Who Put Him Over? - Bret Hart

[IrishCanadian25]

In a new Old School Series I plan on running here on Wrestlezone, I want to look back at some of the all time greats of professional wrestling history and ask the question - Who was it who REALLY put this guy over?

It doesn't have to be the first title win. It doesn't even have to be a win. The question will simply ask who it was who put each guy over into being a top level star, and why.

First up is Bret Hart.

Option #1 - Mr. Perfect

It seems to make sense, as it was Curt Henning who dropped "his" intercontinental championship to Bret Hart at one of the best SummerSlam matches of all time. Not only did Henning drop the belt to Bret - he surrendered it to Bret - submitting in the Sharpshooter. This was the Hitman's first singles title, and set him on the course for a great Hall of Fame Career.

Option #2 - Ric Flair

Whereas Perfect put Hart over for his first IC Title, it was Flair who dropped the WWF Title to the Hitman for the first time. Flair also submitted to the Sharpshooter - ironically with Mr. Perfect in Flair's corner - to earn Bret the "big one" for the first time in his career. The knock on this one is the fact that it was done at essentially a house show being taped for Colisseum Home Video.

Option # 3 - Yokozuna

What better way to put a guy over than to give him his 2nd WWF Title Reign? Make that win over an unstoppable 550-lb beheamoth whom nobody could really defeat. A guy who "ended" Hulkamania for years to come. When Yokozuna fell off the middle rope and opened the door for Bret to pin him at Wrestlemania 10, it once again solidified that the WWF was Bret's territory.

Honorable mentions: Owen Hart (WM10, SummerSlam), Bam Bam Bigelow (KOTR Finals), Jerry Lawler (SummerSlam, etc.), Roddy Piper (WM8), Steve Austin (WM13).

 

[Ferbian]

I'm gonna go with Ric Flair.

Ric Flair was quite a legend, a legend at the levels that neither Yoko or Mr. Perfect could compete with, Ric Flair had been dominant through the 80's winning multiple world championships, and while Ric Flair may have proved to be a guy who could be defeated rather than Yoko for example, or Mr Perfect being a better technical wrestler who probably got a better match out of Bret, I still think Ric Flair dropping the belt to Bret Hart to give him his first World championship is the most meaningful way of being put over out of these cases.

Great idea with the series thing IC, I'm gonna look forward to it.

 

[wrestler36]

I would say Mr. Perfect. This match at summerslam solidified his ability to be a singles wrestler and he beat him with the sharpshooter fair and in the middle of the ring. This would be the stepping stone to other championships, main events, King of the Rings etc. At no fault to Flair, as he did put him over, but for some unknown reason, WWF decided to make it a Coliseum Home Video match, not a PPV.

 

[Draper1989]

To be honest I don't really attribute bret hart's getting over to anybody but Bret Hart. By the time Summerslam '91 came around, Bret was already over. Same with Flair in saskatoon, same with Yoko. Bret Hart got over by being Bret Hart. Think about it, by Summerslam '92 Bret was the one getting Davey Boy over.

 

[WWEWrestleFest]

perfect put him over as a single's wrestler, back when bret was mainly known as a member of the hart foundation.

and yoko put him over as a main eventer. though you could argue that british bulldog, even though he beat bret, their match at summerslam 92 was the first time that bret main evented a ppv.

i always felt they screwed up bret's first title reign. it was a transitional period for wwf, and former faces like hogan, savage, and warrior were leaving or being phased out for younger talent. they could have built bret up as a true main eventer, but instead gave away his title win on a stupid house show. i remember watching superstars one weekend and mean gene announcing "bret hart is the new wwf champion!"

 

[steveh0481]

I'll never forget the match at Summerslam with Mr. Perfect. Mr. Perfect at that time seemed like an unstoppable Intercontinental champion. Back then I was young and really hated Mr. Perfect. When Bret Hart put him in the sharpshooter and forced Perfect to tap out, I knew Bret Hart was going to be big. Still seeing him go over and hug his mom and dad after the match is one of the most memorable times. I believe Perfect solidified Hart as a legitimate singles competitor.

If I had to pick a close second I would pick Flair. Bret was one of the first smaller guys to win the WWE title. Before Hart, there were guys like Hogan, Warrior, Undertaker, Savage, Slaughter, and Andre that held the title. Flair was still big because of his history with NWA and WCW. Heck, he brought in the WCW title when he came to WWF. Bret beating him opened the door for the smaller guys to win the WWF title.

 

[biggrumpy]

there was a match with Bret and Ted DeBiase that was on a Saturday Night Main Event show. That was one of the first times that WWF showed him as a valid singles wrestler, and the title shots came a little later.

 

[Chadmw]

I'm going to have to say Other. Bad News Brown, it was his rivalry with Bad News that started Bret's singles career when Bad News turned against him at the end of the battle royal.

