What Was The Appeal Of Bret Hart?

[Pay Per Ghost]

Going through the extras of the Bret Vs Shawn DVD and their first match up at Survivor Series popped. HBK cut an obnoxious heel promo with ease and panache but when Bret spoke, boys, it was painful and it made me ponder, what sold this man to the masses?



I can protest to myself and say technical prowess, but to be honest, it was the giving of the pink glasses as much as his mat skills. It connected him to a certain younger section, but his promos were abyssmal.





What was it then? Pink and black?

 

[agentmichaelscarn]

Bret Hart is my favorite wrestler of all time and what sold me to him as a kid was I thought he sold the whole "underdog" gimmick perfectly. Plus on top of that I thought he came across as genuine and that the fans really meant everything to him. On top of that he was great in the ring and got you emotionally involved in his matches because of the story he told.

Now with that said if he started out when I was like 16 or so than I probably would've found him bland and boring and while I would have respected his ring skills I probably wouldn't have liked him so much. But since he rose to fame when I was much younger him not being charasmatic on the mic didn't mean anything to me, and the other things he did really drew me into him.

 

[shanezam203]

yeah I don't think his promos were bad, he was good on the Mic. Bad guy in the states and face in Canada. I liked watching him feud with Owen, Steve Austin and then HBK, I thought he was a great submission wrestler and a good heel and face both.

 

[Kenneth]

Because 'mic skills' didn't matter as much as they do back then, families would go and watch the show and enjoy it. Now though if you can't cut a good promo the internet will go into overload and your career will be in the trash awaiting the trash men.

Thanks for reading.

 

[thebromm]

Finally a post worth commenting on.

First a comment on the Bret vs Shawn DVD. As a huge fan of both of these guys it was a dream come true in many respects. I loved the true emotion expressed by both guys as well as Jim Ross. I really thought it was a great product put out by WWE.

As for Bret and why he resonated? He was indeed the underdog. He was WWF Champion when guys like Hulk and Yoko and Nash and Taker were all challenging him. Well, not so much Hulk, but you get the idea. Yeah his promo work was not very good but he's the first person to tell you such things. Bret Hart resonated with fans because he was indeed a role model. Much in the way John Cena is today. For anyone to say he was popular because he gave away sunglasses is just completely assinine. Bret got over because of his in ring skill. He stayed over because he could tell a story in the ring without ever having to say a word. It is that lost art of storytelling that Bret did so well that caused him to be a force in professional wrestling until the day he had to retire.

Bret Hart is in my personal Top 3 of all time. I can not express what it was like for me to witness his triumphant return to WWE and he and Shawn burying the hatchet after so long and after so many different things were said. It was truly remarkable. Certainly a truly emotional moment for Bret fans and Shawn fans and fans of both. It is those few REAL moments in wrestling that make us fans. Other then the unfortunate and untimely deaths that have taken place over the years, that moment was as real as it gets.

I'm extremely happy they were able to do that. I'm sure it allowed both men to feel like the weight of the world was off their shoulders.

 

[kingofkings84]

paper ghost i'm going to assume you didnt wtch the show in the late 80's erly 90's. if you did you would have never made this joke topic. say what you want ,but if bret wouldnt have been s good as he was and gotten the belt, and opened up the door for guys who didnt look like they were jacked on steroids. then we never would have had guys like hbk ever winning the world title, and being taken seriously. bret paved the way for guys like hbk, austin, even the rock. i'm not going to say he was the best ever but he is defanately in the top 5. his in ring ability was second to none on the technical level. i belive he said it best. the best there is. the beat there was. and the best ther ever will be. now that was one hell of gimmick and a damn believieable one thats something you just dont see today. what was his appeal? bret was all appeal. the biggist draw from 93- 97 by a long shot. at a time when wwe depertely needed it. you can say what you wan but bret hart = ratings pure and simple.

 

[oneleggedman]

Hart is and was one of the best technical wrestlers ever to step into the squared circle. His matches, along with others like Steamboat and the Macho Man, slowly took the attention away from the behemoths which dominated the WWE at the time and the audience began anticipating the relatively fast paced matches, full of psychology and technique rather than the predictable matches Hogan and Warrior would have.

He was easier to relate to than aforementioned names due to the fact his promos were more grounded than any other superstars at the time and it FIT into his underdog character. Much like Daniel Bryans gimmick before his heel turn of not being the most flashy guy out there, but he is 'the best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be'.

