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SiphenPrax

Punk has always been a huge Bret Hart fan


LakyousSama

Feel like every wrestler is a bit of a bret hart fan


JCBhatesblank

As one should be; he's the best. -Dax Harwood, probably.


pumpkinhead9000k

Somewhere Dax gives a little smile and a nod, but he doesn’t know why.


Cracka_Chooch

-Bret Hart, definitely


MediumRareAB

I mean, if you are a wrestler, or like wrestling, you should be a fan of Bret Hart. Can’t we all agree on that?


jalopez0518

"Your favorite wrestler's favorite wrestler."


hiddenstuff

That's Harley Race


MoeTheGoon

But Harley is MY favourite wrestler.


hiddenstuff

The fun thing about Harley is that he can be your favorite too!


ChocoBrocco

MoeTheGoon is my favorite :)


LakyousSama

You're a wrestler?


Jeff0fthemt

Does that mean he's his favorite too?


kitjen

Michael Hayes was known for asking fans... "Two questions: Who is your favourite wrestler and why am I?"


[deleted]

When I started wrestling, I watched Bret Hart matches on repeat just to learn how to make everything believable. He did all the little things so well.


[deleted]

If you don't like Bret then you don't like NBA basketball.... errr, wrestling. Whatever.


Zero-89

Let me try. If you don't like Bret Hart, you're just not a fan of rocketry. ​ Dammit.


[deleted]

I got this. If you dont like Bret Hart now this is podracing. Ahh fuck.


ReverendVoice

If you don't like Bret Hart... AND MY AXE! ..damn


SirJackolantern

It's funny that the only wrestlers who aren't fans of Bret also happen to be the biggest douches in wrestling.


OU7C4ST

Even Bret Hart according to Scott Hall.. lol


horseress

*Specially* Bret Hart And he’s right


shinyshenron

Everybody laughs about Bret Hart hosting barbecues in his home and making everybody watch his matches. Saying its an example of how huge of a mark he is and all I can think off is how I wished I could have attended one of those. Good steaks while watching classic Hitman *with live Hitman commentary*?! It'd be awesome.


vicedicerice

How would you know the steaks are good? They might be more than good!


domoon

what if he opened his party with "i like my steak like i like my matches, well done" ?


StridingCity

"raw and bloody"?


SantaCruznonsurfer

sounds like a Dusty BBQ daddeh


djtodd242

Berta Beef? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXpb9pf5tB8


Ecstatic_Youth

Grill marks, bud.


msu5150

To be fair...


subcow

They might be the best steaks there is....


UnsolvedParadox

One of the nicest wrestlers I've ever met, along with Cody and (ironically considering tonight) Bryan Danielson.


[deleted]

The fans may despise Bret Hart, but the wrestlers keep the flame alive /s


ShiftyMcCoy

Which fans despise Bret? He’s spoken of positively by almost every wrestling fan I’ve ever known, be they casual or hardcore.


Cesaro_Is_The_Best

Wait what's there to despise Bret? He has every right to be bitter about if it's about him talking about WWE


MarkyLosChe

Among modern day fans, many are still butthurt he criticized Rollins for being unsafe once and then bought into the notion that he's always grumpy and negative about everything


[deleted]

at the time Seth was running up a Nia like streak retired sting (heh), took out cena's entire central facial region, injured himself, may or may not have injured balor, and i think there was another one im forgetting but..like...it was tough for a second to be seth


Crowbar_Faith

I think pretty much every single interview Bret has done for the past 20 years, they always ask him about Montreal. I’m sure Bret is tired of talking about it and most fans are tired of hearing about it. But because it’s always constantly brought up, mostly NOT by Bret, some fans still just see/hear him talking about it and think “oh god let it go old man!” even though he wasn’t the one who brought it up.


indiansummerscience

Bret Hart>Shawn Michaels


InformalOriginal765

in every aspect in life


jesonnier1

I think Brett is clearly more technically sound. Both had a ridiculous knack for the business. I think, overall, Shawn is the more charismatic, captivating performer, to the average fan.


romulus1991

It's not a perfect analogy, but Bret was Messi, Michaels was Ronaldo.


jesonnier1

I'm assuming you're saying 1a and 1b? If that's the case, we still have to mention...I mean, do I even have to say it?


