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00:00Peek in black attack!
00:02Here it comes!
00:03No superstar epitomizes excellence
00:05in sports entertainment quite like Bret Hart.
00:08The excellence of execution!
00:11The Hitman's illustrious career
00:12ranks among the most prolific and iconic
00:14in WWE history.
00:17I've dedicated my whole life
00:18to become the best.
00:21The technical mastery inside
00:22the squared circle, combined with a rock-solid
00:25connection with the WWE universe...
00:27Thank you!
00:29Bret Hart truly was the best there is,
00:31the best there was,
00:32and the best there ever will be.
00:34Today we look back at the very best
00:35of Bret the Hitman Hart.
00:37Go get him, champ.
00:39This is WWE's Greatest Moments.
00:43It's your son of a man!
00:45Oh my God, what the hell are you doing?
00:49Absolutely unbelievable!
00:51Oh, the radio is here.
00:59Welcome, everyone, to WWE's Greatest Moments.
01:02I'm Michael Cole.
01:03And on this edition, we're looking at the very best
01:05of Bret the Hitman Hart.
01:07Bret's career kick-started up north in Calgary,
01:10Alberta, Canada, inside the famous Hart Dungeon,
01:13learning the ways of professional wrestling
01:15from his father, the legendary Stu Hart.
01:17Bret soon found fame in his father's promotion,
01:20Stampede Wrestling, alongside his brothers-in-law,
01:23Jim the Anvil Neidhart, and Davey Boy Smith,
01:26as well as Davey's cousin, the Dynamite Kid.
01:29In 1985, these four athletes made the jump to WWE.
01:33As Bret teamed with the Anvil to form the Hart Foundation,
01:36Davey Boy and Dynamite Kid became the team known
01:39as the British Bulldogs.
01:40The Bulldogs, you're in trouble.
01:42You're running against the Anvil and the Hitman.
01:44Finally poised for the spotlight,
01:46this was their chance to show off for the world.
01:52British Bulldogs, Dynamites, Kid and Davey Boy Smith.
01:56What a combo.
01:57This is a true test for them.
01:58I think it's fair to say that the Hart Foundation
02:00gave the Bulldogs their greatest matches.
02:02We're doing things that most tag teams could never be.
02:05Punch out, high cross body.
02:07They had different skill sets.
02:08They had different styles.
02:10There's always something about Bret in the way he moved.
02:12He had a very different type of charisma.
02:15Tag team specialist.
02:16What a good team by all the hearts.
02:17Bret was the Porsche.
02:19My dad was the tank.
02:20They complemented each other so well.
02:21There goes the speedster.
02:22Look at him go.
02:23100 miles an hour.
02:24Look at this action.
02:26Oh, look out.
02:27Swingshot.
02:27Wow.
02:28It was some sort of quiet, unspoken charisma
02:31that Bret just oozed.
02:32Suplex from the top.
02:34Turnbuckle.
02:36He dragged his own man over.
02:38Put him on top.
02:39Oh, he got him.
02:41The Hart Foundation took off
02:42because they had such great chemistry.
02:48By 1987, the Hart Foundation had firmly established themselves
02:51as top stars in the WWE tag team division.
02:54Where the best there was, the best there is,
02:56and the best there ever will be.
02:57But Bret also had his eye on chasing singles competition.
03:00The hitman would eventually get his big break
03:03against one of the biggest superstars in WWE.
03:05The Macho Man, Randy Savage.
03:07You're not nobody until you beat somebody.
03:12And in front of a nationally televised audience
03:14at Saturday night's main event, Bret Hart looked to secure
03:17the largest victory of his WWE career.
03:23This is going to be a sensational matchup.
03:25The hitman swearing off against the Macho Man.
03:27That Saturday night main event, we really got excited about it.
03:31Randy was really excited about working with me.
03:33Bret Hart. Oh, my.
03:35Macho was kind of a polar opposite.
