10 Times You Didn't Realise Wrestlers Were Saying 'Goodbye'
6. Bret Hart
Pictured: Bret Hart's final bow as a WCW contracted performer.
That screengrab is taken from the 6 September 2000 edition of Thunder. On that show, Bret confronted Bill Goldberg about injuring him way back at Starrcade 1999, then Hart revelled in the moment as fellow Goldberg foe Scott Steiner stretched an unconscious Bill out. This was build to Steiner vs. Goldberg, not a rematch for the 'Hitman'.
WCW terminated Bret's contract on 20 October. He did make an unlikely return to WWE years later, but not until 2010. Fans who happened to be checking out Thunder in September 2000 had zero idea that this was the last they'd see of a wrestling icon on Turner telly. It was actually the last anyone would see of Hart during his prime years.
Many watching the broadcast probably believed Goldberg would topple Steiner in some pay-per-view matches then clash with Bret in a Starrcade repeat come December. So much for that. Hart was cast aside, then suffered through some nasty health complications over the next few years.