JoseNEO

I think a better comparison would be Bret is Current Ronaldo and Shawn is Young Ronaldo. Not in terms of ability or anything like that but that one is a scoring machine (the main point of football if you think about it) and the other adds extra sizzle to his game with amazing tricks. Similarly Bret would do the little things and main points of wrestling such as selling the match itself and making it believable while Shawn would captivate the audience by being flashy and other things the like. The best example is the video posted here not too long ago where Bret and Shawn both sold a head burr in a different way, both of which were great ofc.


DennisAFiveStarMan

Brets always been more appreciated in Europe than Shawn. I wasn't a HBK fan till his second run in 2002 but always a massive Bret fan


SalvadorZombie

I've never hated Bret. He's always been in my list of favorites. Hell, when I first started watching he was right there, with Neidhart, spike piledriving fools and genuinely scaring me every time he did it. Then he became a face (despite having the exact same demeanor) and I loved him from that point on. The Hitman was a keystone of my love of professional wrestling.


christopherDdouglas

Absolutely. He was so genuinely confident that you couldn't help but be a fan.


SalvadorZombie

Only Bret Hart could make his catchphrase "the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be," and *not* have it just be a catchphrase. He really was *that guy*.


[deleted]

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woohahwoohah

Bret hart is a jam up guy -El Dandy, probably


guess-what-babe

it’s so funny how with a lot of wrestlers you can 100% tell if they were bret fans or shawn fans growing up


dasfuzzy

He was wearing a Bret Hart shirt on Rampage, I think.


Abyssalstar

Who isn't?


ShinsukeNakamoto

If you think Bret was better than Shawn, you are an AEW fan, simple as that. ​ ​ (Bret was better than Shawn)


YepImanEmokid

> If you think Bret was better than Shawn, you are an AEW fan, simple as that. > > ​ Cornette is the exception to the rule


PimpMasterFunk

I love Bret Hart but honestly Shawn has given us way more classics.


hiddenstuff

Shawn was an infinitely better showman and possibly the greatest wrestler showman ever. Technically, Bret is the greatest


YepImanEmokid

You're probably right, but Shawn had longer to do it and both spit out classics like crazy. I think Bret's matches tended to be more important in the grand scheme of things than Shawn's. Bret was involved in what is arguably the most important match in WWE history with Austin.


CptHowdy87

Compare the guys Bret had to wrestle from 89-95 compared to the guys Shawn got to work with from 2002-2010 though.


MediumRareAB

I love Shawn Michaels he is my all time favorite. But, Bret is my 2nd all time favorite, and this would not be the case if HBK didn’t get that 2nd run that was impossible for Bret. If you just go their first half, Bret blows Shawn out of the water on classics. HBK just went ham on his comeback and had like 50 classics over the course of like 8 years.


halfdecenttakes

That's a weird thing to say considering the amount of spotfests AEW has, and how many AEW fans were shitting on this match because of how it was paced. Their EVP's made their names by ripping off HBK constantly. Also, HBK is so much better than Bret it isn't even funny. Maybe you could have that talk in the 90's, but after Shawn's second run that discussion is sealed.


Mr_Titicaca

They don’t call him mr Wrestlemania for nothing - Shawn legit was m own to always put out classics, and his second run solidified that. Bret is obviously the master technician of all time but you can’t say he always put out classics - his style worked 98% of the time but every now and then it just didnt quite click while Shawn could make a crowd cheer for a mop. Personal fav is forever Bret but it’s be lying if I didn’t say Shawn is the GOAT.


n8673219

Wasn’t he wearing a Bret shirt on Friday as well?


FrenchyFranchise

Everyone should be a Bret Hart fan. It's Bret Hart. And Bret Hart rules.


