Their Greatest Rival: Bret Hart

[TheKingofKings20222]

The Best There Is, The Best The Was, and The Best There ever will be. Only one man holds that title, and that man is Bret Hart. The Excellence of Execution, The Hitman is without a doubt one of the greatest technical wrestlers of all time. A member of the legendary Hart family, Bret came from a long line of prestige. He made his WWE debut on August 29, 1984 as part of the Hart Foundation. But out of the many feuds he had, who was his biggest rival?

I originally was going to pick Stone Cold Steve Austin, but simply put, there is no rivalry in the history of the WWE that was/is as personal as this was....Bret's rivalry with this man led him to the infamous Montreal Screwjob. So undoubtedly Bret's greatest rival was none other than The Heartbreak Kid, Shawn Michaels

History speaks for itself on this one. Many amazing matches between the two, spanning over very similar careers, but with completely different paths. The Montreal Screwjob is probably the most historic wrestling moment of all time.

 

[SickJames]

This isnt to take away from your thread, but this is a non discussion. It's truly one of those rare times where it's not a matter of opinion. We all know the answer is Shawn Michaels. It's all it ever will be. You see what I did there?

Anyway, anyone who says otherwise is just doing it for the hell of being different and I hate it when people moronically do that just for the hell of it and you know when they're doing it. Hell, sometimes it's announced with the "well everyone else is saying this, but I'm gonna go a different route with something not yet said and say this.

News Flash: Just because there's an undisputed answer doesnt mean you cant say it too. It gets repetative, but it's the truth.

Shawn's greatest rival is Bret too. THAT however I could give you some open ground to say another name and people would also say HHH, Y2J and they would be great. Taker as great as the Mania matches were couldnt be,

HHH and Y2J's were just a bit more personal even though Taker ended his career. But I think both men HBK/Bret HAVE to be each others especially coming from the realism aspect of it being legit


The only other two names that come to mind as undoubtedly being each others greatest rivals are The Rock and Stone Cold , two guys who are pure magic together and the greatest two stars you can put in a feud/match together and have it draw.


People would argue McMahon for Austin, but although that was a huge thing, Rock was his better opponent and they had it from more a very special place than any other feud, they made each other.


HBK/Bret's rivalry in real life make them the best rivals each others ever had

 

[The Fabulous Rougeau's]

Obviously Michaels was his biggest rival, but after that, you can list Diesel, Lawler, Backlund and Owen as his next biggest rivals.

Diesel:
After Shawn, this was Bret's next biggest feud. They had a great trilogy while foreshadowing elements of what would be in Attitude Era matches.

Backlund:
They had 2 matches at survivor series and wrestlemania and in between at te rumble interacted with one another to keep the Fued alive.

Lawler:
This one lasted for a few years, got personal with Lawler talking smack on Bret and his family every chance he got and featured a kiss my foot match.

Owen:
Great fued built by Owen's jealousy. Featured 2 great matches that went down as classics.

 

[asiatic7]

Brets greatest rival will undoubted be Shawn Michaels. Their rivalry spanned the better part of the late 80's to the late nineties, so pretty much for a decade. Their first encounter was in tag team action than spung into singles competition for the Intercontinental title. They competed against each other in the WWE's first ladder match back in 1992. That was also the same year they competed against each other for the WWE championship at that years Survivor Series.

Every one knows about the WM12 match and the no infamous "screw job". They had a real personal rivalry that spilled out of the ring and off camera.

Another Bret rival that deserves mention is Steve Austin. I picked Steve because Steve brought out a side of Bret that hasn't been seen since Bad News Brown deceived the Hitman and eliminated him from the battle royal at WM4. Bret, in a fury destroyed Brown's trophy after getting Ghetto Blasted out of the ring. But Steve brought that fury back out of the Hitman. Bret was always used to using his technical skill and superior ring acumen to beat opponents, but Austin brought the dog out of Bret. He showed the world that he can fight as dirty as anyone to win a match as evident by his WM13 match against Austin. Who knew that Bret had it in him?

