10 "Add-On" Wrestling Signings That Became Major Players

2. Bret Hart

The Hart Foundation
WWE.com

Bret Hart was one of the wrestlers who agreed to join WWE after Vince McMahon bought his father's Stampede territory in 1984. Bret, along with several others, came as part of the package. Little did anyone know then that he'd change company history forever and offer up an alternative to Hulk Hogan-led dominance.

Things could have been very different had Hart went along with original plans to turn him into a cowboy gimmick. By knocking that back, he saved his own skin and unwittingly set the wheels moving on his 'Hart Foundation' success alongside Jim Neidhart. A few years later, Bret was ready to try his hand as a singles star.

He'd become a bloody good one.

Post-Hulkamania boom (and Ultimate Warrior failure), Hart was one of the new faces chosen by McMahon to lead his organisation into a new era. Matches against Shawn Michaels, Razor Ramon and titanic throwback Yokozuna proved Bret's adaptability, and he'd go on to become a WWE Hall Of Famer.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.