Bret "The Hitman" Hart calls himself the Excellence of Execution. He also calls himself the "Best There Is, Best There Was, and Best There Ever Will Be." That arrogance and bravado, whether as a babyface or heel, is something that paints a target on him. The good news is that no matter who gunned for him, Hart was at his best in almost every match of his career.
However, that does not mean that all his feuds were winners. Just like any other wrestler, even the best in the world can't have a great feud when things just seemed destined to fall apart. While Hart did his best every time he stepped into the ring, he didn't always have the best dance partner. Here is a look at the five feuds of Bret Hart's career, and the five worst.
10 GOLDBERG - WORST
When Bret "The Hitman" Hart left WWE after the Montreal Screwjob and joined WCW, there seemed infinite possibilities for one of the best wrestlers on the planet. Sadly, WCW misused him like they misused many of their other wrestlers. Sure, he got a few world title reigns, but none that were memorable.
Then, Hart feuded with the most successful WCW homegrown talent of all-time in Bill Goldberg. This was a tough one since Bret had to carry Goldberg to more than a two-minute squash, but he did his best. Sadly, Goldberg kicked him in the head, concussed him, and it ended Hart's career,
9 SHAWN MICHAELS - BEST
After Hulkamania was taken out into the pasture and shot, it was time for the new breed of WWE superstars to step up. Instead of larger-than-life superheroes, it was time for the smaller athletic wrestlers to try to prove they belonged at the top of WWE, and the two men who proved this without a shadow of a doubt were Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels.
Hart and Michaels had one of the best feuds in WWE history, and it turned both of the wrestlers into stars. Their Iron Man match was one of the best WrestleMania moments in history, and the Montreal Screwjob was the climax for a feud that was one of the fiercest in WWE history.
8 VINCE MCMAHON - WORST
The Montreal Screwjob is where this "feud" originated. The problem was, as far as anyone knows, this was Vince McMahon screwing Bret Hart over in real life and causing over a decade of resentment between the two men. That was not a wrestling feud, but a real-life clash.
However, when Bret Hart finally agreed to return to WWE years after he retired due to concussion issues, he stepped back into the ring and feuded with Mr. McMahon in a storyline. Yes, fans at the time wanted to see Hart teach McMahon a lesson, but Bret was long past his prime, and the concussion and stroke he suffered slowed him down. Their WrestleMania match was painful to watch, and it would have been better to leave the memories alone.
7 STEVE AUSTIN - BEST
The Bret "The Hitman" Hart and Stone Cold Steve Austin feud was the one that made Stone Cold a star, and he owes a lot of his success to Hart for the world of this feud. It was incredible looking back on it. The fact is that Hart was the babyface, and Austin was the aggressive heel that pushed the feud forward.
Then, at WrestleMania, the two finally had their climactic battle. In the match, the two executed a brilliant double turn, and by the end, when Austin passed out in the Sharpshooter, bleeding from his head, the fans were cheering for Stone Cold, and the rest is history.
6 BOB BACKLUND - WORST
When Bret Hart came back and battled Vince McMahon years after he retired, he was a shell of himself. He was also on the other end of that over a decade before that feud. Hart was getting his footing as one of the new main event stars in WWE when Bob Backlund came out of retirement.
Bob Backlund was a former world champion who held the title for 2,135 days on a single title reign. When he came back in 1994, he was older and slower and wrestled for the first time as a crazed heel. He beat Bret Hart for the world title at Survivor Series, ending Hart's 248-day reign only to then lose it three days later to Diesel.
5 OWEN HART - BEST
It should come as no surprise that one of Bret Hart's greatest feuds was with his brother. Bret and Owen were close in WWE, but over time, there was jealously creeping in for the younger Hart brother. He felt that Bret was overshadowing him and holding him down and finally turned on his brother, leading to a feud.
The two ended up having two of the best matches of Bret Hart's career. One Bret won in a steel cage when Owen was caught in the cage, but the other made Owen a star. Owen Hart beat his brother at WrestleMania in the best opening match in the event's history only to see his brother win the world title later in the show.
4 DIESEL - WORST
As mentioned earlier, Bret Hart lost his world title in 1994 to Bob Backlund only to see Backlund drop it just three days later to Big Daddy Cool, Diesel. Then, Diesel went on to enjoy a massive 358-day title reign, from the house show where he won the title to Survivor Series in 1995.
So, one year after Bret lost his world title at Survivor Series, he went in and won it back at the same event a year later from Diesel. Both men were fan favorites heading into the feud, but Diesel ended up as a tweener after it. The feud itself was lackluster with Hart needing to carry Diesel, and most matches falling short of his brilliance.
3 DAVEY BOY SMITH - BEST
Bret Hart could make someone a star when they were good enough to take on that role. He did it with his brother Owen Hart. He also did it with his brother-in-law, The British Bulldog. Years before this feud, The Hart Foundation, and British Bulldogs had one of the best tag team feuds of the 80s in WWE.
Then, with Davey Boy Smith as a singles star, the two began to feud again. Hart was the Intercontinental Champion and was getting ready for his move to the main event and the world title. He fought Davey Boy in the U.K., where both men were stars and made Davey Boy look like a million bucks, losing the title to him at SummerSlam 1992.
2 LEX LUGER - WORST
Bret "The Hitman" Hart feuded with Lex Luger twice, and neither feud was very good. The first time came in WWE when Luger came in as the next big thing. Vince McMahon believed that Luger could replace Hulk Hogan in the eyes of the fans, but it never panned out. A double elimination at the Royal Rumble made it seem both men were winners.
However, Luger ended up losing out on this, and Hart moved on to beat Yokozuna for the world title, ending that feud quickly. Years later, Hart arrived in WCW, where Luger was a star, and they feuded once again. As with most things in WCW at that time, the feud was lackluster and forgettable.
1 JERRY LAWLER - BEST
It seems crazy that Jerry "The King" Lawler was one of the most successful wrestlers in the territories, winning dozens of titles all over the United States. However, when he signed with WWE, he never won one singles title and never wrestled at WrestleMania until he was 61 (and lost to Michael Cole).
However, he had one great feud as a wrestler before moving to the announcer's booth. Bret Hart won the King of the Ring Tournament, and when he wore the crown, it set up a great feud with Jerry "The King" Lawler. It was Lawler's first feud and involved most of the Hart Family.