In an interview with The Sports Vision, WWE Hall of Famer Bret “The Hitman” Hart commented on punching Vince McMahon in the face, his time in WCW, his niece Natalya, his opinions on John Cena, Daniel Bryan, CM Punk and much more.
Highlights of the interview are below:
On his niece Natalya: “I think, without a doubt, whatever anyone says or anyone thinks, Natalya Neidhart is the premier, best woman wrestler and has been for maybe the last 10 years in the business. There’s nobody that can touch her, with or without titles or whatever the hell they do in that division. Natalya Neidhart is, to me, heads and tails above all of them.”
On his opinion of Hulk Hogan: “There’s a lot of wrestlers I worked with in those days that still stop me and tell me that the greatest match they ever had was with me, I take pride in that, I wish guys like Hulk Hogan might’ve had the courage to get in the ring with me, because I maybe could’ve given him his best match he ever had also. I just think that as wrestling moves into the future, everyday it goes further and further from my day. I look at the wrestlers today and I realize that they’re carrying the torch of my style, it’s not about strongman spots and Hulk Hogan and putting one hand behind your ear and working the crowd and stuff like that, it’s about guys that are out there suplexing each other and doing a lot of complex wrestling moves and a lot of action, that’s the kind of wrestling that I brought to the game.”
On his time in WCW and his opinion of Eric Bischoff: “I could only be frustrated right from the day I started in WCW and realized that it was a company run by a bunch of idiots that didn’t have a clue what they were doing and they dropped the ball with me just about from the time I got there and then, after they dropped the ball with me, they kicked it around, kicked it backwards and out of the stands for most of the time I was there. I look back today, I’d like to strangle Eric Bischoff with my own pair of hands and just thank him for doing such a lousy job with my career and lying about everything he ever said to me.”
On CM Punk and Daniel Bryan: “The moves that wrestlers are doing today, the innovation that some of these guys are doing, it’s all a throwback to Bret Hart. I think Daniel Bryan reminds me a lot of my brother, Owen. I thought that Punk had a lot of Bret Hart-isms in his matches and little things he did that reminded me of stuff I did.”
On the WWE Network: “I think it’s a godsend.”
On why he’s such a big supporter of John Cena and his work ethic: “I have nothing but respect for John Cena and his work rate, he’s one of the hardest working wrestlers there ever was, he’s been a great champion, an inspiring role model, it’s not easy being John Cena and carrying all the weight of the company on your back all the time, what he’s done with Make-A-Wish kids and kids in general, kids in general around the world. People don’t understand sometimes what it’s like to be John Cena, to understand how much pressure is on him everyday to do the right things and to always be the class Champion that he’s been, he’s a tireless Champion that gives 100% every night. He could do a little better with some of his technical moves, but I think in the long and short of it, I think John Cena has established himself to be maybe one of the greatest wrestlers that ever lived. I think he’s an amazing wrestler.”
On punching Vince McMahon and why it is his proudest moment: “When I stood up for myself in Montreal and knocked out Vince McMahon for cheating me in that match, I think it still defines me as a wrestler and as an artist and a talent and somebody that was betrayed. I’ve always been really proud of how I reacted and how I carried myself that day and in the end, I think I proved that I was right.”