I think in todays WWE Hart would have a hard time getting over due to his lacking promo skills. But then again, to query his success based on todays standards would raise questions about a lot of 'top guys' the WWE have produced over the years.

Lets not spend time asking why Hart became so popular, and donate it to why people for some bizzare reason are suddenly 'respecting' Cenas work ethic and passion for the business and that this somehow allows him to rest on his laurels and bore us senseless for the past 6 years. It can be said that fellow company man Miz headlined Wrestlemania for the same reasons that Cena is where he is today. To me Miz garners the reaction of a mid card heel (atleast Cena has a massive child following). His promos are boring and sameish (ringing bells with Cena?) and his matches are 4 star at best.

It is this mediocrity born of the WWE's 'comfort zone' which perpetuates the tripe we see on 70% of its programming.

 

[ShinobiMusashi]

The way Bret wrestled was a major selling factor for me, even at a young age. Looking back now, Bret was kind of like the Royce Gracie of Pro Wrestling. He would always find a way to win with his technical skills, even if he was outmatched, completely exhausted, and bleeding out. Growing up as a Bret Hart fan, I fell in love with Gracie from day 1(and the UFC/MMA as a result)

Royce Gracie, and Bret Hart have had equal, profound influences on my life. Very, very similar men.

Another major selling factor for me was the way he treated the Undisputed WWF World Heavyweight Championship Title. Seems like Bret's angle was that he wanted, and cherished the belt more than anybody else in wrestling. As if that was what his world revolved around. The belt. The way he would kiss the belt before each defense, and the way he would keep track of how many belts he'd won through his WWF career. I remember it was one of his taglines for quite some time that he was a 2X tag champ, 2X IC champ, and 2x World Champ. As a kid, I loved that. I grew up with the idea that all men should go after a championship belt at some point in their life. So I did.

It wasn't a WWF, or UFC belt, but at least I got one strapped around my waist. It was something that I had to do, because of the influence Bret had on me as a boy.

Bret's passion for the Championship was his appeal.

 

[theBec2101]

Now are you asking becuase you don't know why people like or should like Bret Hart or are asking for just our opinions? I'm not understanding.
Anyway the reason why? Because he's wrestling was out of this world. He match with Bulldog at SummerSlam and the other one with Piper at WrestleMania. Theres alot more to go with that. I know he didnt cut awsome Promos but he also didnt stumble, have people write them for him, or read of of something. He also gave away he's glasses....yessss!(lol)
And if you made this thread not for our opinions but because you didnt know or agree, well then. I'm sorry and I am going to have to question you as a wrestling fan, Sir.

 

[Cabana]

I was the prime demographic for Hart's run at the top, and I remember *hating* the sunglasses bit. However, I loved the Hitman. There were 3 basic reasons:

a) He was different. He didn't look like anybody else, he didn't sound like anybody else, he wrestled better than anybody else (and remember that I was young enough to still correlate work rate with being champion, and so that was a big part of his appeal.) Hart was one of the smallest guys on the roster, he wasn't jacked up, he wore PINK!

b) he seemed genuine, as has been expressed above. His promos might have been terrible in retrospect, but they seemed fine at the time. Hart seemed to believe what he said about his fans, and about being the excellence of execution. His gimmick was simple and consistent: he was the tenacious, refused to be outworked in any sense, and was the best in the world (thus WWE champion) for it. I'd imagine a fair amount of Cena's appeal to younger demos today is based off of this.

c) He was *REALLY* good in the ring. Even at an early age, I preferred wrestlers who put on exciting matches and who were technically sound. When you're 10, the 5 moves of doom are an exciting way to show that the Hitman has taken control and is ready to end it. It played into his gimmick as a 2nd generation wrestler, a student of the game, and a master in the ring.

 

[latinoheat8979]

Bret is perhaps my favorite wrestler of all time. I'm an older wrestling fan, back then when jacked up guys like Hogan and Warrior were "the guys" Bret, when he branched out into a singles wrestler usually had the best match of the card. Granted, his mic skills weren't the best he even admitted this on his dvd's. As time went on he got better on the mic especially during his heel run. Bret was the best pure "wrestler" on the roster with average mic skills. He wore Pink and Black had his trademark glasses. What I like about Bret is he was a fighting champion the man took on everybody from Curt Henning, Diesel, Bob Backlund, Rowdy Piper, Davey Boy Smith, Razor Ramon, Owen Hart, Yokozuna and, well you get the idea. He'd make even the worst big man look good in the ring. Bret was always a good storyteller in the ring as well that's something the WWE lacks today.