03:37Bret was a fairly dry, technical wrestler.
03:40Macho, on the other hand, brought a certain showbiz to the game.
03:43Macho Man in the top right in the ladder there, pointing down to Bret Hart.
03:47I just loved him working with Randy.
03:49He was a high-octane spitfire out there.
03:52He was a guy who was going to really tear up the try.
03:54Macho Man's got a tough opponent here
03:56because Bret Hart, I believe, can match him hold for hold.
03:59The guy's a mechanic in that ring.
04:01Bret was more of a technician,
04:02and I remember that being one of the best matches on the entire card,
04:05if not the match that stole the show.
04:08Randy Savage on the apron.
04:10Suplex, Noah Slam coming in.
04:12One, two, three.
04:15I can't believe it.
04:16Macho Man Savage won this opponent.
04:19That's unbelievable.
04:19I think that was the coming out party.
04:21You knew that he was going to be great,
04:22and you saw him take the next step,
04:24and a huge step towards what would be a Hall of Fame caliber career.
04:33Throughout the 1990s, Bret Hart had become a certified main event caliber superstar,
04:37winning multiple WWE championships
04:40and quickly assuming a position as one of sports entertainment's top talents.
04:44I earned being an Intercontinental Champion.
04:46I earned being a World Wrestling Federation Champion.
04:49But in 1996, a newcomer looked to take Hart's spot,
04:53the brash and brazen Stone Cold Steve Austin.
04:57If you put the letter S in front of Hitman,
05:00you've had my exact opinion of Bret Hart.
05:02Never one to back down from a challenge,
05:04the Hitman took on the Texas Rattlesnake at Survivor Series,
05:08and in what would become a clash for the ages.
05:14If you like Holyfield and Tyson, you're going to love this.
05:19My first high-profile match was with Bret the Hitman Hart.
05:22Uh-oh. Slut's dead. They're developing.
05:24I'd taken six months off.
05:26When I came back, I wanted to come back and wrestle the best wrestling in the company.
05:30That was a hard thing for me to pull off.
05:32How much ring rust does Bret Hart possess?
05:34How long will it take for him to get that groove?
05:37I can't believe Bret Hart's on his seat.
05:40The two of them brought out the very best in each other.
05:43Oh, no! Look out!
05:46Bret Hart had to rise to that occasion.
05:48And for Steve Austin, nothing was going to stand in the way of that rocket ride he was on.
05:54Ends up with going forward with my old finish, a million-dollar dream.
05:58Wait a minute! There's a million-dollar dream!
06:00He goes to the turnbuckle, kicks. Over we go, roll up.
06:04Oh!
06:06Oh!
06:08Oh!
06:08Oh!
06:12He didn't beat me by physicality.
06:15He beat me by outsmarting me.
06:17I always loved that match with Stone Cold.
06:19That was a real Barnburner.
06:20What a matchup!
06:22What a competitor!
06:23Ladies and gentlemen, the Hitman is back!
06:29Still to come.
06:30I'm gonna take on all challenges.
06:33These two, put their bodies up!
06:36Bret Hart is widely recognized as one of the greatest WWE champions of all time,
06:41taking on challengers of all shapes and sizes.
06:43I'm gonna take on all challenges.
06:47That means all of them!
06:48And in July 1994, Bret Hart would put his WWE title on the line against the underdog upstart, the 1
06:56-2-3 Kid.
07:00The 1-2-3 Kid is the biggest match of his life, ladies and gentlemen.
07:04The 1-2-3 Kid was really an up-and-comer at this point, whereas Bret the Hitman Hart was
07:09the top star in our game.
07:12He's gonna want to keep the 1-2-3 Kid to the back, and the 1-2-3 Kid is
07:16gonna try to keep it into a high-playing type action.
07:19It's one of the most beautiful matches I ever had.
07:22It's not one of those old-school wrestling matches where I got a headlock on them for the whole match.
