By Steve Argintaru – Slam Wrestling
“Someone told me there’s only three wrestlers alive that were main event wrestlers in the first 10 WrestleManias. Sgt. Slaughter is one.. Million Dollar Man is the other one. And I’m not planning on going anywhere for at least another 30 years.”
It was a reflective and at times melancholy Bret Hart who spoke about his life and wrestling career on Sunday in Vaughan, Ontario, just north of Toronto.
Respect, especially as it relates to his former employer, was a big theme throughout Hart’s 60-minute Q&A session, hosted by actor/comedian Andrew Phung at Vaughan Con.
“This year, WWE told me that they wanted me to be in the crowd (at SummerSlam). Then they told me once I got there that they didn’t have any seats for me,” the three-time WWE Hall of Famer explained to a crowd of around 200 Hitman fans. “But I noticed Kevin Nash got a seat. Maybe I finally realized that I don’t think they really fully appreciate me, even after Hulk’s passing, that there’s just no certain appreciation for anything I did,” Hart said.
“But I do think that I speak for a different time and a different place in the wrestling world. I know.. the young wrestlers today like Punk, and FTR, and (others in) AEW.. they’re true fans of mine, and they emulate me or try to do little things that I did in my matches and mimic it, just as sort of a salute or a nod, to say ‘this is for you’ or whatever. And I appreciate that. But I don’t think the WWF, the company, I don’t think they give a shit about anything. And I don’t think they care about the past.”
Hart feels the turning point in his young career came when the WWF agreed to let him team with Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart in 1985, a move that helped his confidence immensely.
“When they turned me into a bad guy with Jim, I was like, ‘I could be a total jerk now.’ Jim would be a big jerk. We’ll just be a couple of jerks.’ It was fun. It didn’t matter whether you won or lost being a bad guy. If I lost, it’s because I didn’t cheat good enough.”
Hart credits another Canadian who helped him early in his WWE career. Roddy Piper “was a huge influence on me. Like a big brother for me. He would tell me, ‘you don’t got promos. If you don’t have promos, if you’re not cutting those interviews, you’re not making any money. You’re not one of the stars. You gotta go to Vince McMahon and reason with him and talk to him about making sure you guys get promos.’
“So I remember going to Vince McMahon and doing what Roddy said, and I remember Vince said something to me about, ‘well, you need to work on your promos.’ I said ‘well, how can I work on my promos if I never have any?” And next day we had promos.”
Hart pointed to several highlights from those early Hart Foundation days, including the Hall of Fame team’s first match against the British Bulldogs, and a 1986 bout against The Killer Bees in New York City.
“We were on second in Madison Square Garden, 20-minute draw. We tore the house down. We came back through the curtain.. this is the first time Vince McMahon even noticed me. And the first time Vince ever watched me have not a good match, but a great match. When I came back through the curtain, I remember Vince McMahon just giving me (a look) and he shook my hand and he goes, ‘what a match. Thank you so much for that match.’ He noticed me! Finally!”
As Hart transitioned into talking about his singles career, he remembered Curt Hennig as, “next to my brother Owen, or maybe together, my two favourite guys to work with. Because they were so much fun. Curt Hennig was such a great wrestler. I can’t even name another wrestler that I would put on the same level as Curt Hennig. He was such a skilled wrestler.”
And if fans showed up expecting Hart to take shots at Bill Goldberg, who Hart in the past has called “reckless” for causing a concussion that ultimately led to him being forced to retire, they weren’t disappointed.
“I never hurt anybody. I could wrestle one of you guys (fans), and charge you in the corner, and you’d go, ‘I thought it was supposed to hurt!’
“There’s a big difference between me and Goldberg.”
A line excellently executed by The Hitman.
