Stop Being So Bitter, Bret Hart

After his latest outburst burying an array of talent, Bret Hart once again proved he is “The Best There Is, The Best There Was and The Best There Ever Will Be” at being the most bitter, self-indulgent, hypocritical man in professional wrestling.

I suppose it wouldn’t be a normal week in wrestling if Bret Hart wasn’t knocking somebody. His latest tirade of abuse was aimed at Triple H (surprise, surprise), but his finger of hate has also been pointed at Seth Rollins, Ric Flair, Kevin Nash and others over recent months. Basically, anyone who’s drawn more than “The Hitman” in his heyday. Bitterness. Nothing he ever says is based on facts, just the opinion of a jaded, outdated guy who can’t get over a fictitious result that happened almost 25 years ago.

Yes, he’s earned the respect and the right to say what he wants for the years he’s put into the business. There’s no denying what a special talent he was between the ropes. But his biggest flaw has always been to take himself too seriously. Ask anyone who knows him, and they’ll tell you the same. To him, wrestling was 90% shoot. It was real to him. That’s why he still harbors grudges for things that happened decades ago. He can’t allow himself to look past previous misgivings to be unbiased in his criticisms of today’s performers. Take a look at the names above that he’s openly buried in recent times, and they’ll have one thing in common – they’re close with Shawn Michaels.

There was a time where Michaels and Hart were fairly close during the early ‘90s, but that was when Hart was on top and considered the best. Once Vince McMahon decided to go with Michaels as WWE Champion, Hart began to sour on Michaels, and their friendship started to break down. Hart didn’t like the way Michaels was pushing the business forward and wanted it to remain more sport oriented. In other words, he wanted to ignore the popularity of the New World Order, ignore Vince Russo’s pleas to usher in the Attitude Era and remain the best on an abysmal product nobody was watching anymore.

And that’s one of the biggest problems with Bret Hart – his ego and self-indulgence. He is in love with himself and always has been. Despite hardly drawing a dime while on top, he insisted he was carrying the company. Perhaps to the grave, but that was about it. He just didn’t cut it as a superstar. As an out and out wrestler, he was arguably unmatched. But sports-entertainment is about more than that, and he couldn’t hack it, which is why he tried to hold down the likes of Michaels, Triple H, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall – guys who could easily be entertaining and needle-pushers.

Following the Montreal Screwjob, Hart left WWE for WCW, where he walked around miserable and hell-bent on revenge for what McMahon did to him – asking him to lose a title in a fictionalized sport. “But he has creative control,” I hear you say. He did, but isn’t this the same Bret Hart who has openly ridiculed Eric Bischoff for allowing top WCW talent to have the same thing written into their contracts, thus allowing the inmates to run the asylum? Yet, when it was time for Hart to do the job, he suddenly did his best Hulk Hogan impression and went into business for himself. As I said, hypocritical.

There’s no denying the in-ring abilities of Bret Hart, some of his matches are all-time classics. However, when he let his personal feelings cloud his judgment, he ultimately ended his own career. Regardless of your personal feelings towards your peers, you should always be professional when it comes to bell time. It’s a shame Hart forgot that tradition in 1997.

Ever since that fateful night in Montreal, Hart has gone on a tireless tirade against all those involved….behind their back. When it was time to enter the WWE Hall of Fame and promote a career retrospective DVD, he couldn’t have shown more gratitude to McMahon unless he joined the Kiss My Ass Club. Same a few years later when he was offered mega money to return to the fold, finally deciding it was time to bury the hatchet with Michaels. It seems money does heal most wounds.

Calling Triple H “overrated” and only in the position he is today because of who his father-in-law is, just shows the bitterness of the man again. Calling Seth Rollins “reckless” shows you how clueless he is. The list goes on and on. Bret Hart is desperately clinging to what relevance he has left by knocking names people actually still talk about.

Claiming Rollins is dangerous in the ring because he’s inadvertently injured a couple of wrestlers in over 15 years in the business is ridiculous. Hart never injured anyone in his career which is admirable, but he was hardly going to hurt anyone with an atomic drop or chop block, was he?

What I’m trying to say is, wrestling has moved on since the days of headlocks and sleeper holds. Injuries are going to become more frequent due to the breakneck pace the wrestlers perform at these days. If you’re going to claim Rollins is dangerous, then you have to call out almost every wrestler on the planet these days.

I’ve genuinely not seen Bret Hart be happy and positive about anything in so long, and that’s sad. Life is too short to hold petty grudges and be so bitter about things that happened so far back in the past. He could be an amazing analyst and coach for talent, but his unwillingness to put over anything associated with Michaels and Triple H stops that from ever becoming a reality. It’s a pity that he is tarnishing his legacy with all these nonsensical comments because he still has so much to offer the world of wrestling. Instead, he seems content with knocking anyone and everyone behind their back, then happily taking a paycheck to show up every now and then to wave to the crowd or parade a new championship. It’s so frustrating to watch a legend constantly throwing away his goodwill with fans.

Still, there’s time for Hart to change his ways and become a better human being who doesn’t carry with him all this needless bitterness. He’s too good for that. In fact, some would deem him the best, which is why his words hold so much power and hurt the ones he targets.

A lot of people have stopped taking what Hart says seriously because they can see right through what he’s saying. He has such a biased stance that it’s almost laughable. He has been through a lot of hardships and tragedy over the years that would destroy most people, but he’s managed to pull through every time, and show the world that no matter what life throws at you, you can still carry on and achieve great things. That’s the message he should be spreading, not some mindless rants on guys he won’t allow himself to like because of petty rivalries from yesteryear.

What I would say to Bret Hart is: enjoy what you achieved in your career, let bygones be bygones and stop being so bitter. Be grateful for everything, and if you have to criticize someone, be constructive with it because you’re still a hugely respected name in the business. A lot of talent look up to you and want to learn from you. Stop letting personal grudges get in the way of your professional opinion of performers. Remind everyone why you’re The Excellence Of Execution. Be kinder, be more positive and explain in a constructive manner how today’s athletes can be doing better.