How Can I Watch It: Monday Night Raw (7/11/94), Raw Hits (VHS), The Best of Raw 15th Anniversary (DVD), The Best of Raw: Seasons 1 & 2 (DVD) Where Randy Savage had helped make Bret Hart in 1987, the Hitman did much the same for Sean 1-2-3 Kid Waltman in 1994. In a match aired on Raw ten days after it took place, Hart and Kid battled over the formers WWF Championship in a 25-minute barnstormer that made the challenger look every bit the superstar that his much-lauded opponent was. Because the match was an all-babyface affair and Hart had a significant size advantage over the rake-thin Kid, most wrestlers in Brets position would have struggled to avoid turning themselves heel because of that. But Bret Hart wasn't most wrestlers. He managed to make himself the aggressor, Kid the plucky underdog, and make himself seem beatable, all the while retaining a 100% babyface persona and offering frequent displays of good sportsmanship. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xyo4z_wwf-bret-hart-vs-1-2-3-kid_sport Hart won the match, but Kid came away from it looking far better than he had coming in. It was a perfect example of how someone can be put over in defeat. A far cry then, from WWEs attempts to do something similar in their 2015 booking of WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins. To make Rollins seem like a beatable champion WWE simply...beat him. Like a thrash metal drum kit. In fact, few have managed to achieve what Hart did in this epic television contest, and many have tried over the years.
The author of the highly acclaimed 'Titan' book series, James Dixon has been involved in the wrestling business for 25 years as a fan, wrestler, promoter, agent, and writer. James spent several years wrestling on the British independent circuit, but now prefers to write about the bumps and bruises rather than take any of them. His past in-ring experience does however give a uniquely more "insider" perspective on things, though he readily admits to still being a "mark" at heart.
James is the Chief Editor and writer at historyofwrestling.co.uk and is responsible for the best-selling titles Titan Sinking, Titan Shattered, and Titan Screwed, as well as the Complete WWF Video Guide series, and the Raw Files series.