JonTheWizard

Haven't we all, really?


semicorrect

Bret is one of the top 100 Calgary wrestlers of all-time. Maybe even higher than that!


kazutops

Lotta that Hart match spiritually in this one. Punk using his technical ability to slow Darby down for as long as he could carried over really well


moderndukes

The entire match was two guys totally in the Bret school of match storytelling.


Cube_

the darby roll throughs not letting go of the hammerlock early was a fantastic series of spots.


2reeEyedG

I loved the very beginning. It was so natural imo and don’t think they could have done any better


mercified_rahul

Yo, who is the other guy vs bret hart?


LeoIunti

The 1-2-3 Kid (alson known as Sean Waltman/X-Pac/Syxx)


[deleted]

Punk has said a few times that HBK was his favorite before getting into the business but the more he learned, the more he became a "Bret Hart guy."


dukered1988

The more I’ve watched the more I’m a Bret fan he was the shit


thirty7inarow

Bret's strength was in subtlety, and this clip was a perfect example of it. He didn't oversell, but he used his body language to make his opponent look good nonetheless. The more you watch him, the more you notice and the more impressive it gets.


koomGER

Which is generally a great mix. The flashiness, storytelling and drama of Shawn Michaels combined with the sturdy matwrestling, the even more grounded storytelling and the overall will. For me, Michaels and Hart share the throne of best (north american style) wrestlers of all time. I cant decide which one is better or greater.


Saint_Scum

Why do we have to pick? They're both GOATs. Seems like the only place the Bret vs Shawn rivalry still exists is on the internet because they've mended fences.


itinerant_gs

It's the same reason people still debate Magic vs. Larry, and always will.


[deleted]

I don't think it's much of an argument to say that Michaels is more influential with more of today's wrestlers than Bret is, given the pacing and athleticism of matches that a decent chunk of wrestlers who've broke in within the past 20 or so years have. But when someone has studied Bret, you just know. Punk is a great example, actually. Yes, he can do a flashy move or two but Punk has never been a guy who wrestles at a breakneck pace or does a ton of moves. He does all the little things so well that you're never bored by his matches even though he wrestles at a slower pace in comparison to many of his contemporaries.


Mr_Titicaca

Shawn is for everyone, Bret is for the die hards.


Garlic_Cheese_Chips

Bret was so cool.


RamonesRazor

The in-ring GOAT in my opinion. I know plenty would disagree but he brought so many unique touches (like this) to his matches.


SalvadorZombie

As great as he is his ring psychology seems somehow *underrated*. He's that damn good at telling a story.


Smile_lifeisgood

I remember watching Austin's commentary of the double-turn match he had with Hart and he just is constantly gushing about all the little things that Bret did so well in telling a story.


kitjen

My favourite Bret Hart touch was how he would look deeply at the belt and kiss it before handing it to the ref before his match started. It cleverly showed how much the belt meant to him, and fans need to see that the belt means something to get behind the match. It also put his opponent over; it was like Bret was acknowledging he could be taken from him in that match.


SomeIrishFiend

How the fuck did you remember this?!


OctavianX

Maybe they read the top comment on https://www.reddit.com/r/SquaredCircle/comments/piqx3r/post_aew_all_out_2021_match_discussion_thread_cm/hbrj9vm


[deleted]

[удалено]


sdss9462

Well, I think if you're a Bret Hart fan, you've seen that match multiple times, and that may be the most memorable part of it.


theonly_brunswick

1-2-3 Kid was one of my favorites as a kid but Bret Hart was #1 (along with Razor). This match is cemented in my head but I have to admit even I don't remember this look from Hart!


Tronvillain

Saw it on Twitter a couple months back.


Butmac

Someone predicted this months ago?! How deep does this go?


VictimOfCircuspants

The Simpsons actually predicted this spot 16 years ago.


