Taker get honorable mentions with Sting, HHH, Savage, and Angle

 

[MisterRob]

Of course Bret Hart is one of the top 5. He's not only one of the very best in ring performers ever (and he can be argued as being better then anyone), but he WAS a draw. People can claim Bret Hart wasn't a draw during his time on top, in the United States, but then naming guys like Shawn Michaels and Kurt Angle just kills your own argument. Shawn Michaels was never a draw during his time (Bret's time) either. So if he's placed as EASILY one of the top 5 based on his abilities as a wrestler then Bret Hart also has to be. Kurt Angle's never been a draw, not in the WWE nor in TNA (that's for sure) an he gets such praise in this generation based on his wrestlig ability.

But, Bret Hart was not only easily on the same level as those guy during his time, but he WAS draw internationally. In Canada, in England, in Geramny, everywhere else around the world Bret Hart was a big draw and helped the WWE expand their international fanbase. That's just as important as those who helped the WWE expand their product into the monopoly it was and is across the US.

 

[LongHessa]

History sure has a great way of twisting facts. Anyone who thinks for one second that HBK, Angle, Taker etc was a bigger draw than Bret "Hitman" Hart is in need of a lesson. Bret Hart was always bigger than Shawn, the only time Shawn Michaels was EVER the face of the WWE was when Bret stepped away for 6 months in 1996. From the summer of 92' to the fall of 97' Bret was "the guy". Vince tried Yoko, Diesel, Luger but always went back to Hart, which is why he was a 5 time champ before the belt changed hands every 2 months. Hart did in those five years what no one else did for the wwe back then, he was on The Simpsons, Lonesome Dove, Mad tv, and in the ring was simply the best in the world...maybe ever! He had during that time a list of the best matches in company history and i would say the best 5 year run ever for in ring quality. His matches with HBK, Austin, Perfect, Bulldog, Diesel, Lawler, Piper, and Owen are without a doubt amazing.

 

[QbnMissile]

How can he not? The man hasn't wrestled in almost a decade and we still talk about him. Globally he sold more than any of the attitude era guys. Lets not forget before Bret the WWE was all about muscle and rock and wrestlings where the guys who were dominate were Hogans and Warriors. Bret made being a wrestler cool. Showed that the smaller guys can carry the belt and the company. His story telling inside of a ring is unparallled. If it wasn't for Bret do you think guys would care about the wrestling part of professional wrestling? Do you think any of us would be marks? Bret made it possible for fans like us to want a better show and a better performance from our champion. He made wrestling more than five moves of death and cheap comebacks. Bret made wrestling an art. He made wrestling real again, no cheesey gimmicks, and made five star matches with planks of wood. So yeah Bret in his cool silent way did change the way wrestling is viewd. he did change the way wrestlers perform. So if anyone deserves a top five spot it's Bret Hart.

 

[ns530]

If the question was "who are the top 5 best in ring wrestlers of the last 25 years" it would be a serious consideration. That top 5 is different that "top 5 wrestlers" because wrestlers is being used as a noun, not as a verb. Bret was, very much, the "verb" wrestler. But overall, in terms of excitement, money-making ability, crowd popping, interview segments....no Bret is not in the top 5.

Top wrestlers:
1. Hulk Hogan
2. Steve Austin
3. Ric Flair
4. Shawn Michaels
5. The Undertaker

Top 5 In ring Performers:
1. Bret Hart
2. Shawn Michaels
3. Kurt Angle
4. Chris Benoit
5. Mr. Perfect

Top 12 overall:
1. Flair
2. Hogan
3. HBK
4. Steve Austin
5. Undertaker
6. The Rock
7. John Cena
8. Macho Man
9. Bret Hart
10. HHH

 

[rocloc]

History sure has a great way of twisting facts. Anyone who thinks for one second that HBK, Angle, Taker etc was a bigger draw than Bret "Hitman" Hart is in need of a lesson. Bret Hart was always bigger than Shawn, the only time Shawn Michaels was EVER the face of the WWE was when Bret stepped away for 6 months in 1996. From the summer of 92' to the fall of 97' Bret was "the guy". Vince tried Yoko, Diesel, Luger but always went back to Hart, which is why he was a 5 time champ before the belt changed hands every 2 months. Hart did in those five years what no one else did for the wwe back then, he was on The Simpsons, Lonesome Dove, Mad tv, and in the ring was simply the best in the world...maybe ever! He had during that time a list of the best matches in company history and i would say the best 5 year run ever for in ring quality. His matches with HBK, Austin, Perfect, Bulldog, Diesel, Lawler, Piper, and Owen are without a doubt amazing.

THANK YOU!! I've been reading through some of these posts and am wanting to go insane!! I feel like some of these posters are seriously forgetting history, or believing what WWE feeds them. In the past 25 years, Bret was one of the biggest stars/draws in the WWE. He basically held down the fort in between Hogan and Austin. Was WWE at its peak then? Of course not... is it at its peak now with CENA?? Definitely not. I would say, honestly, in terms of drawing power to the "casual" fan, Bret was just as big from 94-97 as Cena has been from 07-11.

Bret was much bigger than HBK.. dont get me wrong, i love HBK, but Bret was on top much longer and meant much more to the federation than shawn.

I would say in terms of stars from the late 80s-present day, only hogan, austin, rock, and cena rank above Bret. That would make him #5 in the past 25 years... maybe tied with HBK and/or Flair (debatable, he was much bigger in the 80s)... but still, Bret is one of the all time greatest in the past 25 years, def. in the top 5!

I think some of you just weren't watching in the mid- 90s. It was all BRET, and he was the F*CKING MAN! If you watched WWF, you knew who the Hitman was and you were always on his side!

 

[madrox]

Bret was a draw and a great wrestler but lets be honest, Top 5 Wrestler? "Of All Time"?

Much as I always loved the guy, I wouldn't put him in the Top 5. Owen was the better wrestler of the two and it's a shame he died way before his time but even he wouldn't be in the Top 5.

If it was me, the Top 5 Wrestlers would include the likes of Lou Thesz, Ric Flair, Dean Malenko, Mitsuhara Misawa and (possible controversy) Chris Jericho.

Now if we were talking about Top 5 Draws then sure, put Bret Hart in there along with Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Steve Austin and The Rock (pained me to say Rock but IMO he narrowly beats out Dusty Rhodes, Harley Race and the nWo as a group)

My mistake, "25 Years", misread it.

Ok, Top 5 Wrestler of 25 Years.....

Flair, Malenko, Misawa, Great Muta, Jericho

 

[ashe draven]

well starting off, in my personal opinion bret is the greatest of all time. his in ring talent is 2nd to none. he was HUGE around the globe. every title he had in wwe he made it mean something more. again in my opinion. some of the game changing matches that stand out for me. -
1st and ONLY IC title match to main event a ppv Summerslam '92 bulldog/hitman
Ironman match for the wwe title WM 12- hbk/hitman (my fav match ever)
submission match WM 13- austin/hitman (launched austin to the stratosphere)
WM X- owen/bret (i defy u to find a better ppv opener)
Summerslam 90- Hart Foundation vs Demolition 2/3 falls for the tag straps (watch it and tell me it isnt one of the best tag matches uve ever seen)