If it wasn't for that rivalry Bret may have stayed a tag team wrestler longer and not have gotten all the title's and accolades he eventually received

 

[FunKay the Inevitable]

I'm going with Ric Flair. Fact is, Bret had already been WWF Champ when he beat Yoko and he and Hennig were on the same level when they fought over the IC title. You could argue that Roddy Piper put him over but for me it was Flair.

Ric Flair tapped out to the Sharpshooter. That's pretty big. Ric Flair, who at the time was still a pretty huge star tapped out to a guy who only months prior lost the IC title. Bret Hart did it and he did it clean.

 

[wushady]

I think he did a good job getting his self over, but beating Mr. Perfect for the IC title did solidify him as a singles star. I think his reigns as IC champion and the phenomenal matches he had defending the title did more to make him a maineventer. Then the fact he won the title from Flair did. Not to many people have seen that match especially back when it happened. I remember watching the original Superstars on a Saturday morning, and he came out for an interview with the belt. That's how I and most people found out about his title win. So I don't think Flair had much to do in making him a star.

 

[Judah's Lion]

another great thread. i'm sure there have been several terrible ones today, but also a lot of good ones!

this is a tough call. i do agree that Bret Hart put himself over by just being himself: a great performer with a great gimmick, strong work ethic, ring and mic skills, class act outside of the ring, never giving legit (accidental or not) injuries to his opponents, etc. this guy was destined to be great just by being himself.

still, he had some great feuds and matches that really put him on the map. Mr. Perfect, Roddy Piper, Yokozuna and Ric Flair all come to mind. even Bad News Brown, as mentioned earlier. super tough call.

i'm gonna go with a tie between Perfect and Flair. both dropped singles titles to Hart via submission cleanly in the center of the ring. this speaks highly of both the quality and star that Bret was and would become and the character of his opponents that would be willing to do such a gracious act.

 

[Skillz]

No way was it Ric Flair. Bret was already over huge and had main-evented SummerSlam by the time he beat Flair. Flair had proved to be not as good as everyone thought he was by the time of this match. Sure a submission victory over him was impressive, but I never really got the feeling that Flair tried his hardest to make Bret look good. He even injured Bret if I remember correctly.

I'd say it's a 3-way tie between Mr. Perfect, Roddy Piper and Bret Hart himself. The matches against Perfect and Piper were great, and they both went out of their way to make Bret look good. That was also Piper's first ever pinfall loss in WWE.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

The Hitman as a singles character IMO manifested itself in that epic SummerSlam battle against Mr. Perfect. That still goes down as one of the top-5 best matches I've ever seen in my entire life for me personally.

While Flair, Yokozuna and even his brother Owen were all instrumental in continuing that, or helping in some other facet, I really feel that bout with Hennig solidified him as that master mat technician and really put him over.

I remember that victory being so bitter sweet, because I loved Mr. Perfect and Hart equally, so them feuding was what I imagine a mother feels when she watches her two sons fight.

 

[Big Sexy]

To be honest I don't really attribute bret hart's getting over to anybody but Bret Hart. By the time Summerslam '91 came around, Bret was already over. Same with Flair in saskatoon, same with Yoko. Bret Hart got over by being Bret Hart. Think about it, by Summerslam '92 Bret was the one getting Davey Boy over.

I completely agree. Mr Perfect wasn't really above Hart by that much. Hart was already over and although it was a great match, Hart wasn't exactly put over. It was more just a fantastic wrestling match between two performers on equal footing.

It definitely isn't Flair considering Hart won the match at a house show. It's hard to put somebody over when nobody really sees the match.

Bret was already a star by the time he faced Yoko and that was more just a continuation of a feud then anything else.

Not everybody that becomes a star has to get put over to do it. I guess if I had to pick one I'd go with Mr Perfect but no one really did.

 

[IrishCanadian25]

Just a little note for people saying "Bret hart put himself over." That will, in some ways, be true about EVERYONE we do this series on. The fact is, each wrestler puts the work in, and McMahon and co. puts the dollars behind. Going forward, it's quite safe to say that each man got over because of themselves and McMahon / the writers.

But nobody gets over all by themselves. It takes that legit win over another competitor to truly pull it off. Without those clutch, iconic victories, there is no coal in the train.

 

[ladyregal]

Probably Mr Perfect , the two had such a great chemistry and I think he did Bret a huge favour by submitting .

Special mention should go to the Dynamite Kid , he and Bret also had great chemistry and when Dynamite got injured and the Bulldogs had to drop the belts , he advised Vince the only team he would drop the belts to were the Harts.

 

[Mr_billy]

Honestly, I always remember him being over from day one in the WWE, he was over as a heel as part of the Hart Foundation, and being labeled as Excellence in Execution by Gorilla Monsoon. He was the star of the Tag team, and when they became faces, it was huge. He was so over from the Tag division,, it was logical for him to be over as a singles competitor.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

The title needs to change, cos everyone who Bret beat put him over... if you mean who GOT him over...then...

