Wrestling promotions have skilled photographers in previous eras is a huge blessing today for wrestling fans wanting to look back at the older days. Bret Hart’s career primarily took place before the internet boom or mobile phones having cameras to make it easier. Any wrestler today will have high quality photos taken every single night they perform.
Older eras make it feel more appreciated to see the visuals from the wrestlers of that time. Bret has quite a few iconic moments and memories associated with his career. Everyone loves to watch back on what made Hart special, but it’s the instant memories that come from an instant look. The following pictures will tell the story about Bret as a legendary professional wrestler.
10 Stampede Wrestling
Bret Hart growing up in the wrestling business saw his family all having ties to the industry. Stu Hart was the head of the family and ran the Stampede Wrestling promotion as a top Canada territory promotion. Many of the top legends of the business worked there at some point, but Bret became synonymous with it.
Stu trusted Bret to have long matches inspiring fans to continue coming to the events. Vince McMahon signed Bret due to his work in Stampede Wrestling creating a strong reputation. Stu eventually closed the company, but Bret and many others paid tribute to the promotion for years.
9 Finding Chemistry With Unlikely Relative
Most fans would have assumed that Bret Hart teaming up with Owen Hart of Davey Boy Smith would have made more sense with a family tag team. However, it was Bret’s other brother-in-law Jim Neidhart that found success with him in their early WWE days.
Vince McMahon loved the combination of a large brute wrestler and a technical wrestler to split the work. The Hart Foundation were arguably the most over team of that generation. This photo shows a wonderful time in both careers when WWE started to grow in the mainstream world.
8 Becoming WWE Champion Against All Odds
No one would have predicted Bret Hart would win the WWE Championship when he joined the company for a tag team run. Bret working hard and building a fan base made him the perfect choice when Vince McMahon wanted to change the perception of WWE.
The infamous steroid trial made everyone start to realize how strange it was that WWE’s top stars all looked like action figures. Bret wasn’t a massive muscle head like Hulk Hogan and Ultimate Warrior. That along with his work ethic instilled Vince’s trust to have Hart become the WWE Champion in 1992.
7 Face Of The Company
Even though Bret Hart won the WWE Championship for the first time in 1992, he didn’t become the face of the company until 1994. Hulk Hogan leaving the company sparked an even bigger push heading into the career-defining night of WrestleMania 10.
WWE designed a night where both Lex Luger and Bret would challenge for the top prize. Bret had a classic with his brother Owen Hart in the opening match and defeated Yokozuna for the WWE Championship in the main event spot. This visual of the faces celebrating Bret in heroic fashion showed how impressive his rise was.
6 Legendary Sibling Rivalry With Owen Hart
Bret Hart has been vocal about the pride he took in having great matches with his brother Owen Hart on the biggest stage of WWE. WrestleMania 10 showcased their incredible chemistry with a match still regarded the greatest opening match in WM history.
WWE continued the feud with Owen demanding a title shot after Bret won the WWE Championship the same night Owen defeated him. SummerSlam 1994 may have been even better with Bret defeating Owen in a legendary cage match to save the show.
5 Creating Shades Of Grey Storytelling
The end of Bret Hart’s WWE run in 1997 saw him turning heel against the United States fans while remaining a hero to the international audience. Steve Austin and Bret had an iconic match at WrestleMania 13, but the visuals there are more important to Austin’s rise.
The aftermath is what most fans remember of Hart following that match’s story. Bret led the Hart Foundation faction with his relatives and played into his love of Canada. This entire angle was considered one of the most objectively compelling times in WWE history.
4 Worst Possible Fairy Tale Ending
Bret Hart’s WWE career felt like a fairy tale at times looking back at a kid growing up in the business and getting his big break on the biggest stage. The underdog story for his rise to the top made fans all over the world connect with him.
This also made it more shocking to see how things ended with the Montreal Screwjob. Bret and Shawn Michaels had a tremendous rivalry that unfortunately realer to them than anyone else. Vince McMahon decided to lie to Hart by having the bell ring in a moment that is still debated twenty-five years later.
3 Another Title During A Horrendous WCW Run
Many pundits thought that Bret Hart joining WCW after his controversial WWE departure could be the final nail in the Monday Night Wars. WCW had already passed WWE due to the New World Order act and Bret coming in such a high-profile manner should have created huge results.
Hart was booked poorly in WCW and never felt the same from a rocky start to a brutal ending. The main peak of that time was Bret adding more gold to his resume when winning the WCW Championship. Unfortunately, his push in early 2000 ended abruptly due to Goldberg ending his career with a reckless kick.
2 Protecting His Legacy At The WWE Hall Of Fame
Bret Hart kept a distance from WWE with a lot of bad blood following the Montreal Screwjob and Owen Hart’s passing in a stunt gone wrong. The unofficial boycott of WWE ended when Bret accepted an invitation to get inducted in the 2006 Hall of Fame class.
One reason for this was Hart fearing his legacy being destroyed like WWE did with the Ultimate Warrior DVD trashing him. Bret wanted to have his legacy to remain respected and joined the HOF class to make peace. However, he chose to leave the following night when the other legends were celebrated at WrestleMania 22 due to discomfort.
1 Making Peace With WWE
The relationship between Bret Hart and WWE improved in the years following his Hall of Fame induction. DVD projects and other opportunities opened communication to feel more comfortable doing things with the company ahead of 2010.
The big return came at the start of that year with a great moment shaking hands with Shawn Michaels. Bret had one more big WrestleMania 26 match defeating Vince McMahon for storyline revenge thirteen years later. WWE and Hart have a good relationship today with him recently re-signing a legends contract.