Bret Hart thinks WWE has too many people telling wrestlers how to work without actually knowing how to wrestle themselves. The Hitman compared that system to the freedom he had during his own career before taking a direct shot at Bruce Prichard.
While speaking to Inside The Ropes, Hart looked back at how WWE matches were put together during his time with the company. Vince McMahon would decide who won and lost and could dictate the finish, but Hart says much of everything else was generally left to the wrestlers.
“Vince tells you who wins and who loses, but the endings of the matches are between the wrestlers most of the time.”
Hart explained that Vince could tell him he was winning with the Sharpshooter and that decision was final. Beyond instructions like that, however, Hart says many of the matches fans remember were largely constructed by him.
“A lot of times when you see the match unfold, at least my matches, those are Bret Hart matches, including the WrestleMania 13, including the Iron Man match.”
That doesn’t mean Hart is taking all the credit. He gave Roddy Piper most of the credit for their match together and described working with Mr. Perfect and The Undertaker as much more collaborative.
“There’s a few matches where I’ll give credit to the guy that I worked with, like Roddy Piper. I give him most of the credit for the match I had with him. Being Mr. Perfect was like a 50/50. Most of my matches with Undertaker were 50/50.”
His matches with Owen Hart and British Bulldog were different. Hart says those were examples where he personally figured out everything from beginning to end.
“My matches I had with Owen, with Davey, those are all Bret Hart matches. That’s me figuring out the whole match from A to Z.”
Hart pointed to Wembley Stadium as an example of just how much trust Vince eventually placed in him. When Hart offered to explain the ending he had planned, Vince apparently didn’t even want to know beforehand.
“I remember telling Vince, I said, ‘You want to hear the ending?’ And he goes, ‘I don’t want to hear it. I just want to see it.’”
According to Hart, that kind of freedom became normal for him. He believes having control over how his matches came together was a major reason so many of them turned out as well as they did.
“I had carte blanche on my, I had total control on my endings of my matches, which is why I think my matches were so good.”
That’s where Hart turned his attention to WWE today, and he didn’t exactly soften his opinion. The Hitman suggested the company’s current problems could come from having people instruct wrestlers who don’t have the experience to be doing it.
“Maybe that’s why WWE is having the problem they are, is they have all these idiots telling people how to wrestle when they don’t know how to wrestle themselves.”
The audience applauded Bret Hart’s comment, but he wasn’t finished. He then specifically called out longtime WWE executive Bruce Prichard: “And Bruce Prichard too, he doesn’t know.”
Hart has never been shy about criticizing modern wrestling, but this time he pointed directly at the people behind the scenes. He believes wrestlers like himself were trusted to figure things out in the ring, and judging by his comments, he thinks WWE could use a lot more of that freedom today.
Do you agree with Bret Hart that WWE wrestlers should have more control over putting their matches together, or is the modern system better for television? Let us know in the comments.
This transcript was produced exclusively for Ringside News from the original recording. Republishing the transcription in full is prohibited. When using excerpts, provide prominent credit and a link to this article.