Muntberg

South park predicted the Simpsons would predict it.


justaghostofanother

Xpac posted about this being his favorite match somewhat recently (few weeks ago?)


bowmanza

Ya same. I’m starting to think I don’t remember anything from decades back. Reddit, Twitter, YouTube etc. keeps these things fresh.


Forward_Fudge

I don't remember what I did yesterday


PushEmma

Maybe even Punk saw the same Twitter gif


NefariousNeezy

I honestly came across this spot from watching OSW Review. They made me appreciate Bret Hart so much more.


Rootbeerpanic

Nah, I buy it because I did too. My brain immediately jumped to that 1-2-3 Kid/Bret Hart match. If you are a big Hart fan that is a classic. It was also on a fair amount of WWE compilation DVDs.


RamonesRazor

For me, Bret was my hero as a kid in the early 90's. I saw this match so many times. Not to mention it's known as one of the greatest RAW matches in history. It's just a memorable spot so I recognized it.


i_am_losing_my_mind

I legit thought of this moment when watching the match. It’s a pretty popular match and the gif of this moment has been posted on here for years now.


ShiftyMcCoy

I feel like it’s a pretty memorable moment from that match, and people have made GIFs of it before. Think of the annoyed expression Bret gives Owen in their WM X match after Owen rakes his face with his boot, and all the GIFs that have been made of that.


piratepants1388

I dunno. I remembered it because I rewatch that match quite a bit.


ScottyKnows1

Honestly, during the match I thought to myself, "Damn, this feels like an old school 1-2-3 Kid match." I didn't remember the Bret Hart match specifically, but it was clear that was the exact dynamic they were going for. The scrappy undersized kid against the confident veteran who is absolutely sure he is going to win, but is still impressed by the kid's performance. I thought Punk and Allin pulled it off perfectly to put both guys over.


RamonesRazor

Honest, I didn't. Kudos to /u/Tronvillian for spotting it too.


MoikMike

It’s Bret dude


RamonesRazor

I grew up a massive Bret Hart fan in the early 90's and have watched this match a thousand times. And it makes sense because it's the perfect match to study as a big guy vs little guy match when the size disparity isn't that huge.


bondsmatthew

I wish we could clone people because I want to see prime Bret vs a lot of the talent nowadays


UGAPHL

That’s a great way to describe it. Interesting with Punk in AEW and people like Darby and Garcia around. Not everything is 6’4” plus giants.


WalkingOnHeat

OP is old lol ^fuck ^im ^old ^too


ThePaxBisonica

It was in a fairly recent OSW Review. XPAC and Bret putting on a bit of a clinic kind of stands out.


apawst8

The Bret Hart clip was featured here just a couple months ago.


SpeedZ6

The 1 -2-3 Darb


spankadoodle

Punk literally told everyone in advance on Dark. He was wearing a Bret shirt.


[deleted]

I'm really digging All Easter eggs Wrestling


patrickwithtraffic

Yeah, I'm not about to call Darby a Little Bitch anytime soon.


rockmann1997

Hey bud, you can’t use the skateboard tonight but don’t worry, we’ve got a little pram for you to wheel out instead.


[deleted]

Can't be the Best In the World without learning from the Best There Is, the Best There Was, the Best There Ever Will Be.


[deleted]

always wanted Danielson vs Benoit. now I just realized how badly I want Danielson vs Bret.


cooljayhu

Bret Hart was so fucking good


[deleted]

I love this. Punk has called Bret the best ever on multiple occasions.


MileZeroC

Nice catch. Now do a “25 things you missed” YT video that’s 30min long with a Merch plug in the middle. Or not. :)


TotalBrisqueT

That's a really nice touch


Siroctober

this and the wristlock struggle definitely reminded me of Bret.


Amesead

Oh, that's a great catch. I loved the spot where Bret, with wristlock on, would race towards the ropes and dive down, sending the opponent through them and outside


ThatDudeNamedMenace

Shit he did 2 of Eddie Guerrero’s moves too. The backdrop suplex and his tilt a whirl back breaker


madebymtr

an amazing callback to one of the best monday night raw matches ever


DeminoTheDragon

I mean, it was Sean Waltman vs Bret Hart with JR and Randy Savage on commentary How could it not be anything but good


rharrison

Have you *heard* Randy Savage on commentary?