Bret is someone who benefitted from a lot of people putting him over, throughout the 80's. While part of the Harts he and Dynamite tore the place down... He was always given good showings in Battle Royals, twice being the last eliminated at Mania... His mini fued with Bad News was crucial, after all Bad News was notorious for not doing jobs for anyone he didn't want to but happily let Bret kick his ass... he also mini feuded with Dino Bravo, who did a lot for him too, proving he could beat bigger guys...

Bret was over by the time he beat Perfect who was a shell at that point, Flair put on such a shitty match it could never be shown and Yoko...no way...

Everyone has missed the guy who really gave Bret the rub... Ted DiBiase... Think back to Survivor Series 1990... Taker's debut and Bret and DiBiase putting on a clinic... Bret lost but came out a singles star who could hang with the main eventers... the guys who put him right over the top were Piper... again a main eventer making Bret look his equal or better...and Owen...either of these guys were far more crucial than Perfect...

 

[Roland Thompson Gunner]

I first started recognizing Bret as a true star after he beat Piper at WM8. That's when I realized that the WWE was putting their stock in The Hitman and made me take notice.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

I'm going with Mr. Perfect. Bret Hart had hardly any big-time success as a singles competitor in the WWF prior to Summerslam 91 (with the exception of the tantrum he threw after Bad News Brown eliminated him from the Battle Royal at Wrestlemania IV, and the small feud they had after). Don't get me wrong, before Summerslam 91, Bret had some great singles matches, but never a consistent feud with another singles competitor.

Bret beating Mr. Perfect, who a lot of people at that time, considered the greatest Intercontinental Champion of all-time, set him up very nicely. They had an amazing match, 5-star worthy IMO, that really helped Hart develop into a top-tier superstar. That match stole the show, and after that event, people knew Bret for Bret, not just as one-half of the Hart Foundation. That match really sent him into a singles career, because while the Hart Foundation had been finished for some time, Bret hadn't had a real feud up until that point. He hadn't beat another singles competitor for a title.

After that feud, the rest is history. At Wrestlemania 8, Bret beat Piper clean, something that hadn't happened often (if at all). He then main-evented Summerslam 92, with Bulldog, for the IC title (yes, it had more to do with Bulldog being in England). Flair lost the title to Hart..but it was, as someone else has already pointed out, at a house show.

To me, I just don't think Hart would have had the success he did if he didn't beat Perfect at Summerslam. Who knows where his singles career would have gone, but there is no guarantee it would have gone anywhere. Perfect putting him over, in that great of a match, really set Bret on a path to superstardom.

 

[The Brain]

Good thread idea. If I had to pick one person who got Bret over I would choose Roddy Piper. Piper is one of the most famous names in wrestling history and is a guy whose name is known outside of wrestling too. Bret and Piper had a classic at WrestleMania VIII in one of my all time favorite matches. Piper hadn’t been pinned in like 8 years, but Bret pinned him that night on the biggest stage.

I think the match that really got Bret over was against Davey Boy at SummerSlam 92. I don’t think Davey necessarily got him over, but more the overall performance in that particular match. I’ve always looked at that match as a main event audition for Bret. Since it was in England a match with Davey could pass as the main event and Bret could show what he could do in that spot. I think Vince liked what he saw and was comfortable with Bret in the main event going forward. As a result of that match Bret became champion six weeks later.

 

[Hulkamaniac]

I'm surprised I'm the only one who voted for Yoko, but I guess not as the super-heavies tend to get overlooked a lot. Here's my reasoning: Perfect got him over as a credible upper midcarder, which was all you could ask for because that's Henning was only (unfortunately) that. But he wasn't a true top of the card main eventer until Yoko. I know he won the title from Flair, but lots of people never saw it, and really, it didn't do much to add to Bret's credibility. Suddenly, he was just champion in many people's eyes out of nowhere. And they took that title off him as soon as they could, and handed it vicariously to Hogan. BUt Yoko was this monster, and he looked unstoppable. The only person anyone thought could beat Yoko was Luger, and Yoko had already beaten Luger that night, but when Bret beat Yoko, it let people know that no matter how big or small, Bret Hart could beat them, and he was one of the best in the world. That, to me, is the definition of getting someone over. Even if the win was kind of flukey.

Also, the moment with the faces all coming to the ring and putting him on the shoulders, it was really all tied together in saying "Bret Hart is our guy."

 

[medz]

mr perfect.

this is easy, this was easily bret's biggest 1 on 1 match at that point in his career, cause remember before this bret was known for being a tag guy, before going against one of the top wrestlers, at the time, on the second biggest ppv, for the ic belt.

the result: a match of the year candidate, with bret winning clean, this match showed bret could take on the best and suceed in the singles division

 

[TheAnimal]

Bret Hart made Bret Hart. His performances, work ethic, reliability etc. He became the guy WWF needed at the perfect time. We bought him because he wasnt roided to high heaven either and had a great rapport with the fans too.
His work as IC Champ made him a star too. He made himself be the guy to take all challenges and prove he was the best.