Bret Hart became one of the major stars in the New Generation Era after Hulk Hogan departed WWE after King of the Ring 1993. The Hitman is one of the greatest technical wrestlers in WWE history, and he had a successful career that has led him to become a two-time WWE Hall of Famer.
The Hitman was generally in the main event scene in the New Generation Era, and when he wasn't in the title picture, Hart still managed to remain relevant by engaging in some fantastic rivals. However, despite Hart's greatness and attention to detail inside the squared circle, he was involved in some underwhelming feuds for a man of his standards.
12 Bob Backlund
Bret Hart was seven months strong into his second WWE Championship reign when he defended the WWE Championship against Bob Backlund at Survivor Series 1994. They had a Submissions match, and Backlund surprisingly ended Hart's WWE Championship reign when Bret's brother Owen forced his mother to throw in the towel.
Their underwhelming feud culminated at WrestleMania 11 when they clashed in an "I Quit" match with Roddy Piper as the special guest referee. Hart got his revenge by seeing off Backlund with Piper awarding Hart the victory after Backlund made a noise into the microphone.
11 Hakushi
In the spring of 1995, Bret Hart began feuding with Hakushi who was Hart's rival Jerry Lawler's protege. Hart and Hakushi had an underrated series of matches together, and Hart beat Hakushi in the first match at the inaugural In Your House event.
They had a rematch on Raw a couple of months later and Hart once again got the better of Hakushi to bring their short feud to a halt.
10 The Patriot
Bret Hart was a fully-fledged heel after WrestleMania 13, and the Hitman detested the way he was being treated in the USA. Nevertheless, Hart's short rivalry with The Patriot began after The Patriot upset Hart on the go-home episode of Raw before SummerSlam 1997.
Hart clinched the WWE Championship from The Undertaker at SummerSlam, and The Patriot surprisingly challenged Hart for the WWE Championship at Ground Zero: In Your House. Hart retained the title, and Patriot was once again on the losing side to Hart at Badd Blood: In Your House with Hart and The British Bulldog beating The Patriot and Vader in a tag team flag match.
9 Sycho Sid
Sycho Sid defeated Shawn Michaels for the WWE Championship at Survivor Series 1996, and Bret Hart defeated Steve Austin on the same night to become the number one contender for the WWE Championship. Sid and Bret began feuding and they clashed at In Your House: It's Time with Sid retaining the gold.
The WWE Title picture heading into WrestleMania 13 was messy with Shawn Michaels losing his smile, and Bret Hart clinching the vacant WWE Championship at In Your House: Final Four. Just 24 hours later, Bret dropped the WWE Championship to Sid on Raw, which turned out to be Hart's shortest run as WWE Champion.
8 Yokozuna
Bret Hart and Yokozuna began feuding in the Golden Era with Yokozuna dethroning Bret Hart for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 9. However, the roles were reversed in 1994 when the Hitman was the co-winner of the 1994 Royal Rumble match, and he challenged Yokozuna for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 10.
Their matches together weren't the best because of Yokozuna's physical conditioning. Ultimately, Hart got his revenge as he ended Yokozuna's 280-day run as WWE Champion to become a two-time WWE Champion.
7 The British Bulldog
Bret Hart and his brother-in-law The British Bulldog reignited old hostilities as they were rivals once again in 1995. Bulldog was looking to repeat his sensational victory over Hart for the Intercontinental Championship at SummerSlam 1992, by challenging Hart for the WWE Championship at In Your House: Seasons Beatings.
Hart and Bulldog's WWE Championship match was remarkable, and it was better than their SummerSlam encounter. Hart bled profusely after he crashed into the ring post. It was a valiant effort from Bulldog, but it wasn't enough to dethrone his brother-in-law.
6 The Undertaker
Bret Hart and The Undertaker were two of the biggest stars in the New Generation Era, and their paths crossed at the 1996 Royal Rumble when they battled over the WWE Championship. Undertaker won the match by disqualification but Hart retained his title.
A year later, Hart and Undertaker squared off for the WWE Championship once again at SummerSlam 1997 with Shawn Michaels as the special guest referee. It was a decent match but Hart became a five-time WWE Champion after Michaels accidentally hit Undertaker with the steel chair. The pair clashed once again across the pond at One Night Only and Bret retained albeit by disqualification in another fascinating encounter.
5 Diesel
The rivalry between Bret Hart and Diesel is one of the most underrated feuds in the New Generation Era. Hart was the WWE Champion and Diesel was the Intercontinental Champion when they clashed at King of the Ring 1994 for the WWE Championship. Diesel was protected by winning by disqualification.
They had a rematch at the 1995 Royal Rumble with Diesel as the WWE Champion and once again it was a draw. Hart finally ended Diesel's WWE Championship reign at Survivor Series 1995, and Hart picked up another victory over Diesel in a steel cage match to retain the WWE Championship which culminated their remarkable rivalry.
4 Jerry Lawler
The feud between Bret Hart and Jerry "The King" Lawler began after Hart won the 1993 King of the Ring tournament, and Lawler assaulted him. Their rivalry was on-and-off for two years and their feud was entertaining with Lawler proving to be a thorn in Hart's side.
Lawler infamously made jokes about Hart's parents which the Hitman did not find funny in the slightest. Lawler picked up wins over the Hitman, but Hart got the last laugh when he beat him in a Kiss My Foot match at the 1995 King of the Ring.
3 Owen Hart
Bret Hart's rivalry with his youngest brother Owen began at the 1994 Royal Rumble when Owen assaulted his older brother in their WWE World Tag Team Championship match with the Quebecers. This led to the brothers competing in one of the greatest curtain-raisers in WWE history at WrestleMania 10 with Owen upsetting his brother with a victory roll.
The Excellence of Execution had the last laugh that night as he defeated Yokozuna for the WWE Championship in the main event. Owen won the 1994 King of the Ring tournament and he was looking to beat Bret for the second time when they clashed in a steel cage match for the WWE Championship at SummerSlam. The entire Hart family was at ringside to watch the drama unfold but Bret defeated his brother. Moreover, Owen cost his brother the WWE Championship at Survivor Series with Bob Backlund winning the title, and Bret defeated Owen in early 1995 to bring their rivalry to a halt.
2 Steve Austin
The feud between Bret Hart and Steve Austin helped the Texas Rattlesnake become a major star in WWE. Their first match together was an instant classic at the 1996 Survivor Series with the Hitman marking his return to action with a win over Austin to become the number one contender for the WWE Championship.
Austin got his revenge by outsmarting Hart to win the 1997 Royal Rumble match. Furthermore, they pulled off one of the best double turns in WWE history with Hart defeating Austin at WrestleMania 13 in a submissions match with Hart becoming a heel and Austin becoming a face. Their rivalry ended at Canadian Stampede with the Hart Foundation getting the better of Austin, Ken Shamrock, Goldust, and the Road Warriors.
1 Shawn Michaels
Unquestionably, Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels' rivalry is one of the greatest feuds in WWE history. The Hitman and Michaels had a personal disdain for each other, and their feud heated up in 1997. Michaels ended Hart's WWE Championship reign at WrestleMania 12 in a 60-minute Iron Man match.
Both men were heels in 1997, and their backstage issues with each other spilled on-screen which made for compelling television. Ultimately, Michaels dethroned Hart for the WWE Championship once again at Survivor Series in the infamous Montreal Screwjob with Hart heading south to WCW.