BRET HART is quite simply a living legend of the wrestling business.
In the ring, he can lay claim to his catchphrase of being the best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be.
And outside of the squared circle, Bret is one of the most intelligent men you’ll ever meet.
In our exclusive interview, the former WWE champion opens his heart on the highs and lows of his personal life and grappling career.
Bret – who is set to release his warts and all autobiography Hitman: My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling in the UK soon – was as honest with us as he is in the book.
So to find out more about Bret’s pain on losing his brother Owen, his favourite matches, the steroid scandal that is hurting wrestling and to read his thoughts on a possible return to the WWE, take a look at our in-depth chat with him below...
Hi Bret, thanks for taking the time out to talk to us. What’s been the response to your book so far?
I still haven’t heard a whole lot from people in my family. Some of my nieces and nephews, some of the younger generation of the Hart kids have all really liked it, but some of my brothers and sisters have yet to get back to me. I don’t know, maybe they are just slow readers!
The book, at times, can maybe be a little overwhelming. I think it’s hard for them to read it.
They are learning a lot about me and about how I saw the family that they didn’t know before.
Did you write everything yourself or did you have a ghost writer?
I wrote every word. I was always determined to do it my way. I even did my own hand-drawn cartoon on the inside of the book. I think everyone worked really hard to give me the book I wanted.
How difficult was it for you going through some of the more harrowing times in your life? Did you find it cathartic getting your feelings out there?
It was really cathartic for me. It was an outlet for me to let it all out and get it out of my system.
Especially after my stroke, I think the writing at the end of the book is very emotional. Probably because a lot of it was written not long after my stroke.
It was really good for me to put it all into words and to express myself. I’m really glad that I didn’t rush it.
One of your most memorable matches was with your brother-in-law Davey Boy Smith at Wembley Stadium at SummerSlam ’92. You go into quite some depth about the match in the book, so I take it it’s a match which really stands out in your mind as being very important to you?
In a lot of ways it was maybe my greatest match of all time. It was always a match that, despite the fact that I came out of it on the losing end, I also knew when I lost that night that it was probably the match that got me the championship.
I was certain that my wrestling fans would only love me more after I lost, and they did. It was an overwhelming tide that landed me in the spot of being the champion.
I was perfect for the company. I was drug free, steroid free and it was critical that someone could prop up the company and could step up and wouldn’t drop the ball.
The steroid testing, much like it is right now, was a major news story that was really hurting the company in a negative way.
They were losing toy deals and merchandising deals, even commercials on television, so it was a critical time to find someone who could be the champion and centre everything around, and that was me.
Even now you can see that when I was champion, wrestling was steroid-free. I was steroid-free. Wrestling was a cleaner machine back then.
There was more harmony amongst the wrestlers in the dressing room. In a lot of ways it was the last truly great period in wrestling. The wrestlers were really content.
It’s now coming up to a year from the tragedy involving Chris Benoit. What are your feelings about it now? Do you lay any blame at anyone’s doorstep, be it Chris, the WWE, or wrestling in general?
Maybe because I’m so close to it, but I do feel there’s a link to multiple concussion injuries.
Anyone who is dropped on the top of his head, off the top turnbuckle, diving off the top rope every night for several years...
There’s a strong argument that the Chris Benoit that went off and killed his family that day was totally out of control. He’d lost his mind. I want to believe that.
I don’t think you can blame WWE any more than you can blame the post office when postal workers go crazy.
It just happens, people go crazy, people do crazy things. It just happened to be a wrestler, that’s all.
I don’t think it was steroids.
NO CARTOON ... Bret's book
NO CARTOON ... Bret's book
The situation of steroids in wrestling has been opened up again by this though. Perhaps that may be something positive to take from that incident in the long run. Do you think that things will be solved more readily? Do you think the WWE are doing enough to eradicate the problem?
All I can say is that if the WWE really wants to eradicate steroids from wrestling, they can do it like they did before. Have legitimate testing and put penalties in place and take it from there.
I know that wrestling was drug free - at least the WWF was drug free. Ironically, it was the same week that they screwed me in Montreal that they screwed up the drug testing policy. From that point on, all these wrestlers got much bigger.
Moving back to great matches, a lot of people would argue that your greatest match was not with Davey Boy, but with Steve Austin at WrestleMania 13. Do you think that maybe had the same effect on his career that the Wembley match had on yours? That was the day that made him?
I think that, for both of us, it was definitely a defining moment. For Steve - yeah maybe, I hadn’t really thought about it like that before.
We were both great storytellers, telling the story so well. You can look at the emotion, the physical reality of that match.
I always compare wrestling to figure skating, you pick each other up, throw each other around. Steve Austin and I just worked really well together, really complimented one another.
The storyline on TV was that while you were taking time off he was calling you out, wanting to wrestle you. Was it a scenario based on real-life, that he asked to work with you? Or maybe the other way around; that you said “give me Steve Austin”?
We always had a great chemistry. I think that I was instrumental in Steve getting to the WWE in the first place.
I was always talking about him and saying “you should go get Steve Austin.” Right from the start we had great matches together.
Steve has always told me he learned so much. You know Steve was a bit erratic sometimes, a bit out of control, especially at the start of matches. I managed to calm him down, relax him under pressure, and after that he progressed even more because he had that composure.
It was Steve who inducted you into the Hall Of Fame, and looking back is that something you look back fondly on and are glad you did it?
I’m glad I did it, I’m my own worst critic but I thought I could have done a better job.
I was more nervous than anything, it was really hard to get up there in front of an audience.
It was really important to me not to lose my composure. I was worried what I was going to say, I had so much on my mind. So many people to thank. I’m happy with what I did but I think I could have done better.
Maybe in the future I’ll be able to induct my brother Owen or my father. I’ll be more composed then.
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The only time we’ve seen you then on the WWE screen was a brief promo on the ‘Vince McMahon Appreciation Night’ in June. What was it that made you come back for that and is that the last time we’ll see you?
It’s the last time that I know of.
I don’t know why I did it. I guess I wanted to show that I could bury the hatchet, that I could have some fun with it.
I think at the time I was trying to get permission from the WWE for some pictures to use in my book.
I thought that if I didn’t do it or if I don’t show that I’m not going to co-operate I might not get them. I thought I could have some fun with it and not take it too seriously.
What if next year they give you a call and say there’s a special show on and they want you to do something again¿
I always tell them they can always ask. There’s no harm in asking. If I thought I could have fun with it, my whole attitude is ‘can I have fun with it’, you know?
I was in a good place, I’ve got my life here in Hawaii. I was at the gym, and I thought filming it would do the gym good.
The scary thing is that I didn’t realise it was going to be perceived that I was back in wrestling.
Finally Bret – Is there anyone in modern day wrestling who you watch and say, “I think I could have a hell of a match with him”?
I really like Kurt Angle. He’s the kind of guy I really wish I could have worked with.
I would have loved to have worked with Rey Mysterio, would have loved to work with Big Show.
There’s another guy I saw in the WWE that they haven’t done much with and that’s Dysktra. I thought he was really good.
I look at him and he reminds me of Steve Austin when I first saw him. I think he has a lot of talent. He could be a big star down the road.
And my nephew Harry Smith, in fact. It would have been lovely to wrestle him.
I try to help Harry all the time. Harry and I are pretty tight. I think I’ve helped him in terms of keeping his confidence up.
I try to give as much support to Nattie Neidhart, and my nephew Teddy Hart as I can. They all have a lot of talent.
I think I have a lot of advice to give.
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Subject: Exclusive Interview with Bret Hart by thesun.co.uk 
Sun Apr 13, 2008 5:34 pm
