UnderRated or OverRated - Bret Hart vs Roddy Piper, Wrestlemania 8

[IrishCanadian25]

Hello, Old School fans! This thread is an idea concocted by the great Mr. Sam and will be a weekly feature in the Old School section - every Monday or so if we can pull it off. Either Sam or myself will post a new match each week from wrestling history and ask you to debate out whether that match was OverRated or UnderRated.

To kick things off is one of MY PERSONAL all-time favorite matches from my favorite Pay Per View, Wrestlemania 8. The third match on the card featured Bret "Hitman" Hart against the Intercontinental Champion "Rowdy" Roddy Piper. This was an IC Title Match (remember those!?) between two faces and two friends. Piper had beaten The Mountie for the belt a few months prior, after Mountie had defeated Hart, 103 degree fever and all.

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Some people regard this as an all-time great IC Title Match, while others think it's overlooked because it's average. The question is - do you feel the match is OverRated or UnderRated?

 

[klunderbunker]

Have to go with overrated. I've seen this match a dozen times at least, and I've never been stunned by it, even my first time seeing it as a mark. It's entertaining, fun to watch, and very competitive, but it just doesn't have the pop for me. That being said, it does have its good points. Might very well have been the second match on the card after Savage Flair, which is jsut a classic period. It also may be Piper's finest match of his career. How much was that Hart carrying him? Not that much I'd say, but a bit I'd say. It is a good match and I'd watch it again and it'd hold my interest, but not one of the best ever to me.

 

[Skillz]

Underrated match, and in my opinion the best match of WM8. Even better than the great Flair/Savage match. With Hart wearing the crimson mask and Piper teasing a heel turn, it just added to the fantastic drama that the match was producing. And when Hart pinned Piper's shoulders to the mat for the first time in his career, it truly was a great moment.

This match is easily in the top 10 best IC Title matches of all time, possibly top 5. Simply a great match.

 

[awesomecactus]

this is such an awesome match, its one of my absolute favs.
the storytelling is second to none, some other the current guys could learn so much from this match..... i love the bit where piper is deciding whether or not to hit bret with the bell, a real battle of conscience. the finish was absolutely breathe taking.

for me, some matches you build up in your head from when you were younger dont stand the test of time or become better in your head because of nostalgia. i personally feel this is the case with bulldog vs bret at wembley.... however i watched piper vs bret recently and i was still completely taken in by it, however many years after i first saw it.

essential piper, and a match that sent bret to the top, imo one of the best of all time and extremely underated.

peace

 

[IrishCanadian25]

One of the other forgotten aspects of this match, and so many others on the Wrestlemania 8 Card, is the tandem commentary by Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan. Those two worked so well together in the classic "face / heel" announcer roles, and on this night they were in rare form. Monsoon talking about the history between the two - family friends growing up, both consumate competitors, etc. Heenan scoffed and made jokes about them both in his own way.

Then they argued over how Bret got opened up. Heenan explains it was from a "short" punch, while Monsoon says he think's it was the bulldog. Heenan was right, but it sold the repitoire of Piper as being very dangerous - anything he could do could make you bleed.

This match occured long before Triple Threat was a WWE norm, but can you imagine Mr. Perfect being in this match as well?

Overall, this match is in my top 5 list of greatest IC Title Matches ever, along with Steamboat/Savage, Hart/Bulldog, Hart/Perfect, and Michaels/Jannetty. The psychology was amazing. It was Piper's first ever WWF gold, and still his only singles title. You felt him, willing to do ANYTHING to keep the belt. You watched him do EVERYTHING he could, short of cheat, to put Bret down. This match really helped launch Bret into Superstardom and prepared him for his WWF Title win later that year.

 

[awesomecactus]

good point about the commentary IC. the brain was at his hilarious best whenever he commentated on a hart family match... and i was cracking up listening to it all again, jerry the king could certainly learna thing or two

gorilla definately aided the story telling, helping develop the human aspect.

 

[Shocky]

This match was fan-fucking-tastic, but I don't feel it was underrated though. I think that the people that watched this match in context with the times, they appreciate it. It's hard to think that this match would get the full respect it deserves from anyone under the age of 20, no offense.

You're dealing with two faces at the time, that were way above the IC title. They played the feud with each other so well. Both came in as faces, but used tweener if not out right heel tactics throughout the match.

Easily one of the best IC title matches of all time.

 

[8five]

Not to mention that it was by far the best match on the card. The Savage v. Flair match wasn't as good as it should have been. Hogan v. Sid main event was hideous, and the mess up by Papa Shango made for an uncomfortable moment. Then to have the tag titles defended against the natural disaster and have the match end in a countout when the legion of doom are twidling their thumbs. Overall what made this match so good was how poor the rest of the show was. Out of context i would say the match is simply rated not overrated or underrated

 

[frankiemccann]

The Piper - Bret hart match was one of pipers best, but at the same time piper was very limited in the ring (although a legend on the mike).
people claim this match was fantastic.....i think it was a good match, but an average wrestlemania match, so because of that i have 2 say OVERRATED...

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Like Shocky said. Unless you are from that age group I can't see how it would appeal to newer fans. I love it. But it's more to do with the fact I remember watching the show. As an 8 year old I was really starting to get into Bret Hart, and I liked Piper. And I remember being in shock when I thought Piper was going to use the bell on Bret. But by todays standards it's pretty basic. I think Savage/Flair from later in the evening holds up a lot better.

IC25 Monsoon sucks. If the commentary is good, it's all down to Heenan.

 

[Monkey_Mania]

I think it's just a little on the underrated side. On one hand you had Bret Hart. A technical god and a master of ring psychology. On the other side you had Roddy Piper. A man who is decent in the ring but was one of the best in ring psychology. The commentary by Heenen was gold. It's one of the best Intercontinental title matches I have ever seen. I would easily put it in my top ten.

I was only a youngster when I saw this but I knew when I was watching it that was seeing something special. Since that time I will watch it every now and then and still be impressed with it. Truly a fantastic match.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

Highly underrated. Becuase not enough people mention this as one of the best WM matches EVER. And thats exactly what it is. Supreme phsycology, and selling throughout. Fine commentary by the boys in the box. A fine mix of brawling and technical wrestling, with a suprise clean finish to boot. You dont really see finishes like this anymore. Masterfully booked and carried out.

 

[Uncle Sam]

I'm going to be devastatingly honest here and admit that if I have seen this match, I've forgotten it. As I've said before, old school or foreign wrestling just isn't my thing. However, I will rectify the situation by watching the match... now. The rest of this post will continue after I finish watching it. Hope it isn't long.

Wow, I'm glad I watched that. First thing's first; I really enjoyed it. I liked it and it entertained me. That's the first step out of the way. Secondly, I wouldn't call it an all-time classic. I think that it's a tremendously entertaining match and one of the better ones I've had recommended to me - it's a Vader rather than a Kenta Kobashi. But for me to consider a match an all-time classic, I've got to be aware of an appreciate the context of it. It's simply impossible for me do that, unless I travel back in time or if WWE opens up their video library to me an I have a lot of spare time.

Finally, is it overrated or underrated? From a personal viewpoint I'm going to say it's correctly rated. It's thought of highly by the vast majority of people who are aware of it and, after watching it, I feel that's perfectly justified.