 

[otto403]

Bret was one of the best story tellers in the business.Even back in his Stampede days he may not have had the most polished promos but they were believable.People thought that he had REAL heat with his opponents especially HBK and Austin.

 

[cpac4]

It was his look, attitude, and most importantly his wrestling. He was amazing. Also he slapped my hand when I was 12. As a kid, you could have never told me he was bad on the mic. I never noticed as a fan.

The other thing I find really funny, is that most babyfaces ALWAYS suck on the mic. If their a GENUINE babyface anyway. However, Bret Hart was fricken GOLD on the mic as a heel. Anyone who says different is a damn idiot. I still remember those promos. The "enema in Pittsburg" lol, "el dandy"...omg he was the best, and in such a different way as a heel on the mic.

 

[HeenanGorilla]

I think there were many traits that Bret had that appealed to many different people. Men, women, children...I'll have to get back to you about old folks. haha

But one thing that I think may go unnoticed, or at least unsaid, is that as a heel, he had the admiration of the face announcers and as a face he had the admiration of the heel announcers. Not all of them, of course. But when he was a heel with Neidhart, Gorilla Monsoon always lauded his in-ring talent, but questioned his character and being aligned with Jimmy Hart. Jesse Ventura was a huge Hart Foundation fan at that time and even once the team became faces--and later Bret was a face as a solo wrestler-- Ventura stuck with him, as far as praise goes. Jesse would favor the heels, but, in my opinion, be fair at times to the faces. Bret was one of those guys for Ventura.

My point is, whether he was liked or disliked, he had an undeniable quality that most people liked, or at least appreciated.

 

[MrMojoRisin]

His promo's weren't horrible (in '97, they were near the best in the biz, but that was an anomoly for him). If anything, their was more of an air of realism to them, because they weren't so polished. With Hart, it seemed more like any other athlete getting interviewed.

But what made Hart was his work inside the ring. It was simply unmatched. His offense was crisp and diverse. Yes he had his `5 moves of doom`, but he always pulled out so much more when the situation called for it.

His selling was second to none. It was just so realistic. He really understood the concept that less is more, and the only time you could ever look at a match of his and think it was phoney, was if that`s what he wanted you to think (see his Memphis work in the early 90`s).

He had a great mind for putting together a great match, and he knew better than most how to work a crowd with his storytelling.

He was simply put, one of the absolute best of his entire generation.

 

[James]

What was the appeal? Bret had the look, the size(well the fact he wasn't bulky at the time and those were the stars Vince were looking for), the fan base, and the skills. That is what made Bret appeal to Vince. Bret while he wasn't in the same class as Shawn Michaels, but then again no one was he could make people look good. Okay sometimes he could even though he didn't particularly take care of his opponents. He was dedicated and always tried to put on a good match for the company, but mainly for himself(see the Bret Hart and Bulldog match). Bret was good at what he did, I will give him that. He was better as a heel because he was a selfish man anyway lol.

 

[WWEIsLife2]

As a Kid growing up watching the WWF/E in the Early 90's Bret Hart always caught my attention with his In-Ring work and the ability to go out to steal the Show. He could take a beating like nobody could at the time and would always come back for more. He was a 5 time WWF Champion,2 time IC Champion,2 time Tag Champion,KOTR Winner,Royal Rumble Winner,and Superstar of the Year.

He may not have had the Best Mic Skills in the world but he got his point across and everyone knew it. I also loved his Sunglasses & different Ring Attires of the Pink & Black. That is why The Hitman is my Favorite Wrestler of all time and a True Legend in this Business.

 

[Headman]

The appeal to Bret was never his promos. He was a guy who was constantly having solid matches with everyone on the roster. Years of strong midcard work earned him the respect of many fans, but it wasn't until Summer Slam 91 where he solidified himself as a viable singles star with his amazing match against Mr Perfect. After Summer Slam 92 against the Bulldog the WWE had enough faith in him to pull what at the time was the biggest upset I'd ever heard of when he defeated Ric Flair for the WWE championship in a match that wasn't even televised. I remember marking out big time when they cut in with "Breaking News" that Bret the Hitman Hart had taken the belt off Flair. His first title defense against HBK was a great match but after that it was a pretty lackluster reign other than the intense defense schedule he had on television against guys who would normally never see a WWF title shot. That came to an end at Wrestlemania the next year. The WWE took an entire year building up Luger and it seems their confidence in Bret was no longer there, but then came Wrestlemania X when Bret beat Yokozuna, avenging his loss and looked like a much stronger champion this time around. He resumed his trade mark "take on all comers" approach to title defenses and even though the business was hurting and he wasn't exactly drawing huge houses by himself, he was the work horses they needed in the post steroid scandal age. I was what Jay Fiedler was to the Miami Dolphins after Dan Marino left. He wasn't a mega star but he was steady. And fans respect that.

