10 Things Everybody Gets Wrong About WWE In 1995

2. Bret Vs The World

Ringmaster Ted Dibiase
WWE.com

A by-product of The Kliq's in-house steering of Vince McMahon's creative juices in 1995, Bret Hart miraculously escaped the year with his credibility in tact despite standing for insane storylines and standing across from insane gimmicks.

Bookending the year in phenomenal WWE Title clashes with Diesel, 'The Hitman' spent the rest of his time as the only actual human character trapped between the pages of a bizarre company comic book.

Chronologically, Hart had to tackle a bonkers old man in Bob Backlund, a ninja named Hakushi that believed Jerry Lawler's claims he was a racist, 'The King' himself, Jerry's evil dentist Issac Yankem DDS, and finally pirate and leather jacket thief Jean-Pierre Lafitte.

The unending parade of stupid never derailed his trajectory. In part due to his fiercely loyal fanbase but mainly down to the peerless quality of his work, Hart's momentum never sagged thanks to the type of matches he was still able to have in unenviable circumstances. Lafitte and Hakushi provided futuristic favourites, whilst his seemingly never-ending feud with Jerry Lawler unearthed powerful new emotions even if the matches themselves had something of a ceiling.

Like his WrestleMania 10 apology coronation from Vince McMahon, Bret's November return to the summit was again an acknowledgement of his incredible presence and assuredness during the organisation's most tumultuous time.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett