10 Wrestlers Who Had To Take A Break... Only To Return Better Than Ever
8. Bret Hart
After dropping the WWF Championship to Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XII in the acclaimed Iron Man, Bret Hart took an eight-month sabbatical. Prior to the break he was getting comparisons of becoming as stale as Hulk Hogan was before he left the WWF in ’93. Bret returned with what most call the best work of his career from Survivor Series (1996) to Survivor Series (1997).
The Hitman came back with an edge and a swagger he hadn’t shown to the world previously. In the lead-up to WrestleMania 13, Bret got into it with Vince McMahon on TV. Bret shoved Vince and in an explicit worked-shoot rant verbally laid into the WWF and the chairman. This was groundbreaking at the time for a wrestler to touch Vince like this. Then, at WrestleMania 13, Bret and Steve Austin had their legendary grudge match by battling it out in a bloody submission match which changed the landscape of the WWF forever. It also changed Bret to turn into a hateful heel and Austin an anti-hero babyface.
Hart’s heel work during this time changed the game. Forget all the real-life circumstances that led up to the Montreal Screwjob, his work up until and at Survivor Series 1997 was masterful.