10 Shining Lights In WWE’s Darkest Hours
8. Bret Hart (1992)
Bret Hart won the WWE Title in late-1992 on something of a whim, but reviewing the year in hindsight mistakenly casts his anointment as the culmination of a grand plan crafted by Vince McMahon. Simply put - the Chairman needed somebody just like Bret. As a brand and a business, the company was savaged by press smelling blood after steroid and sex scandals early in the year chased Hulk Hogan out the door with a litany of former stars following behind.
By the time McMahon had the 'Hitman' dethrone Ric Flair in October, the roster was already decimated in comparison to the muscleheads and monsters that still populated the show in the Royal Rumble-to-WrestleMania stretch, with Ultimate Warrior and 'British Bulldog' Davey Boy Smith two more from the old guard set to depart after being caught importing performance-enhancing drugs shortly before the Survivor Series.
Hart wasn't just a safe pair of hands between the ropes with the title, he also relished the responsibility of carrying it and leading the locker room through times of such tumult. His fanbase (like his physique) was smaller than that of 'The Hulkster', but substantially more dedicated to his cause than the Hogan hangers-on that leaped off the bandwagon the second the 24-inch pythons no longer held the wheel.