Bret Hart is sick of what professional wrestling has turned into, and he’s not sugarcoating it. The WWE Hall of Famer believes today’s wrestling has become more about explosions, flashy moves, and over-the-top entertainment than actually making fans believe they’re watching a real fight.
During an appearance on the Johnny I Pro Show, Hart was asked whether he believed he’d made his younger self proud. That led to a discussion about his famous “Best There Is, Best There Was, Best There Ever Will Be” catchphrase and the effort he put into making professional wrestling look legitimate. Hart explained that he doesn’t necessarily believe anyone can be called the greatest wrestler of all time, but he knows how hard he worked to make everything he did look real. That’s something he believes today’s wrestling has lost.
“I don’t know that to be in really honest, I don’t know that you can ever say anybody was the greatest of wrestling. But I know that I I gave so much and tried so hard to make it up here real and I have a hard time today when it’s not I don’t think those values are carried forward and they’re they’re moving on in a different direction now where wrestling is starting to become hokey.”
Hart didn’t stop there. He took issue with the way modern wrestling relies on elaborate production and spectacle, arguing that companies have gotten away from the fundamentals that made professional wrestling worth watching in the first place.
“It don’t really It’s not doesn’t try to be real anymore. It tries to be uh unreal. Like too outrageously the more explosions and pyro and stuff that you can do. It has nothing to do with wrestling. Like in the end like I’m a wrestling fan and deep in my heart. And I like to watch a really good wrestling match that builds and tells a story and all that.”
The biggest problem for Hart is that he no longer gets the same enjoyment from watching wrestling that he once did. Instead, he’s been going back and watching old black-and-white matches featuring legends such as Buddy Rogers, Killer Kowalski, and Gene Kiniski because he believes those wrestlers understood how to make everything look believable.
“And I don’t get that fix anymore. I’m not getting that at all from today’s wrestling. Whereas I was watching um some black and white um stuff on the internet. And I was watching Buddy Rogers and Killer Kowalski wrestling back in the ’60s and Gene Kiniski and uh um you know, all these old wrestlers from And they were so good. Like they really I remember watching and go, ‘This is what I like. This is the kind of wrestling I want to watch.'”
Hart went on to explain that the technical side of wrestling is what made those matches special. He also pointed out that many of today’s wrestlers grew up watching him, which makes it even more frustrating that he doesn’t see the same commitment to realism in their performances.
“Yeah, where there’s holds and there’s like Killer Kowalski was a incredible wrestler. And um like there’s so many great wrestlers that I was lucky enough to watch as a kid growing up. And you know, I hope there’s a lot of kids that you know, they think there’s a lot of people that watched me growing up. And they’re all wrestling now. I wish they would you know, I always have a line that I use regularly is like the best pro wrestler has to always pretend to be real. And I don’t think they’re trying hard enough anymore to make it appear real.”
The former WWE Champion acknowledged that fans understand professional wrestling is scripted. However, he believes that shouldn’t stop wrestlers from treating their performances seriously and giving audiences something they can believe in for a few hours.
“And I know the cat’s out of the bag today in wrestling. Everyone kind of knows that even kids that are watching it like this is all But back in my day it was kind of like you know, when you carried someone out of the ring on a stretcher it was pretty serious stuff. Like you were always like got them on the news.”
Hart explained that he wants to be able to watch wrestling and believe what he’s seeing while the show is happening, even if everyone understands how the business works once it’s over.
“Like I want to pretend it’s real for 3 hours. I can talk about it on the drive home about how fake this was and how you know, this one wasn’t real or But I I was always a a fan of good real wrestling.”
Hart also recalled watching Pat O’Connor and Buddy Rogers wrestle when he was just four or five years old. He remembered sitting close to the action and being completely convinced he was watching two of the best wrestlers in the world. That experience helped shape his understanding of what professional wrestling should be.
“Like if I watched I did watch Pat O’Connor and Buddy Rogers wrestle when I was a little kid. I was about four. Maybe five. But I thought it was the greatest match in the world. Like I was right up close. I watched it like right right at ringside and it was like I remember on these are world-class wrestlers. Like this is the best in the world and it’s like those kind of things resonated with me and uh Today I I love a lot of the wrestlers that are working today, but you know, for God’s sake, maybe they could put a hold on once in a while. You know, they should put someone in a headlock.”
This isn’t the first time Hart has gone after the current product. He previously criticized WWE and AEW for moving away from realistic wrestling, and his latest comments make it clear that his opinion hasn’t changed.
Hart isn’t asking for bigger stunts, more dangerous moves, or another round of fireworks. He wants wrestlers to get back to making the action look like an actual competition, and he clearly isn’t convinced today’s biggest companies are delivering that experience.
Do you agree with Bret Hart that modern wrestling has become too unrealistic, or do you think today’s style is better than what fans watched during his generation? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
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.
