The incredible run of success for both Bret Hart and Owen Hart made them arguably the greatest wrestling sibling duo in WWE history. Bret and Owen had a fun short stint together as a tag team, but most of their careers were spent in singles action. WWE would often book them together in feuds or some sort of a storyline, but they didn’t even have to work with each other to showcase their greatness.
Stu Hart trained both of his songs at the Hart family dungeon before bringing them up in Stampede Wrestling. The Hart family had quite a few other siblings, but Vince McMahon viewed Bret and Owen as the top two worth having on the WWE roster. We will look at arguments for both being the top Hart family wrestlers given their different levels of success. Pick your own favorite after checking out five reasons why Bret is the best Hart family wrestler along with five reasons for Owen’s case.
10 Bret: Main Eventer
The main event run of Bret Hart gives him a huge advantage in this debate. WWE pushed Bret to the top after his tag team run in the Hart Foundation and singles success in the mid-card proved his worth as a talent. The main event push allowed him to win the WWE Championship for the first time.
WWE even made Bret the face of the company for a few years between 1994 and 1996. Fans viewed him as a legitimate top star. Owen was always on the cusp of making the main event picture, but it never happened as he was in the tier below his brother.
9 Owen: Better King of the Ring
Bret Hart and Owen Hart both won King of the Ring tournaments in the 90s to help add credibility to the title. The win of Owen was more impressive as he progressed up the card to become a part-time main eventer with the upper mid-card spot.
Owen used the heel character element of the King of the Ring win to his advantage. Heels have naturally had stronger runs after winning the King of the Ring. Owen made an impact and helped showcase how the win could kickstart a career for the better.
8 Bret: Never Injured Opponents
The greatest pride of Bret Hart’s career is that he never injured one of his opponents in the hundreds to thousands of matches. Bret was a technical master often delivering classics with ease whenever he had the chance to work with a talented opponent.
The biggest goal of the match was to make sure that neither man ended it in an injury. Bret still holds a grudge against Bill Goldberg for injuring him with a stiff kick that ended his career. Owen also had his one bad moment injuring Steve Austin with a tombstone, but Bret had a spotless record.
7 Owen: Beloved Backstage
Owen Hart was among the most adored wrestlers backstage getting along with everyone. Steve Austin was the only noteworthy wrestler to have beef with Owen after the injury suffered in their match. Every other wrestler had strong words of praise for Owen as a performer and person.
Even the wrestlers that had beef with Bret like Triple H and Shawn Michaels often praised working with Owen. The joking personality of Owen made him a more beloved member of the roster than the serious older brother Bret.
6 Bret: Legendary Face Character
Owen Hart was known for the heel side of things while his brother Bret Hart had a stronger run as a face. WWE banked off the success and popularity of Bret with a strong following in the younger age demographic of kids.
The sunglasses of Bret along with his t-shirt and action figures did great business for WWE. Vince McMahon witnessed the company’s international success start to grow as Bret appealed to fans all over the world after Hulk Hogan was marketed towards United States patriotism.
5 Owen: Better Heel
Bret Hart had a great heel run when forming The Hart Foundation faction, but his brother was clearly the better villain. WWE tried using both in different roles with solid success coming. However, Owen Hart took his game to the next level whenever he was a heel.
The tactics of Owen ranged from faking injuries to delivering cheap shots to running down everyone in the audience. Fans of Owen even found themselves annoyed by his actions even if his matches entertained them. Owen knew how to play into the anger of the audience as a tremendous villain.
4 Bret: Brokedown Barriers
The rise of Bret Hart into the main event picture of WWE provided huge change for the wrestling industry. Vince McMahon only trusted the bigger guys like Hulk Hogan, Ultimate Warrior and Randy Savage with having an extended run as WWE Champion.
Bret won the trust of McMahon with his work ethic and connection with the fans. The audience choosing Bret over Lex Luger forced Vince to realize this is what his base wanted. Bret opened the door for wrestlers like CM Punk, Daniel Bryan and many others to have top spots in WWE.
3 Owen: Slammy Award Fun
The Slammy Awards were an underrated joy for wrestling fans in the 90s. WWE did a great job with the comedic award show providing legitimate awards to wrestlers in various categories. Owen Hart won a couple of awards throughout the years and started bragging about them.
Despite the awards being for silly things like Biggest Rat and stealing the Biggest Bow Tie trophy, Owen pretended they were extremely valuable prizes. They added to his heel character as Owen was the only wrestler bringing his Slammy Awards to the ring for tremendous entertainment.
2 Bret: WrestleMania Classics
The hit list of great matches for Bret Hart put him above his brother when looking back at their legacies on the biggest show of the year. Bret had a tremendous match against Owen at WrestleMania 10, but the success only grew from there.
The Iron Man Match against Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 12 and Submission Match against Steve Austin at WrestleMania 13 each led to the company continuing to evolve for the better. These two matches are among the all-time great bouts in WWE history. Bret hit a home run whenever he was given the chance to succeed in a big spot.
1 Owen: More Depth
Owen Hart had the ability to contribute in any role asked of him by WWE. The run of Bret Hart featured him thriving in different situations, but Owen had more depth. WWE trusted him to play a masked character like the Blue Blazer, the untraditional role in the Nation of Domination and everything in between.
Bret was needed in the main event picture while Owen often moved back and forth to fill whatever role was needed of him. WWE counted on Owen to play a comedic role in certain feuds while going for the serious route in bigger matches. Owen had that special deeper skill set that could put him over Bret historically.