Where would you rate Bret Hart all time?

Mr H wrote:Bret Hart was easily a better talker than Chris Benoit. Thats that.

the-gaffer wrote:

Mr H wrote:Bret Hart was easily a better talker than Chris Benoit. Thats that.

That's that, oh well that goes with you're other classic, 'you're just wrong'

God forbid anyone has a difference of opinion with you with that kind or retort!

Some characters don't need to say much, Goldberg was one, Taker and Sting too and in his prime Kane was another, Beniot falls into that catagory, not in terms of popularity but in terms of selling their emotions through their facial expressions and body language

Bonesaw's ready wrote:

Dr Gregory House MD wrote:

Brady12 wrote:Top 20 is a bit of a joke I don't think you could put a decent arguement together for 10 better guys than him

I would argue Brady that HBK, Angle, Savage, Austin, Eddy Guerrero, Flair, The Rock, HHH, Edge and Mick Foley were all better than him in all rounder terms, all of them were/are great wrestlers, perhaps not the smooth as silk technical brilliance of Hart but brilliant in there own way and in terms of mic skills all of them trounch Hart who as I said before I think is really poor, I found him very bland and never commanded attention prior to his heel turn, he was slightly better after the turn but it's been proved that the forgien heel gimmick is one of the easiest ways to build cheap heat and as I said before at it's core that was a forgien heel gimmick, after he came back in 2010 his mic work has been frankly unlistenable tbh, I found his return promo to Raw really uncomfertable to listen to and if I hadn't been so excited to see him come back I would honestly have turned off, his promos nowdays are also extremly formulaic and possibly exploitive, 'Owen (pop), Bulldog (pop)'.

Hart was undeniably a great wrestler but when you factor in his ability to talk he slides way down the list.

I think to call Hart's heel run simply a 'foreign heel gimmick' is a little short sighted. I believe the crux of it was the Hitman character asking the American fans to look at their values as to why they cheer their heroes. As if Hart was saying 'I haven't turned heel, you have.' For me, since the mind nineties WWE/F has moved away from good vs. evil to cool guy vs. nerd. Hart's mic work around this time wasn't simply the usual 'America and your decadent ways...blah blah blah' but a little more cerebral and for me held a microscope over the industry and it's direction. If you look at wrestling's obsession with worked shoots and self analysis since I'd say that shows Hart was ahead of his time.

I'd also argue that Bret Hart was very good on the mic, he wasn't captivating, I'd never claim that, but he was always clear, coherent and most importantly, always logical and in character. The Hitman character was for me always a spit and shine, hard-working badass. In his promo for SS97 he described himself as the antithesis to Shawn Michaels and represented the truckers and lumberjacks of this world. To that end, it'd make no sense for him to be flamboyant on the mic. However, he always sold the occasion, the opponent and the event. He never buried his opponents (again that would make no sense as everyone looked great when they wrestled him). Up until 97 I'd say he was solid on the mic and it never held him back and in 97 I'd say he absolutely shined on the mic.

I think in the era Hart wrestled in promos were a different animal to the modern age. In the days of kayfabe it was important to promote yourself without burying your opponent, only their character. I.e. Yokozuna lacked respect, Shawn Michaels was an egotist and not take easy pops at them (Yoko's not a real athlete, HBK's a habitual drug user). In current times it seems if a guy is 'over' with the crowd he's given carte blanche to bury his opponent. For example how is CM Punk calling Del Rio uninteresting and highlighting the audience's lack of empathy with his character promoting their match? I think people who critique Hart's mic work need to realise there's more than one way to skin a cat and coming out with witty barbs and slaying your opponent is not always what's best.

Now, of course I'm not claiming that Hart was as good as The Rock, Jericho or CM Punk on the mic. But to call him poor because he didn't adhere to this model is a little off for me.