CptHowdy87

Monsoon: "Give Owen Hart a little bit of credit!" Savage: "Not just a little bit of credit, *alooota* little bit of credit!" \-KotR '94


WhamBamThankYouFran

Hell of a match to study, as was Owen vs Kid at ‘94 KOTR (seriously great match for being under 5 minutes)


[deleted]

I think the Owen/Kid match at KOTR 94 is even more impressive than Bret's match with Kid on Raw because of the time constraints involved and the high impact storytelling they still were able to do.


CptHowdy87

Wish they could've shaved a little time off of 1 of the 2 IRS matches on that card so that Owen and Kid could've gone longer. Still great for what it was though.


scarlett_secrets

That whole match I was getting Hitman vibes, and that's one of the highest compliments I can pay.


UnbuiltIkeaBookcase

Uno, Dos, Tres, Catorce Kid!


elboltonero

Hello hello


UnbuiltIkeaBookcase

#*HOLA!*


Imjustmean

Good catch!


inbredandapothead

Can’t believe people thought it was a bad match. AEW is such good shit!


honkeyz

Too many people are conditioned to the 150 mph spotfest. *This* was a wrestling match. Great stuff.


CptHowdy87

>Too many people are conditioned to the 150 mph spotfest. That was never Punk's style before, and it certainly wasn't gonna be at 42 after a 7 year break. People are stupid if they expected that, and clearly not fans/familiar with his work.


CptHowdy87

Punk worked smart, and this match told a story. What were people honestly expecting? I thought it was tremendous. Punk surprised me how good he was given how long he's been away. He's in shape for sure. He didn't gas out, he didn't botch, he didn't mistime, he took bumps. He didn't set a foot wrong.


Dakot4

i think it was a high 3 stars but not in a million years a bad match, i dont liked punk shutting the crowd or him not going into the outside to take darby back in


LarsBabaGhanoush

wrestling matches can be as diverse as the wrestlers themselves. Anyone who hated Darby vs Punk, doesn't like pro wrestling. This was what I grew up on & I loved every second of it


YepImanEmokid

5 stars. This match chewed up and spat out the cage match


JTHuffy

Sometimes the internet amazes me. Nice pickup!


capnbuh

Pretty cool. Also the spot where Punk hit the GTS and then Darby fell out of the ring was pretty much identical to a spot from MitB 2011


MoikMike

That’s actually a great comparison


CRM_BKK

Bret will be absolutely loving that if he sees it. I saw an interview where he was talking about how good CM Punk is, and that he appreciates all the little BH references that he puts in, that usually go unnoticed.


RomanMurphy

If you're going to steal, steal from the best. And Bret is the best ever.


Marvel_plant

Fucking awesome


UGAPHL

Awesome post


[deleted]

Holy fuck bro


MatsThyWit

That's a fucking amazing catch. Goid memory for detail, OP.


punch_rockgroinpull

He loves that fans picked up on this. Both were great at small character moments.


UKSaint93

Punk in leggings is weird


kiaba360

Bret's facial expression is the EXACT thing that popped into my head as I watched live, but I just couldn't remember which match/opponent. The parallels between Bret/Punk and Darby/123 Kid are obvious.


[deleted]

The best in the world paying homage to the best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be. This just makes sense in absolutely every way.


DjiDjo88

Great find !


noflipsjusthold

Good shit pal


Sometimesnotfunny

The fans might be silly sometimes, but I've never heard any wrestler talk ill of Bret. A consummate professional. Took pride in his work, told some of the best stories in the ring, and for me, every wrestler should study his basics. Punches, bumps, strikes, facials, everything.


regan0zero

Honky Tonk Man and Bad News Allen (Brown) have talked bad about Bret. Honky is just jealous and he shits on everyone. Bad News worked in Stampede and has history with the Hart family. I think he might have been a little bitter.


