The Rock: 'Bret Hart Was A Mentor To Me When He Didn't Have To Be'

The Rock credits Bret Hart for showing him how to excellently execute the wild world of the pro wrestling business. The People’s Champion took a moment to honor Hart as The Hitman got a star on Canada’s Walk Of Fame in downtown Toronto on December 17. Canada’s Walk Of Fame social media thanked The Rock for taking the time to speak on Bret and The Rock responded by crediting Bret for being a mentor during a wild and vicious time in the wrestling business.

“Bret Hart was a mentor to me when he didn’t have to be and in our wild and intense world of pro wrestling, there weren’t many ‘mentorship programs’ back then,” The Rock said on Twitter. “He gave me guidance and I’ll always be grateful. Congrats my friend on your incredible accomplishment.”

My pleasure, Bret Hart was a mentor to me when he didn’t have to be and in our wild and intense world of pro wrestling, there weren’t many “mentorship programs” back then ? He gave me guidance and I’ll always be grateful. Congrats my friend on your incredible accomplishment ? https://t.co/VEwSy5q9Wc

— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) December 18, 2021

Hart, who joined Keanu Reeves in the class of 2021, also took a moment to thank Canada and his fans across the world. “Most of all, thank you to all my fans around the world and across the country. I’m a proud Canadian and thank you for letting me be your hero,” Bret said. You can check out the brief clip below.

"Most of all, thank you to all my fans around the world and across the country. I'm a proud Canadian and thank you for letting me be your hero"
– 2021 @CWOFame Inductee @BretHart @CTV @CTV_PR ??#CanadaThrives #CelebratingGreatness pic.twitter.com/xn4XH9QRYz

— Canada’s Walk of Fame (@CWOFame) December 18, 2021

Canada’s Walk Of Fame website has a full biography on Bret and states the following about The Hitman:

“A major international superstar within professional wrestling, he has been credited with changing the perception of mainstream North American professional wrestling in the early 1990s by bringing technical in-ring performances to the forefront. Bret is widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time.”

Bret took to social media on Saturday to release a more thorough thank you regarding his induction on Friday.

What a wild ride it’s been! Thank you again to @cwofame for the honour and my fans across Canada and around the world for making it happen. Special thank you to @chrisjerichofozzy for inducting me and @therock for the kind words. I know you both are busy men, and I greatly appreciate that you did that for me.

While sadly this was cut out of my speech due to time constraints, I do want to say thank you to each and every wrestler I ever worked with. Thank you to the many Canadian wrestlers that paved the way for me: my father Stu, Gene Kiniski, Abdullah the Butcher, “Killer” Kowalski, “The Stomper”, Ed Carpentier, “Whipper” Watson, Sky Low Low, Rocky Johnson, Pat Patterson, Roddy Piper.

To the many other Canadian wrestlers, some that filled my shoes after my career ended, that someday will deserve this same honour: Chris Jericho, Edge, Trish Stratus, Kevin Owens, Kenny Omega, my niece Natalya, my brother Owen, and so many more.

“If you’re lucky enough to find a way of life you love, you have to find the courage to live it.” – John Irving

Thank you and Happy Holidays!