Bret Hart BLASTS Gunther For "Lazy S*** Wrestling" (WWE News)
WWE legend Bret Hart takes aim at former World Heavyweight Champion Gunther.
Bret Hart is not a fan of WWE star Gunther's style, branding the former World Heavyweight Champion's approach "lazy s*** wrestling."
'The Hitman' commented on Gunther during an appearance on The Masked Man Show. Hart, a WWE Hall of Famer, claimed to have told the Austrian (to his face) that his style is "bulls***", opining that wrestling is supposed to look like it hurts, not actually hurt.
“The best wrestling has to pretend to be real. That’s what I did, I tried to make it as real as I could," said Hart (h/t Fightful), who was renowned for taking care of his opponents in the ring. "Contrary to that Gunther guy, who seems like a nice enough guy when I met him, but I hate wrestlers that hurt each other on purpose. I hate it when you’re out there and getting beat up and hurt by a guy for real."
Continuing, Bret appeared to take umbrage with one very important element of Gunther's arsenal.
"Like chops. Who ever won a fight with a chop? What a waste of time," said Hart. "Ric Flair is famous for bringing the chops the way they are now. My dad used to tell wrestlers at Stampede, ‘Nobody ever beat anybody with a chop.’ It’s true. They hurt, they look like shit. They make a big slap sound, but they hurt. When you get chopped by somebody like Ric flair for a 30 minute match and he chops you 15 times, your whole chest the next day is bruises. It hurts to put a shirt on. I used to wrestle Ric Flair and wake up going, ‘Why am I hurting so much? Doesn’t Ric Flair know it’s a show?’ It’s not supposed to be real. I’m not supposed to wake up with a really sore chest."
Hart, a five-time WWE Champion, wrapped it up with his strongest criticism: “I have no respect for guys that hurt each other all the time. It’s just to me, lazy, s*** wrestling when guys like Gunther… I’ve told him this to his face, it’s bulls***. When you’re hurting somebody for real, you’re unprofessional. I wrestled guys and never hurt anybody.”
Gunther is currently on hiatus from WWE after suffering a nose injury before SummerSlam 2025, where he lost the World Heavyweight Championship to CM Punk (who then fell victim to a Seth Rollins cash-in five minutes later). The 'Ring General' has long been known for his hard-hitting style, going back years before he signed with WWE. In particular, his booming, echoing chops have left many an opponent's chest beaten, bloodied, and bruised.
Contrast this with Bret, who was a remarkably light touch throughout his wrestling career and has long held the belief that while wrestling should look like it hurts, a truly great wrestler balances that by looking after their opponent. All his opinion, of course. And although Gunther's chops have busted many opponents up over the years, it's not like the big man has left a long list of seriously injured wrestlers in his wake.
Hart, 68, earned his third WWE Hall of Fame induction this year, as his WrestleMania 13 classic vs. 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin was added as the HOF's first 'Immortal Moment.'