07:27He's gonna take 10s!
07:28Higher-risk offense!
07:30Drops by the other top!
07:31I was already a huge Bret Hart fan.
07:33Bret let me come up with everything.
07:35Like, he put everything into place.
07:37He wanted me to do all my stuff.
07:39Watch this action!
07:41Far side!
07:42Oh, Bret caught him!
07:43Bret, with his technical skills, he couldn't match the high-flying stuff, but he could certainly outsmart the Kid.
07:57That was the greatest championship match I've ever seen in my career.
08:01I wasn't so much thinking about that I was having a WWE Championship match, but that I was having a
08:06match with Bret Hart.
08:07It's the greatest match of my career.
08:11It's a beautiful story and a beautiful match, and I loved every bit of it.
08:15It was my way of giving back.
08:20In 1997, Bret formed a new incarnation of the Hart Foundation featuring his brother Owen, brothers-in-law Jim Neidhart
08:26and Davey Boy Smith, and family friend Brian Pillman.
08:30I've surrounded myself with the best that the World Wrestling Federation has to offer.
08:35The group was bonded together with patriotic pride for their home country of Canada.
08:40Canada is the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be.
08:46With Monday Night Raw emanating from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, the Hitman was out to prove just how superior his country
08:54is to their American neighbors to the south.
09:02Ladies and gentlemen, Bret, the Hitman!
09:07Summer of 97, you have Bret Hart and the Hart Foundation, who are beloved, of course, in Canada, and hated
09:14south of the border.
09:16Americans think that they're always better than us. They think they're better than everyone.
09:24That whole time period was interesting because we were good guys in Canada, and we were bad guys in the
09:30States.
09:32Canada is a country where we still take care of the sick and the old, where we still have health
09:36care.
09:38Canada isn't riddled with racial prejudice and hatred.
09:41It felt very much like it was Canada versus the USA.
09:45There was this love-hate thing going on that was really special, and I remember thinking, this is really cool.
09:51Like, this has never been done before.
09:53This is such a proud moment as a Canadian, and I'll tell you what, no lies detected.
09:58Nobody is more proud of being Canadian than I am.
10:04Still to come.
10:05Look at this move!
10:06You know, Bret, the Hitman Hart wants to class Shawn Michaels so bad.
10:10Oh my God!
10:13For decades, the King of the Ring tournament was used as a launching point for several WWE careers.
10:19From Stone Cold Steve Austin.
10:21Austin 316 says I just whipped your ass.
10:25Triple H.
10:26The 1997 King of the Ring.
10:29To Brock Lesnar.
10:31Oh!
10:31The FBI!
10:32And it's over!
10:33The King of the Ring!
10:35But perhaps no King of the Ring tournament held the anticipation like 1993's memorable contest.
10:41Bret Hart would have to win three consecutive matches against some of WWE's greatest superstars in search of becoming in
10:48-ring royalty.
10:49An incredible task was ahead of the Hitman.
10:54What a night it's going to be, ladies and gentlemen!
10:57This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and boy, you better take advantage of it.
11:01He got hammered with a tremendous clothesline!
11:04Whoa!
11:04What a slam!
11:05You can tell with the King of the Ring, I have more confidence than I ever did.
11:10And if anything, I'm going to prove myself today with three different wrestlers.
11:13I'm going to beat all three of them.
11:15He counted!
11:15He counted a suplex!
11:18The Bret Hart's are really gifted.
11:20That was big for him.
11:22Hitman versus Mr. Perfect.
11:23The perfect pucks versus the sharpshooter from our Intercontinental Champions.
11:27Putting their bodies on the line!
11:29Bret and Mr. Perfect were going back and forth.
11:31It was very competitive.
11:33One, two!
11:34One, two!
11:35One, two!
11:36One, two!
11:36One, two!
11:36One!
11:36One, two!
11:37One, two!
