Sounds about right. I stopped watching in 1996 and didn't start again till about 2005 or so.
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Bret Hart or Shawn Michaels?
- Thread starter Lightning Count
- Start date
Sounds about right. I stopped watching in 1996 and didn't start again till about 2005 or so.
HBK is the total package from the in ring to the mic that was the top guy for 3 decades even when he wasn't billed as the top guy
bret was just a one dimensional baby face that couldn't evolve when his character was getting stale. he was even a mark of himself who didn't want to turn heel. Also was so unprofessional that he refused to drop the title when he essentially gave his 2 weeks notice. like wtf do you expect? vince is gonna let you walk out as the champion and walk into WCW with his belt just cause you don't like shawn? what kind of child are you?
Vince was right, Bret screwed Bret.
Champion of the mega marks
bret was just a one dimensional baby face that couldn't evolve when his character was getting stale. he was even a mark of himself who didn't want to turn heel. Also was so unprofessional that he refused to drop the title when he essentially gave his 2 weeks notice. like wtf do you expect? vince is gonna let you walk out as the champion and walk into WCW with his belt just cause you don't like shawn? what kind of child are you?
Vince was right, Bret screwed Bret.
Champion of the mega marks
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Funnily enough, HBK. And if the latest news are to be believed, WWE too.
Both have incredible bodies of work. I went with Bret because his style had a much more grounded approach that resonates with me more. It's probably why I'm so big on Danielson and Punk these days.
But I'm always up for Shawn playing pinball for someone, even if it's a bit too cartoony at times. WrestleMania 12 aside, they had great chemistry together too. The Montreal match was such a great, heated hateful brawl before the finish ruined it.
But I'm always up for Shawn playing pinball for someone, even if it's a bit too cartoony at times. WrestleMania 12 aside, they had great chemistry together too. The Montreal match was such a great, heated hateful brawl before the finish ruined it.
WWE he has no real choice because they control the vast majority of his career tapes
As in 99.9% of it
Hard disagree. The Hart Foundation was the hottest heel group. This is also when Brets mic skills developed big time. Easily the top heel in 97 imo.
And he had legit beef with Shawn. Bret had creative control in his contract so it doesn't mean jack shit what Vince wanted. Vince literally could have picked anyone to drop the belt to and Bret would have done the job.
With that said, this is Jordan/Lebron comparison.
Bret is my Jordan. The GOAT in the 90's. HBK has the longer lengthy career. One of the GOAT but the GOAT.
Depends. Shawn was a better entertainer and Bret was the better worker. I know I remember many more matches that Shawn was in than Bret. Not because Bret didn't put on better matches, but because Shawn just sold his that much better.
Bret was a better wrestler and I would rather watch his best matches but Shawn had a better career thanks to that 10 year comeback
shawn couldn't do what? be loyal? or atleast be professional enough to drop the belt before leaving?
I don't think you want to bring up being "professional enough to drop the belt before leaving" when, in the 90s, Shawn sure couldn't be professional enough to drop the belt before leaving on multiple occasions. Enough so that that was literally part of the HBK/Hart onscreen feud.
having been that rabid 11-year-old canadian wrasslin fan in 97 automatically dictates that it be bret. it's a mark-ass answer, but ain't no other way.
markiness aside, i appreciate that shawn was a phenomenal wrassler and not exactly a perfect human being. but same with bret in other ways. maybe that matters? everyone is different in that regard.
they were/are two legends put squarely on their ability to perform in the ring, be mega-stars in their own right, and clearly influencing an entire generation of wrasslers (for better or worse is up to you lol). They are deserving of all the praise in that respect.
and vince is lucky as fuck to have had both of them help bridge that gap from hogan to rock/austin
that he doubled down on being a mark for hosses despite these 'smaller guys' totally saving his ass is really quite something if you think about it.
markiness aside, i appreciate that shawn was a phenomenal wrassler and not exactly a perfect human being. but same with bret in other ways. maybe that matters? everyone is different in that regard.
they were/are two legends put squarely on their ability to perform in the ring, be mega-stars in their own right, and clearly influencing an entire generation of wrasslers (for better or worse is up to you lol). They are deserving of all the praise in that respect.
and vince is lucky as fuck to have had both of them help bridge that gap from hogan to rock/austin
that he doubled down on being a mark for hosses despite these 'smaller guys' totally saving his ass is really quite something if you think about it.
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shawn wasn't trying to take the belt to another company. If Bret was taking a break then that would've been different, they would've just vacated the title on raw and move on
but how can you expect vince to let your champion pin your next top guy clean then walk into wcw? vince is an asshole but he did what he had to do
That was Bret and Xpac's speciality. HBK just didn't have those sorts of matches in his prime so we'll never know.
OP
OP
Both are in my top 3 favorites (in no particular order, Austin/HBK/Bret). IMO Bret's psychology was better, but HBK was better in every other way. Bret was pretty damn cool though.
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Bret. I wish I could say it was close, but it really isn't for me.
Bret Hart's in-ring work was just pristine and he carried the post-Hogan WWF on his back in ways that I don't think HBK ever did... or could, for that matter.
No question HBK was more 'entertaining,' but I think there were a few years where he got a little too lost in the sauce, as it were. His ego spilled out of the locker room and into the ring/booking in some pretty disappointing ways, and I think it worked against him in a lot of feuds and matches throughout a large chunk of his career.
Bret Hart's in-ring work was just pristine and he carried the post-Hogan WWF on his back in ways that I don't think HBK ever did... or could, for that matter.
No question HBK was more 'entertaining,' but I think there were a few years where he got a little too lost in the sauce, as it were. His ego spilled out of the locker room and into the ring/booking in some pretty disappointing ways, and I think it worked against him in a lot of feuds and matches throughout a large chunk of his career.
Bret Hart was not trying to take the WWF title to WCW. Bret did not want to lose to Shawn Michaels in Montreal after Shawn said that he wouldn't do the favor for Bret. Bret was willing to lose the title to anyone BUT Shawn at Montreal. Bret even said he was willing to lose the title the next night on Raw. Vince McMahon had his hard-on for Shawn, so the screw job happened.
Anyways, Bret Hart is the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be. Everything made sense with him.
(Plus Shawn Michaels' idiotic overselling always took me out of his matches)
Bret was a really good technical wrestler but the industry is so much more than that. Shawn had the technical skill the charisma and the insane adaptability to be the best.
The fact that he came back from a near career ending injury in 2002 hadn't been in the ring for years and then proceeded to have a better run in the twilight of his career than in his early days is insane.
The fact that he came back from a near career ending injury in 2002 hadn't been in the ring for years and then proceeded to have a better run in the twilight of his career than in his early days is insane.
I'm not holding it against him. But I think he has let go of a lot of old grudges in his life. Except for Goldberg, but that's okay
That was not the plan. In the original plan, Bret wasn't going to show up in WCW for another month after that match, more than enough time for Bret to drop the title to literally anyone other than Shawn on the way out the door, or even to drop the belt to Shawn but not in Montreal.
Bret only showed up in WCW the next night because of the Screwjob.
Never really cared for either if I'm being honest. Shawn's over the hill goofy rocker persona always came across as exceedingly lame. On the other hand, Bret's stick up the ass super serious attitude sucked the fun out of anything he was ever involved in. End of the day... I guess Bret was the more tolerable of the two?
