Immortal Bret Hart, The First-Ever 3-Time WWE Hall of Famer

Why This Match is Immortal

Some of you, and I am a part of, may think that, if the WWF/WWE Hall of Fame was created in 1993 to honor the late André the Giant, the first Immortal Moment to enter the Hall of Fame should be a match like the WrestleMania 3 match between André and Hogan. And that would have been a very good choice.

If WWE had to choose a Bret Hart match, it could have been the WrestleMania 12 Iron Man Match against Shawn Michaels. It would have been another very good choice.

But there’s a stain on his match due to all the issues that followed and led to the infamous Montreal Screwjob. Sadly, the Hart-Michaels magic became a tragedy. Also, because I watched it live (I mean, 3 months after, as it was in France at that time), this whole hour of the match is not that immortal.

The choice of Hart vs Austin at WrestleMania 13 is a no-brainer. As Runn told you recently, there is nothing that hasn’t been said about this match that we haven’t already heard. Hart vs. Austin sparked the birth of the Attitude Era and the rise of Stone Cold Steve Austin.

It’s a double turn that happened in front of our eyes. Everything in this match is good: the storyline, the psychology, the wrestlers. Every detail is made important.

Hart’s Influence

Unlike Michaels and Hart at that time, Steve Austin and Bret Hart have always had great respect for each other. Hart was the one who told Vince McMahon to hire Austin. Hart spotted Austin in WCW and knew he was a free agent. The week after, Austin was in the WWF locker room. With that in mind, the fact that they were able to make people believe they hated each other is pure genius.

The fact that the fans thought they were enemies gave a special flavor to their storyline, and of course, to the match. “This was one of the easiest matches I’ve ever had,” both men said. What an irony when you think Austin fainted in a sea of his blood…

Vince McMahon wanted Hart to turn heel. Austin learned his match against Hart would be a submission match while watching TV. He was not a fan of Vince’s idea, as his left knee was hurt, and he was not a submission wrestler. If he had to turn heel, Hart suggested Austin had to end up busted open at a time when no-busted open policy. Austin agreed, and Hart helped him out.

Hart and Austin built a match that was logical despite a complex stipulation. Submission matches make the crowd’s reactions harder. So, they worked the match psychology like a school fight.

“There were things that we did in that match that were so real,” confessed Hart to Austin in a Broken Skull Sessions episode. With the double turn in mind, knowing Hart was turning heel when Austin was turning face, Hart said, “It’s funny to think that you’re the bad guy in this match.”

Bret Hart helped make Steve Austin a Hall of Famer with this match, their feud, and their in-ring chemistry.

Austin told it, “I’m thankful for how much you impacted and helped my career. From the bottom of my heart, I wanna thank you for everything that you’ve done for me in my career, and I’ve always looked up to you, admired your work, and it was always a pleasure to be in the ring with you. And anytime we went in there, I knew I was in safe hands.”

Why Bret Hart

I will be very biased because Bret Hart is a man who saved my life. I’m not going to tell you the why and the what, I will say Hart was real. At that time, I needed someone who was speaking the truth and giving everything, in and out of the ring.

The fact is, I never had the chance to watch that match live. WWF was not airing anymore in France by 1997 (it was WCW time). I watched it way after, knowing that would be a masterpiece, not only because Bret Hart was in the ring, but because Bret Hart never did a bad match.

Hart had always been a locker-room leader, someone who wanted to tell stories through his matches. Hart said to Austin in the same Broken Skull Sessions episode, “I always brought out these very dramatic, I would say, beautiful endings to my matches. I always had a believable style of wrestling, and I think the way I worked made people believe that maybe there’s something real in some of these matches, like it wasn’t all planned out.”

When Austin asked him what he wanted to be remembered for, Hart replied, “I wanna be remembered for being the best there is, best there was, and the best there ever will be. I was always really respectful of the guys I worked with and always wanted to know that. I look like I’m really hurting you, but I’m a total pro. I will never hurt you. And that was the way I got taught.”

Bret “The Hitman” Hart is a wrestling legend. And he is my hero. I’m not sure I need to add something else to explain why Bret Hart deserves to become the first-ever 3-time WWE Hall of Famer.