11:47One, two!
11:47One, two!
11:47He's nuts!
11:48He's nuts!
11:48He's nuts!
11:48The Hitman up on Bigelow Shelders!
11:51Where's he going?
11:52He got him in the victory roll!
11:54He's got the feet hooked!
11:55And he wins it!
11:56And he wins it!
11:56And he wins it!
11:57I'm not going to say it's Bret Hart's greatest moment, because God, how do you count them
12:01all?
12:01But it's definitely one of them.
12:02The King of the Ring!
12:08The Hitman was on a roll in the summer of 1997.
12:12Back by the Hart Foundation, Bret emerged as the number one contender to the WWE Championship.
12:17which was dominantly held by the phenom, The Undertaker.
12:21I will be the World Wrestling Federation Champion!
12:24You will rest in peace!
12:30Hart and Undertaker were headed for a collision course at SummerSlam.
12:33With a heartbreak kid, Shawn Michaels demanded inclusion in the match.
12:37I will be the special referee!
12:41And Bret immediately questioned Michaels' ability to remain impartial.
12:45You'll break if you're gonna beat me!
12:47Would Hart overcome the odds and secure another championship?
13:00The SummerSlam match with Undertaker, it's really one of my greatest matches for sure.
13:08Bret was a no-nonsense kind of wrestler.
13:12So I ended up dropping The Undertaker guard a little bit, and incorporate more athleticism into it.
13:19And what a seesaw match up, Vince McMahon!
13:23It was art. It was such hard work.
13:26But it was such a beautiful match.
13:28You know, from the event we want to play, Shawn Michaels so bad.
13:32You guys like Bret and I, we were competing with one another.
13:36The animosity builds until it gets to the point where Bret spits the golf ball-sized loony right in Shawn's
13:43face.
13:44And then Shawn swung a chair, but Bret ducked.
13:48Undertaker was on the receiving end of it.
13:52Shawn ended up helping Bret win the title.
13:55He certainly didn't want to, but that's what worked out.
13:58Whenever I think back to great moments in my career,
14:01the ending at SummerSlam is always one that makes me really smile.
14:08At Survivor Series 1997, Bret Hart departed WWE in controversial fashion.
14:14He said ring the bell!
14:15Michaels will have to become the WWF champion!
14:18Bret was told he was going to win that night,
14:20but was screwed out of his title by Vince McMahon and his nemesis Shawn Michaels.
14:25Nobody knows better than I do what it's like to get screwed over.
14:29But the WWE Universe never gave up hope that the Hitman would one day come back home
14:34and the two superstars could finally make peace.
14:40making his first appearance on Raw in over 12 years.
14:45Bret!
14:46The Hitman!
14:48Oh my God!
14:51This is amazing!
14:53When I think back to that time period, I don't know where I found the courage to do that.
14:56I just was so nervous about how it would be perceived.
14:59It's been 12 long years!
15:01The time that he had away from WWE, I know it was really hard on him.
15:06I've got years of things that I've wanted to get off my chest.
15:10Shawn Michaels, come out here!
15:13Hey, there's Shawn Michaels!
15:15I didn't speak to Bret nor see him for easily more than a decade.
15:20Apparently hell has frozen over.
15:23Carrying that burden for both of us in different ways was heavy.
15:27I would love to be able to put that behind us.
15:29You're not the only one that wants to bury the hatchet.
15:33It was like a big giant weight carrying around all that anger and grief.
15:37We both are tired of fighting each other and having this ill will.
15:41If you want to bury the hatchet, let's bury it right now!
15:50The best thing I ever did was make peace with it.
15:54I don't know about you, but I got some goosebumps going up in my spine right now.
16:02Up next is our final two moments on the countdown.
16:05He wants a match. He wants a fight.
16:07I'll give him a fight.
16:08What will take the number one spot?
16:10Both of these guys in tip-top physical...