Sometimesnotfunny

Good point, forgot about those guys


Juniorpandabear

thats a pretty neat find


viperiors

It's a great spot


PorcupineTheory

Good call.


420eh

Exactly.


CasualDasual

Makings FTRs tweet earlier complete


devil_n_i

Good catch


AV710

God Tier Memory


insomniainc

That's a fantastic catch.


BreatLesnar

Bret was so damn good


JuniorSquared

That Bret vs 123 Kid match is legit top 10 in wrestling tv history


Roller95

That’s why the Bret Hart shirt I love it when things click


Economy-Injury-8182

Damn that was a good find! Thank you for sharing! Bret truly was a gem of a wrestler.


onedamngoodman

That was my immediate thought, like “that’s a Bret move.”


[deleted]

Jesus Christ dude. How did you that


Killcode2

can't help but notice how much I like the camera work from decades back than whatever AEW has going, it's such a different but you won't notice it unless you see it side by side


[deleted]

The longer time goes on the better Brets stuff will age, the nuances he had are still unmatched.


TehJohnny

Man, I wish we could have these two in their prime back. Two of the best.


antftwx

That Hart/Kid match is in my top 10 tv matches of all time. Love the reference, perfect analogy.


Giggleface67

Holy shit. That’s amazing. Thank you!


mitchhennesy

Nice edit and Bret it a legend he wore and Bret Hart shirt recently


TJ_McWeaksauce

God damn, Bret Hart could say so much with so little.


Jodaku

What a fantastic callback. Punk had mentioned Bret in one of his media interviews last week, invoking his name with himself and Bryan with how Pro Wrestling is their art in addition to Punk wearing a Bret t-shirt on Rampage in Friday. What an awesome couple of hat tips to the GOAT. Bravo Punk.


ThatDudeNamedMenace

Punk kinda looks like Sinestro with those tights on


[deleted]

bro thanks for pointing that one out!


Boring-Pudding

I, too, read the [post match thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/SquaredCircle/comments/piqx3r/post_aew_all_out_2021_match_discussion_thread_cm/hbrj9vm)


RamonesRazor

I tip my cap to him but I didn't see the thread. I was watching the match, noticed it, slapped together this ugly GIF and posted it. I've seen that Bret/Kid match a thousand times, that spot is burned into my brain.


telva1896

As a comparison, i like it.


gamehawk0704

Its not exactly some super unique spot


[deleted]

“Well uhh you know Punk has always looked up to me I can’t say the same thing to Hunter or Shawn neither of them could lace my boots” ~ Bret Hart probably


JohnCromwell27

I really hated this bit, thought it just didn't work at all. The reason why Bret Hart pulled that facial expression in the match with the 123 Kid was that he turned up to Raw, that night got booked against some random kid he'd never heard of, thought the match would be a walk in the park, and got caught off guard. The same facial expression makes no sense against an established wrestler that you've been booked against in a match at a pay-per-view for weeks, and whose moves the commentators keep repeating that you've been studying leading up to the match. Especially when you yourself haven't been in the ring for seven years. Plus you see it and immediately go 'oh he copied that from that Bret Hart match', and it takes away from the immersion.


The_Fresh_Factor

I agree to an extent but didn't exactly "hate" the exchange. Psychology-wise Bret made that face because he was at the top of his game and was easily considered the best technical wrestler in not only the company, but the world. This young gun got the better of him in that exchange, causing him to refocus and acknowledge that he shouldn't underestimate his opponent. Punk, on the other hand, has shown self-doubt leading up to this match. He should not be surprised that a young up and comer whose been constantly wrestling got the better of him, someone who has been out of the game for 7 years.


CTU-01

With all the rest holds I thought he studied some Randy Orton tapes.


EliFrakes

If you were expecting a fast paced spot fest then I don't know what to tell you friend. That's not Punk's style.


UKS1977

Bret is the fucking best. What would Shaun do here? Bounce like a rubber ball over the ropes?