Bret Hart did not become "the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be" without being one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. From the pink glasses to the controversy, Hart's impact on the wrestling world is impossible to replicate.
Surprisingly, Hart did not win a world championship until almost a decade after arriving in the WWE. His career is full of plenty of ups and downs and along with the many victories over legends like Stone Cold and Goldberg, there are many losses on Hart's record that still leave fans scratching their head, wondering how the Excellence of Execution came up short in these singles matches.
10 The Patriot
When most people remember The Patriot's career, they remember his feud with Bret Hart. It was the ultimate American vs Canada's favorite son representing the anti-American Hart Foundation. Most remember that Hart forced The Patriot to submit to the Sharpshooter in the WWE Championship match at Ground Zero: In Your House, but many forget The Patriot did get a win over Hart on an episode of Raw thanks to interference from Shawn Michaels.
The televised win was one of the highlights of The Patriot's career as he never held any major titles and would retire from wrestling due to injuries just a year later.
9 Henry Godwinn
Henry is best remembered for his time as a member of the Godwinns with Phineas Godwinn who was his cousin/brother (they really sold the southern thing). The two "hog farmers" did become WWE Tag Team Champions, but were not exactly the most beloved tag team stable in the 90s.
They are sometimes even remembered as one of the worst tag teams of their era. But Henry did get a win over Bret Hart. The win came via count-out, but it is one of Hart's strangest losses, considering Henry Godwinn is not often remembered for competing at a legendary level like Bret Hart.
8 The Mountie
One of the most cartoonish characters the WWE ever presented to audiences was The Mountie. He is not often remembered among younger fans since his impact was very minimal and a clear reflection of outlandish gimmicks from that era. Still, one memorable thing The Mountie did accomplish was a win over Bret Hart at a Prime Time Wrestling taping in 1992.
Sure this was way before Hart was the face of wrestling, and it did happen via count-out, but it's still a head-scratching loss, considering Hart's remembered as a great, and The Mountie is often forgotten.
7 Dino Bravo
Dino Bravo has become more remembered thanks to his shocking Dark Side of the Ring episode that explored his tragic early death. As a wrestler, he did win the tag team titles with Dominic DeNucci and is the only WWE Canadian Champion before the belt was abandoned.
Bravo feuded with Hart a few times, both as a singles wrestler and against the Hart Foundation. He was shockingly victorious over Hart numerous times in the late 80s, but by the 90s could never get a win over the future face of the industry.
6 Bad News Brown
His lackluster run in the WWE is the main reason Bad News Brown's win over Bret Hart is shocking. He was a solid performer and did make an impact in wrestling worldwide, but is often forgotten in the States for his less than a stellar televised career. Bad News Brown and Hart had feuds in the WWE dating back to the late 80s.
It actually took almost two years after his first loss to Brown for Hart to finally become victorious. Despite how great Bad News Brown was in the ring, if you compare both runs in the WWE it's always a shocker when someone who never held a single major title in WWE ever got one over The Hitman.
5 Honky Tonk Man
The Honky Tonk Man is most remembered for how well he sold his ridiculous gimmick. He was essentially an Elvis impersonator. Although the gimmick may seem better placed in the streets of Vegas than in a wrestling ring, Ron Farris made the character memorable enough to not be laughed out of the building.
Still, Honky Tonk Man was not often revered for his in-ring skills despite going on an insane 454-day Intercontinental Championship run. The Elvis impersonator did get a few wins over Hart in the late 80s and early 90s. None of the matches were televised including Honky Tonk's win at Wrestling Challenge in 1988.
4 One Man Gang
One Man Gang (sometimes remembered by the more offensive Akeem "The African Dream") rubbed shoulders with some of the greatest wrestlers from Andre the Giant to Dusty Rhodes. He was unable to shine above the icons of his era, and although he did hold the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship, he was not overly accomplished in the ring.
He did secure a win over Bret Hart at Madison Square Garden in 1990, which is one of the biggest wins of George Gray's entire career that spanned many promotions and decades.
3 Crush
Crush (aka Brian Adams) was a WWE mid-carder from the 90s with tremendous potential. Although he never reached the top of the mountain at WWE or WCW, Adams showed plenty of promise, but could never get the stars to align. His win over Hart at March To WrestleMania 10 is insane when you consider Hart was already a former world champion climbing to the top of the wrestling world and Crush was...Crush.
He was basically where he always was, floating around the mid-card scene. Owen Hart helped Crush earn the victory. It was a build-up match for WrestleMania 10, where Bret fought two matches.
2 Rick Martel
Martel's narcissistic "The Model" gimmick is one of the more memorable portions of his career. Although he was a pretty underrated wrestler, he never ascended from the mid-card scene and is often more remembered for the gimmick than his skills as a wrestler. The future model did get wins over Bret Hart, but this was when he was actually a much bigger star than Hart.
Martel was still a member of Strikeforce with Tito Santana. The early wins over Hart make sense in context, but when you look at the full picture it's hard to imagine this happening.
1 Hunter Hearst Helmsley
If you only remember Triple H as The Game, this loss on Hart's record might not seem that bad, but if you remember "Hunter Hearst Helmsley," this is a shocker. The WWE was very big on Hunter and pushed him as hard as they could, but fans didn't feel it. The blueblood gimmick was not entertaining, and it wasn't until Hunter joined D-Generation X that he took off as a top star.
Hart was one of the casualties of Hunter's early push as he shockingly lost to Helmsley in his prime Hitman days on an episode of Monday Night Raw via DQ. He also won via pinfall at a few house shows during this same era.