 

[JoeyJoeJoe]

There's just no question: Shawn Michaels.

From the Hart Foundation Vs. The Rockers, their several matches for the Intercontinental title and then the World Title, a WrestleMania main event, the backstage fights, and then the Montreal screwjob.

It's just not even a debate.

 

[TheHitMark-SirJoseOle]

Hands down it's Shawn Michaels. There is no better choice, while there are some honorable mentions (Bob Backlund, Kevin "Diesel" Nash, Steve Austin, Owen Hart, Bad News Allan, "Dr. D" David Schultz, the latter two for those that want to think outside the WWF Box).

HBK and The Hitman's storied rivalry goes back to when they were tag team competitors, sure the title change when The Rockers beat The Hart Foundation was "undone" but the seeds from in-ring encounters like that were planted when the two finally competed against each other on a singles level.

When the WWF brought the Ladder Match into their storylines (see Stampede Wrestling for some classic ladder matches, several of which involved Bret himself), we saw the beginning of Michaels and Hart's rivalry as singles competitors. Bret was still the IC Champion at that time, and then eventually when Bret finally won the World Title, his first pay per view defense was against none other than HBK who himself had just won the IC Title from Bret's brother-in-law The British Bulldog (who ironically enough beat Bret for that said title months prior at SummerSlam '92).

That match is probably one of my favorite Bret vs Shawn encounters, hell probably one of my favorite Bret Hart matches period. Very well paced, it had drama and action, there was nothing more you can ask for. Then of course the Iron Man match at WrestleMania XII not to just sound like everyone else, but c'mon you can't deny its greatness. These guys showed that they could fill the void left by the big guns who had departed from the Federation years earlier. It was a defining moment in both their careers.

Then of course there was the Montreal Screwjob at WWF Survivor Series 1997, I'd rather not get into any details and speculation about the whole work vs shoot thing but the bottom line is for what I personally thought of the match (which is not favorably mind you) it put the exclamation point on the Bret and Shawn feud. Plain and simple.

However, it's hard to discount the standout moments of Bret's other rivalries like when his brother Owen got the upset win at WrestleMania X, or when Bret's own mother threw the towel in for the Hitman at Owen's behest when Bob Backlund won back the WWF Title from him at Survivor Series 1994. Then there was Bret making Austin pass out at WrestleMania 13, a brilliantly executed double turn if there ever was one.

However, no matter what, it will always come down to it being Bret's rivalry with Shawn as his greatest. The Greatest Rivalries feature WWE made last year only further proves that. All in all a great thread, and I am very glad to contribute to it.

 

[HBKperfect23]

Shawn Michaels. I couldnt imagine anyone choosing anyone else. IMO this is the biggest rivalry in the history of pro wrestling. Their carrers are forever linked.

Not to mention this did start in the tag ranks, went through the IC Division, and all the way to main eventing WM and feuding over the world title. I cant think of any other feud with this longevity.

 

[anvilx8]

Michaels was good, Austin was good.. but I'm going with Owen Hart!

It was unseen at the time to have brother vs. brother feuds, so it was "original" back then. They had great promos, and the entire feud was sweet. It really drew you in and had alot of twists and turns.. like when Anvil returned and alligned with Owen, and then the Bulldog return to side with Bret etc. Not to mention the matches! Bret vs. Owen at WM X, Bret vs. Owen @ Summerslam in the Cage! It beats out the HBK feud by a cunthair... IMO. I really enjoyed this feud. One of the best of all time. The "on screen" feud between HBK and Bret wasnt as good.

 

[HBsam31]

I loved the brother vs brother feud. Owen/Bret Mania 10 is one of the greatest matches ever, and the cage match at Summerslam was no slouch either. That being said I just can't put Owen over HBK here. Their feud, like another poster said, continued up through the ranks. They headlined Survivor Series 92 for the WWE title, and basically just kept on going until the Screwjob at SS 97. Just so much history between the two on screen and in life. Two great rivalries here, but HBK is definitely Bret biggest.