16:14Bret Hart is often recognized as one of the greatest in-ring performers in WWE history.
16:19With his incredible athletic ability backed by a genius wrestling mind, Bret can simply do it all.
16:25I'm ready to take on anybody, anytime, anywhere.
16:29But the Hitman's technical abilities may have been rivaled by one Mr. Perfect.
16:33A superstar who prides himself on being absolutely, well, perfect.
16:38You're close to perfect, Bret Hart.
16:39But you're not Mr. Perfect.
16:41Naturally, these two wrestling greats would look to prove themselves as a superior competitor.
16:46And at SummerSlam 1991, the Hitman and the Perfect one would clash for the prestigious Intercontinental Championship.
16:56All the marbles at stake here, jam-packed here in the garden.
17:00The match that Bret Hart had with Mr. Perfect in 1991 was incredible.
17:04It was a match that had everybody talking.
17:07Perfect's got not only his title on the line, but his reputation.
17:10You can only think about one thing, that's your opponent.
17:13Both of these guys in tip-top physical condition.
17:17He was one of those kind of guys that was a natural.
17:20He was as good a wrestler as there ever was.
17:22Perfect, in a whole lot of trouble, and the Hitman gave him confidence.
17:26I don't think there was a more perfect opponent for Bret that night than Kurt Hennig.
17:30He looks like he's looking for a way out.
17:32Hart wants it bad.
17:34Hart wants to keep it.
17:35Oh, no!
17:37Has he got the fingers locked?
17:39No, he got that!
17:41Nice block there, that ball.
17:43Oh, he's got that whole pepper plug on the canvas!
17:47He's got it!
17:49He's got it!
17:50No!
17:51We've got a new champion!
17:53Everyone going crazy here!
17:55That match stands out because it really launches Bret into the singles stratosphere.
18:01The new Intercontinental Champion!
18:03I thought it stole the show that day.
18:05We had the best matches.
18:07This place is going behind us!
18:10We've now reached our number one moment.
18:13Five-time WWE Champion Bret Hart may be considered one of the greatest technicians inside the squared circle,
18:19but becoming a champion doesn't happen overnight.
18:21I fought and crawled my way to the top.
18:23By 1992, the Hitman had slowly been climbing the ranks of the WWE ladder for years.
18:28We all gonna find out that I'm going straight to the top.
18:32Hart was certain that his time as champion was on the horizon.
18:35Yet standing in his way of achieving his goal was perhaps the greatest champion of all time.
18:41Ric Flair rules the World Wrestling Federation!
18:47Bret the Hitman Hart will not hold that title!
18:49The two would battle it out with the title on the line in front of a wild Canadian crowd.
18:59If anybody has a chance, the Hitman does.
19:03I had a great time working with Bret. That was a great match, I thought.
19:07Every time Flair steps into the ring, he is in 100% physical condition.
19:12I found when I wrestled Ric Flair that I really had to find a different gear to stay up with
19:17him and keep up with him.
19:18It's been a blistering pace set by both men challenger and champion.
19:23Bret, in the eyes of the fans, he was the best there is, the best there was, and the best
19:28there ever will be.
19:30He's got it turned over!
19:33Oh, he gave up!
19:36We've seen history now!
19:41And I just did that gift.
19:43You can make people feel it.
19:46A man who is devoted his entire life to this moment.
19:50I never expected any of this to happen.
19:53As a kid, when I was probably about 12, I dreamed about being champion.
19:58This is the greatest moment of my whole life.
20:01The biggest dreams can still come true.
20:08Bret Hart's excellence simply cannot be disputed.
20:11With a career as story as any in WWE history, Bret Hart will forever remain a legend of the squared
20:17circle.
20:18There's no denying that he truly is the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever
20:24will be.
20:25That'll do it for this edition of WWE's Greatest Moments.
20:29I hope you've enjoyed this look back.
20:31Best of the legendary Hitman Bret Hart.
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