Bret Hart Is Not Bitter, He Is Just Honest | TheSportster - TheSportster

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Speaking to Conrad Thompson on a recent podcast episode, the legendary Ric Flair brought up some negative opinions that his fellow two-time WWE Hall Of Famer Bret Hart has expressed about wrestlers of the past and present. Flair -- who worked over 50 matches with Hart throughout his career -- described Hart as both "bitter" and "lonely."

The Hitman has been put through the ringer by the business that's in his blood more times than most, and has been known to vent his frustrations from time-to-time. As a result, he's seen by many as the grumpy old man of pro-wrestling. But here's the thing: even though Bret Hart has earned the right to be bitter, he isn't! And his reputation as an excessively cantankerous elder is way off base. In the case of Bret Hart, it's his (occasionally brutal) honesty that is often mistaken for bitterness. Hart summed up this regular misinterpretation better than anyone in 2015 when current WWE Superstar Seth Rollins reacted negatively to criticism he received from The Hitman following the match in which Rollins broke John Cena's nose. "It's not a personal attack. It's a professional criticism of his work," Hart said.

The Outspoken Hitman

In the past, The Hitman has been asked to share his opinions on various people within the world of wrestling with whom he is well-acquainted. Triple H, Goldberg, and Eric Bischoff are men that Hart worked with closely. He knows these men well enough to pass judgement on them, so when he's asked to do just that in interviews or at conventions etc., he doesn't hold back. He'll say what he really thinks, and explain why he feels that way.

When Bret referred to Bischoff as “the worst loser maggot that ever got into wrestling," on The Sam Roberts Wrestling Podcast back in 2017, he provided examples of the former WCW boss's mismanagement.

When he appeared on The Broken Skull Sessions last year, Hart said his former WCW colleague Goldberg was "the most dangerous guy to work with" and lamented Goldberg's induction into the WWE Hall Of Fame.

"I mean for Bill Goldberg to be in the Hall Of Fame… He hurt everyone he ever worked with. You might as well wrestle a real gorilla. He was the most dangerous guy to work with; he hurt everyone he worked with," Hart said. "I remember Curt Hennig being in pain all the time from the matches they had. And even when I worked with Bill, the last words I said to Bill before we went out and had that match that ended my career, I said, 'Bill, whatever you do out there, don't hurt me. We can do whatever you want, we can do anything, we can—just don't hurt me.'"

Hart also wrote about the moment he took a dangerous kick from Goldberg that would ultimately end his career in his autobiography, Hitman: My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling.

“It felt like someone chopped me with a hockey stick,” Hart wrote. “It was an agonizing blow that sent me crashing to the mat where I lay holding my neck just behind my right ear at the base of my skull.”

It's easier to read or hear Hart's comments about Goldberg and interpret them as the ramblings of a bitter old man. But the fact is, Bill Goldberg ostensibly ended Bret Hart's career. If anyone deserves the unbridled ire of Bret Hart, it's Goldberg.

Bret Hart Probably Should Be Bitter

Let's briefly assume that Bret Hart actually is bitter. The Hitman is rightly considered one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time. He's a Canadian national treasure, and for good reason. During his prime, Hart's technical prowess was unparalleled. His in-ring style was both familiarly traditional, and creatively unique. His influence is incalculable, and he deserves every accolade he ever earned, and he earned many an accolade. But despite all of this, Bret Hart was chewed up and spat out by the business he dedicated most of his life to. If there's one man in the history of professional wrestling who has a right to be bitter, it's Bret Hart.

By it's very nature, professional wrestling is a dishonest artform. Of course, the curtain has been well and truly lifted for many years now, but old habits die hard. The world of wrestling is famously filled with compulsive liars, blowhards, and charlatans. Bret is Hart is none of the above. He's man who tried to live an honest life in a naturally dishonest industry, and paid the price. If you read or hear an interview with Bret Hart and he comes across as bitter, it's because he's telling the truth, and sometimes, the truth is hard to swallow ... especially when it's coming from The Best There Is, the Best There Was, the Best There Ever Will Be.

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