 

[GameOver]

HBK, it's a no brainer, like Hogan and Macho Man that went beyond the squared circle and they came up through the roster together which lasted from tag teams to IC gold to WWF gold, they had alot of 5 star matches it didn't really do much for Bret though, HBK was mostly portrayed like Dolph Ziggler, the new kid that was always on the verge of winning meanwhile Bret was expected to win, Bret winning all but 2 of there 1 on 1 matches but that 1st HBK win was epic and the 2nd match changed the way the game was played.

close second, Owen Hart was as good as Bret in ring, but a better personality and much like Hogan and Savage they battled around pride and the WWF title. Owen could definately have been a good Black Hart champion but come on he was smaller then Bret and they barely let Bret and Savage run with the title cause they weren't Hoganesque, Owen had no hope.. atleast at that time, would be different now if he was around in this era he would've been a multi time world champion by now.

memorable would be Stone Cold, those few matches were classics and propelled Austin to the upper roster and Bret got the rub of being seen as not just a technical guy but a serious ass kicker again.

 

[rge2010]

Its Shawn Michaels. No reason to back up my point because its already been done.

After that it is Stone Cold Steve Austin if you ask me. Their fued was right and they had 2 great matches in 96 and 97. Austin also battled with the Hart Foundation and this is a fued that really help make Austin who he is today.

 

[Wald]

It's Shawn by a million miles, those two were just meant to face off against one another. Just a shame it turned into a shoot instead of a work because they could have kept us going for years.

My personal favourite Bret Hart feud is a toss up between Owen and Austin. Both are excellent, produced some stunning matches (Bret vs Owen at Summerslam 94 is my favourite Summerslam match ever, Austin vs Bret at Wrestlemania is my favourite Mania match ever) but I think I'll have to go with Austin as my favourite opponant of Bret's.

That angle leading into the US vs the Hart Foundation and the way it continued up until Summerslam 97 was my favourite near period in WWF history. Both guys played their parts perfectly and tore the house down all whenever they met. I still regard Bret's heel turn on Raw couple with Austin beating the crap out of him as the best episode of Raw ever. It was so well timed, Owen & Davey were excellent and Bret sold like a champ for Austin. Genius from all concerned

 

[HBKperfect23]

That angle leading into the US vs the Hart Foundation and the way it continued up until Summerslam 97 was my favourite near period in WWF history. Both guys played their parts perfectly and tore the house down all whenever they met. I still regard Bret's heel turn on Raw couple with Austin beating the crap out of him as the best episode of Raw ever. It was so well timed, Owen & Davey were excellent and Bret sold like a champ for Austin. Genius from all concerned

This angle doesnt get nearly the credit it deserves. This is where the attitude era started. I too wish we had at least one more Bret/Shawn classic. Brets heel turn RAW was excellent.......but the greatest RAW during that time was the Halifax Flag match RAW.

 

[theBec2101]

I would have to say Shawn. rival went from storyline to personel. I dont think there any other riverls like that one that had such an impact in and out of the ring.

My ranking
Shawn
Owen
Austin
Lawler

 

[MINISTRYrising]

shawn michaels and brett hart are by far each others greatest rivals. it was always very personal when these two went at it in the ring. there feuds were always entertaining and they also gave us one of the best matches in wrestlemania history when they faced each other in the main event of wrestlemania 12 in a iron man match for the world title.
its a real shame what happened in montreal as this is what most people remember about the shawn michaels and bret hart feud.

 

[EastCoastFan]

Nothing against Steve Austin, but Bret's biggest rival bar none was Shawn Michaels. Both of them wanted to be top guy after Hulk Hogan left and saw the other as a roadblock to that goal. You cannot think about either one without the other coming up.