Bret "The Hitman" Hart is one of the most well known professional wrestlers in the history of the business, and especially from his own generation. He's been through the highs and the lows in this business and even that might be a bit of an understatement, but through it all, he's maintained a lot of love from his core group of fans.

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With that being said it certainly feels as if he has his fair share of critics, too, and today, we want to try and work out why there's such an overwhelming divide when it comes to the popularity of such an intriguing figure.

10 LOVED - He’s A Great Wrestler

One fact above all others that needs to be shouted from the rooftops is that Bret “The Hitman” Hart is an incredibly good technical professional wrestler. During his prime he was able to work a string of incredibly interesting styles from match to match, constantly keeping fans on their toes in the process.

He was so unbelievably smooth, to the point where most of his opponents even couldn’t believe just how good he was. Calling him a technician is one thing, as we’re already done, but we’d even go so far as to dub him an artist.

9 NOT LOVED - Taking Shots At Other Wrestlers

Seth Rollins, Shawn Michaels, Triple H & more – but mainly the Seth Rollins one. Bret Hart has gained something of a reputation over the course of the last few years for taking shots at wrestlers for a variety of different reasons.

With Seth it was due to him apparently being an ‘unsafe’ worker, whereas with HHH, he didn’t really seem to believe that The Game had any real world class matches in his locker. Unfortunately, as the years have gone on, he’s just sort of come across as being a little bit bitter.

8 LOVED - The Hart Family Legacy

When you’re a part of a legacy as rich as the Hart family’s is in professional wrestling, it’s pretty difficult not to be adored on some level. Bret is part of a long line of Harts that have stepped foot inside the squared circle, and you could even argue that he’s the best of them all.

Regardless of whether or not you actually believe that, though, there’s no way of getting around the fact that the Harts will live on in this business for many years to come – and rightly so.

7 NOT LOVED - WCW Run

Heading to World Championship Wrestling was one thing, even though it was sort of understandable given the circumstances, but actually competing there and having a really disappointing tenure was the cherry on top of this horrible situation.

It never felt like Bret wanted to be there and that he was just sort of doing it for the money. Plus, of course, his career came to an abrupt end in WCW due to injury, which further magnifies the need for us to go back in time and save Bret Hart from himself (and Goldberg).

6 LOVED - His Heel Run

Imagine being a heel that is booed so relentlessly in one country and cheered so heavily in another. That was the gulf that fans came to experience with Bret Hart and the Canada/United States divide because more often than not, he was universally adored in his home nation.

That wasn’t the key to his time as a bad guy in this business but it was certainly a big highlight for many, mainly because he just seemed to thrive and make it work better than anyone could’ve possibly imagined when the idea first came to be.

5 NOT LOVED - Meaningless Appearances

Popping up to appear in someone’s corner, sit on a panel and talk about things or just cut a random promo for the sake of nostalgia feels like a grand old waste of time to us.

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If you’re going to bring Bret Hart out then do it for something that actually matters, and if not, just leave the guy alone. He clearly wants his legacy to speak for itself, and while there are many debates we could have on his actual career, that isn’t really the point when it comes to the Hitman.

4 LOVED - Montreal Screwjob

The pro wrestling world was insanely excited by the prospect of Bret Hart appearing on Nitro, and the primary reason for that was due to the Montreal Screwjob.

It gave birth to the Mr. McMahon character, and in turn, it also turned Bret into one of the biggest rebel babyfaces in the history of the business. The Screwjob was a nasty way to do things on Vince’s part, and he should’ve had more faith in Bret to do the right thing. Therefore, when it all went down, the fans were eager to showcase their support for their hero.

3 NOT LOVED - Not The Best At Promos

Not everyone needs to be good at talking on the mic in order to be a success story in pro wrestling, but in WWE, it certainly helps if you’re able to talk and create a bit of a storyline for you and your opponent.

Bret could give as good as he got most of the time, but his delivery never seemed all too intriguing. He was very wooden, and it was only when he was surrounded by others that he seemed to get the confidence he needed to speak up. Bret didn’t feel like a leader in a role like this, and unfortunately, that’s the bottom line.

2 LOVED - Fantastic Character

He wore cool glasses, a sweet leather jacket, had long black hair and wore pink & black to the ring. Those facts alone should’ve been more than enough to convince you that the Hitman was a great character.

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Every little kid wanted to be Bret Hart back in the day and while his popularity seemed to subside as the years went on, it was the unique nature of his personality and character that put him on the map. Oh, and it also seemed to lead to a surge of people buying pink-colored items. We wonder why?

1 NOT LOVED - New Era Fan Arrogance

Plain and simply put: some fans are so arrogant that we do not believe they’ll give the idea of going back and watching Bret Hart wrestle the time of day. They’re too focused on what they’re doing in the moment, and most of them seem to prefer the high flying style that we see from so many main roster & NXT stars these days.

If they gave Bret a chance to showcase what he could do, or at least what he was formerly capable of, we have no doubt that he’d get over again.

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