David Hunter
Bret Hart: Top Matches of the 1990s
Bret Hart is one of the best wrestlers to ever lace up the boots, putting on clinics throughout the 1980s and 1990s with a variety of superstars in both WWF and WCW. Hart was known as one of the most technically proficient wrestlers during his time and routinely showcased it in the ring, even going so far as to reference it in his classic self nickname, “the excellence of execution.”
While more commonly known in the 1980s with teaming up with Jim Neidhart in The Hart Foundation and winning tag team gold, it wasn’t until 1991 that Bret would situate himself in the singles wrestling scene eventually capturing the IC Title from Mr. Perfect and shortly afterwards winning the coveted WWF Title from Ric Flair.
So with that out of the way, let’s start our countdown of Bret Hart’s top five matches in the 1990s. First though, let’s go with some honorable mentions although you could legit throw in probably 20 other matches including his bouts with Diesel at Survivor Series 1995 and Davey Boy Smith at both Summerslam 1992 and In Your House 5. Not to mention his matches with Undertaker such as at Summerslam 1997 or One Night Only. Finally his match on Monday Night Raw with the 1-2-3 Kid deserves a mention too.
Some Honorable Mentions
Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels – Survivor Series 1992 11/25/1992
Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels – WrestleMania 12 03/31/1996
Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels – Survivor Series 1997 11/09/1997
Grouping these matches together as Bret and Shawn often brought out the best in one another in the ring. Their match at Survivor Series was a cementing factor in proving to the fans of the WWF that Bret and Shawn were on the cusp of taking over from older wrestlers such as Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, and Roddy Piper.
A lot of fans tend to knock their WrestleMania match for only being 1 fall and the inconsistent selling from both wrestlers but both men went on a tear for over 60 minutes in the ring while pushing their bodies and performing moves neither had busted out in their arsenal before. Deserving of a mention here as a tribute to their endurance and capability at the time.
Finally their 1997 match is unfortunately overshadowed by what would happen afterwards with the Montreal Screwjob fiasco but prior to that, the match was a very good bout and a strong continuation in their match rivalry and ability to put on a great match. What I enjoyed about this bout was the fact that it was closer to Bret’s match with Austin at WM13 in being both a brawl and a solid in-ring match as well.
Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin – Survivor Series 1996 11/17/1996
A very good wrestling match with a fantastic ending, many would probably put this on the list ahead and I would not argue that. One of my favorite aspects of this is that it was a culmination of Austin’s badmouthing Bret while showcasing Bret’s return to the ring and would help set up the later WrestleMania rematch the following year. One of the underrated aspects of this match is that it was much more of a straight up wrestling match and it helped give an edge to both wrestlers that would show up yet again later in their rematch.
5: Bret Hart vs. Mr. Perfect – King of the Ring 1993 06/13/1993
Their 1991 Summerslam match gets a lot more notoriety mostly due to the fact that Bret Hart would win the IC Title but this match was aided by the fact that Mr. Perfect was not as hampered injury wise due to his back and there was more of a back and forth battle with both men going all out in the ring. Perfect was bumping like a man possessed and they managed to take the roots of their Summerslam classic and turn it up a notch in pace and frenetic energy.
This was also made special in that it was the first King of the Ring tournament to air on PPV and this would be Bret’s second of three matches during the night. Bret didn’t need to go all out to preserve his body but both men threw caution to the wind and put on a clinic that was immediately apparent would be hard to top afterwards.
4: Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart – WrestleMania 10 03/20/1994
A perfect classic of younger brother vs. older brother with Owen being a supremely snotty actor in a great storyline as Bret and Owen went back and forth throughout with Owen getting a lot of the spotlight while Bret countered with his technical know how. It’s worth mentioning that the ending of the match fit the story well and also would help later set up their rematch at Summerslam 1994.
Although Bret would win the WWF Title from Yokozuna later in the night, it’s a testament to how good Bret and Owen were that they could put on what arguably is the match of the night (even with the classic Ladder Match between Michaels & Ramon) and the fact that it was a match which opened the PPV at one of the biggest stages of the WWF at the time in Madison Square Garden.
3: Bret Hart vs. Chris Benoit – WCW Monday Nitro 10/04/1999
Just an old school technical classic honoring Owen Hart after Owen had died. The match goes for a half hour and is just a clinic in wrestling without a gimmick to fall back on between two of the best technical wrestlers at the time in a WCW ring. It’s a testament to both wrestlers that this match is remembered as much for the prowess in the ring as it is for the tribute to Owen.
It’s also a great match to watch just to see that the fans in attendance were so respectful given the back story and the fact that Bret and Chris put on a classic, going above and beyond and pushing themselves and each other to deliver a match worthy of being a tribute to Owen.
2: Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin – WrestleMania 13 03/23/1997
This match is arguably the perfect marriage of what an Attitude era match would, could, and should be. It started out as a gusto brawl before moving to a very hard hitting, solid bout in the ring before concluding with weapons aplenty and there was nary a moment to catch your breath throughout.
Austin and Bret managed to tie up over a year of simmering, seething hatred storyline wise into a frenetically paced match with the perfect ending that would catapult both wrestlers to the top in respect to how fans would react to them afterwards. Cannot be overstated how well Bret and Austin worked this match from the get go to smoothly roll into that finish without it feeling forced or gimmicked.
1: Bret Hart vs. Roddy Piper – WrestleMania 8 04/05/1992
Hands down my favorite Bret Hart match ever. From the promos before hand, one knew this match would be special and both pulled out a master class on how to tell a story in the ring with both men quickly sliding into an easy Face/Heel dynamic while constantly building and building to the finish in a non-stop sequence of action that rarely slowed down.
The finish of the match would be called back to in Bret’s match vs. Austin at Survivor Series but here, the match manages to capitalize on Piper’s finish at the time while showcasing Bret’s spirit and smarts in an in-ring story that was told as perfectly as they could do so on the grandest stage of them all. While Shawn Michaels would earn the moniker of “Mr. Wrestlemania” it’s a credit to Bret that he could arguably be named the second “Mr. Wrestlemania” right behind him.
So there we have it, the Top 5 Bret Hart matches of the 1990s in my opinion. Agree? Disagree? Post your comments and remarks below! You can also tweet me at http://www.twitter.com/DH523
