20 Years Later... 10 Reasons Vince McMahon Was STILL RIGHT To Screw Bret Hart
9. Hits And Misses
Bret 'The Hitman' Hart was maybe the greatest in-ring performer in company history when he departed WWE in November 1997. He was definitely the most respected, and in an industry where perception is everything, that was enough to make WCW feel as though they were armed with their most influential new purchase since Hulk Hogan paraded through a papered Universal Studios audience in 1994.
His tenure down South was a chronic disappointment though (more on that later), and it reflected what has since appeared to be a gradual emotional and physical decline as a performer. Perhaps exhausted by his unending personal rivalry with Shawn Michaels, a business he was begrudgingly falling out of love with, or a schedule he simply didn't need the money or stress to keep to anymore, Bret Hart was for the first time falling behind the curve.
It happened to Lou Thesz, Bob Backlund, Ric Flair, Randy Savage and countless others before him. It would happen to even more in a faster-paced future. Though not quite as visible until he'd actually left, wrestling was starting to pass him by.