Bret Hart took pride in being a wrestler’s wrestler.
It’s no secret that Bret Hart was the antithesis of Hulk Hogan. Hulk Hogan was an entertainer at heart and Bret Hart was a professional wrestler in the purest sense of the term. To this very day, Bret Hart takes such great pride in that and loves to pay homage to the Japanese veterans that taught him everything he knew about being the Excellence of Execution.
Speaking with the Calgary Sun, Bret Hart reflected on Gorilla Monsoon giving him that nickname, his Japanese teachers, and just how much it truly meant for him to prove he was the best wrestler in the world when he was the WWE Champion
“I think it all goes back to when (WWE commentator) Gorilla Monsoon called me the ‘Excellence of Execution.’ I was just a guy who did everything right. I remember when I started wrestling, I knew how everything worked. I knew how to take turnbuckle (hits to the chest), I knew how to body slam. When you want to watch how to do something in wrestling, you watch my matches back. You’ll learn how to do a Sharpshooter. That’s how you do it. Want to learn how to do a standing suplex? That’s how you do it. I was always that guy.
“I was really well taught the art of wrestling by two Japanese guys (Mr. Hito and Mr. Sakurada). I was taught how to protect myself and my opponent so he doesn’t get hurt. More important than that, it was all about what I represented. I have an incredible body of work with so many different wrestlers. I was so proud of those matches.
“All the Canadian wrestlers like Natalya or Edge were influenced by me. I think if you look back at wrestling when it was the Hulk Hogan show. He was six-foot-eight and a one-out-of-three wrestler. He didn’t know a headlock from a headlamp. He didn’t know very much. He knew how to do a clothesline and maybe a body slam. He was very limited. (WWE owner) Vince McMahon took a chance with me and made me that champion. It meant so much to me that I think I tried to live up to be that champion. It was about being the best wrestler. I gave so much as that wrestler. I was a good role model in the dressing room. All that means a lot.”
SEE MORE: FTR On Bret Hart: His Work Is Timeless, It Always Resonates