 

[rob198807]

couldn't the same question be asked about Shawn Michaels in the mid 90's? It all comes down to who you preferred. I bought into Bret Hart alot more when I was a kid. The "Hitman" seemed much cooler then the "Heart Break Kid". Always thought Shawn was a better heel in the early and mid 90's. And to be honest..Shawn's Mic skills are over-rated. Especially by the end of his career he could barely get words out right. Bret's heel stuff in 97 was great. He didn't rely on the vulgar stuff like DX did. He got himself over as a heel in such an old school way.

 

[HBsam31]

I was young at the time, maybe around 9 or 10, and I loved bret hart. He played the underdog character very well, and I always found myself rooting for him to overcome. The exception being was the cage match with Owen. I remember at the time I was ready for a change and really wanted Owen to win, but after that feud I was right back in Bret's corner. As a kid i knew he was fan friendly and did like that he handed out the glasses, but even then I knew he was a different kind of champion. I was in shock when it was announced he had beat ric flair for the title. Maybe it was just the fact that fans were ready for a change from the hulk hogan type of champion.

 

[OutsiderDX]

I think Bret was unmatched in creating "realism" is his matches. He was so good at also creating that ever so elusive concept of suspended belief for the audience who watched his matches.

On a side note... WOW could bret hart throw a punch that looked real! Maybe the only person to match his punches is Kurt Angle.

 

[Skip]

Bret Hart is my favorite wrestler of all time and what sold me to him as a kid was I thought he sold the whole "underdog" gimmick perfectly. Plus on top of that I thought he came across as genuine and that the fans really meant everything to him. On top of that he was great in the ring and got you emotionally involved in his matches because of the story he told.

Now with that said if he started out when I was like 16 or so than I probably would've found him bland and boring and while I would have respected his ring skills I probably wouldn't have liked him so much. But since he rose to fame when I was much younger him not being charasmatic on the mic didn't mean anything to me, and the other things he did really drew me into him.

Long time reader finally chiming in. What is dais here I agree with probably because we are about the same age. Bret always seemed cooler that the other "hero" options. He always seemed to take a backseat to another #1 guy they were pushing down people's throats who became really corny and old fast. People like michaels, Luger, Nash, hogan etc. I would get so sick of them that I rooted with everything in me for the cooler Bret to take their spot. Plus his matches were just amazing and did tell a full story that sucked you in.

His later hart foundation days came as I was a little older and got sick of the good guys in general. So heel Bret became the new cool thing to me plus I was a big fan of almost everyone in the stable, especially bulldog. I may be the only American that rooted for the harts over dx.

Essentially Bret and his character kind of grew with me so I always had a special place for him

 

[Deviant]

i think hart was a great technical wrestler great to watch and was great to see his rise from hart foundation to champion just feel that they cheapened his and took alot from him when he carried the strap ie losing to owen then winning title after lex lost was like mid carder was better than champ and champ only won cos main eventer did the damage for him kinda made him a 2nd rate champ

 

[DirtyD79]

His promo's weren't horrible (in '97, they were near the best in the biz, but that was an anomoly for him). If anything, their was more of an air of realism to them, because they weren't so polished. With Hart, it seemed more like any other athlete getting interviewed.

This is the problem smarks have when understanding mic skills. Having good mic skills does not simply mean you sling a zillion catchphrases allover the place, cuss like a trucker, yell your own last name, or crib jokes from some banal sitcom. It means that what you are saying is believable and fits your gimmick. Bret Hart was Bret Hart. He was an actual human being as opposed to the clowns, mantaurs, pig farmers, hockey goons, and all the other overgimmicked crap that was running around strinkin' up the joint.

 

[sajsSAMynwa1892]

i think this is one of the easiest questions iv seen tbh, bret hart is, simply put one of the greatest in ring performers the business has ever seen, along with imo michaels, flair and angle. now i love a showman and enjoy promos as much as the next guy, but there is no denying when someone puts on a superb match,
and bret had MANY of these. i have never been the biggest fan character-wise, and tbh as a person at times he has seemed a tad self-centred. but there is no doubting just how talented he was as a wrestler, and i think a lot of people just respected that.