As a long time wrestling fan (a phrase I use on this website a lot) I’ve watched many wrestling storylines both interesting and compelling over the years. I will admit though that I pay attention to the details more now as an adult than I did as a child. As a child what I saw and what I was told I believed, I had no reason to question otherwise. Well thanks to many streaming sites such as: Dailymotion, YouTube, and the WWE Network I watch old wrestling matches and storylines so I can get the full context of what was originally conveyed but what my young confused ass overlooked. I believe the thing I overlooked the most was the saga of the legendary Bret “The Hitman” Hart during his final years in the WWF/WWE.
Bret Hart was a wrestler that wrestled all over the world and is the main part of The Hart Family: one of the long-lasting wrestling families in which to this day family members of the family are employed by WWE, New Japan Pro Wrestling and other promotions. Bret Hart himself was employed by the WWF and Vince McMahon since the 80’s during that time and in the 90’s racking up numerous championships and also being seen and known as one of the last pure babyfaces (good guys) in the business. That will all change come the year 1996 where wrestling all over the world would go though a transition period of sorts where the fans reject the hokey cartoon friendly gimmicks and fully embrace the grimy, sexual, graphic, disrespectful nature of wrestlers.
Bret saw the future and he did not like what he saw. Not only was Bret going through a contract dispute he didn’t like the fact that the fun family valued aspect of wrestling was going away and was very vocal about it. Vince McMahon who was desperate to not get crushed by the competition went full force with the raunchiness to gain ratings despite Bret’s pleas. Bret ended up looking like and being portrayed on television as a crybaby that was against change and what the audience wanted. It’s weird because the changed happen within a short span of time. This YouTube clip before explains Bret’s dilemma perfectly:
What once was a respected hero ended up turning into an exiled bitter drifter. All of the negative feelings Bret had received all build up to Bret’s final match…the infamous Survivor Series main event better known as “The Montreal Screwjob”. In that match Bret IN REAL LIFE was a victim of a secret plot by the owner and a few others to strip him of his championship in front of his hometown thus ending Bret’s WWF career and his legacy in such a negative way. I didn’t know how to feel about it when I was young but looking at it now it’s safe to say it was the death of the last true “hero” in wrestling storylines. There will be no one else like Bret Hart was… and I doubt there will be ever again.
Original Judgement: As a kid I thought Bret was a crybaby and I was not a fan of him so it didn’t matter to me what happened to him.
Current Judgement: Bret Hart was right all along, he got fucked over. I really didn’t appreciate his talents when I was younger but as an older man I enjoy and respect his talents fully.
Now if you don’t believe me or just want to fully invest yourself in this fuckery then I suggest you watch the documentary “Bret Hart: Wrestling With Shadows” and you can judge for yourself was Bret Hart right all along or did he bring his downfall on himself. Luckily the man who shot and made the documentary has a YouTube channel and has posted the entire thing on YouTube.
Fractured Mindframe 