Whatever you do out there, Bill, dont hurt me. - Bret Hart, Hitman: My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling Bret Hart, the Excellence of Execution, was shuffling his feet in WCW. When he stepped into the ring with Bill Goldberg, the powerhouse, larger-than-life original presence in a company of old, familiar faces, things appeared as though they were on the upswing for the Hitman. The two had been part of hot segments together in the past, including one where Bret, in Canada, knocked Goldberg out cold by wearing a steel-plated vest underneath his hockey sweater. The crowd was afire with joy that their Canadian hero was the one to render Goldberg unconscious. Before stepping into the ring with him for their big match, Bret uttered those infamous, foreboding words to Bill Goldberg. The feud had legs. So did Goldberg. With one errant, swift kick to the cranium, Bret Harts world was sent spiraling out of control. He suffered a terrible concussion on the kick, which fully connected and left him in a daze. He struggled on for months but was eventually forced to step away from the ring. As per the usual course of action with WCW at the time, Bret had his contract terminated via FedEx for being injured and unable to perform. It was soon after this that the Hitman would walk away from the wrestling industry. Every time I mention the Bret Hart thing, I feel remorseful about the kick, Goldberg said at a Q&A session in 2013. Though Bret and I are very good friends, and he doesnt hold it against me, till the day I die am going to feel bad about it. And theres nothing I can do to take it back. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYMwbvhB2MA Bret Hart never received his moment of recognition the way that so many others on this list did at the time his career came to a close. Like several of them, injuries removed his ability to wrestle, and he had to play the hand he was dealt in a company that quickly tanked following his departure. A one-time-event match against Vince McMahon at WrestleMania XXVI a decade after the dreaded Goldberg incidentas well as several health setbacks between thenwas a fruitless endeavor that most Hart fans chose to forget. As mentioned, WCW closed its doors shortly after Brets injury, leaving many fans wondering if he would have retired anyway, or made his triumphant return to his home company. Well never know for certain.
David McCutcheon is an American freelance journalist and writing consultant. Over the course of sixteen years, he has written for the likes of IGN, Future US, GamesRadar, PlayStation Magazine, Shout! Factory, and many others in the fields of video games, movies, and more. He lives in St. Louis, Missouri with his wife. You can find him on Twitter @ZoopSoul.
