8 Wrestlers Who Broke All The Rules

3. Bret Hart - A Simultaneous Babyface AND Heel

Orange Cassidy
WWE.com

You could make an argument that Bret Hart broke the rules by being a slightly smaller World Champion at a time when beefed-up giants were commonplace - even if it took a steroid scandal for Hart to get the nod - but the reason for the Hitman's inclusion here is his run in 1997.

How Hart broke the rules here, is that he was able simultaneously to be both a heel and a babyface.

With the Excellence of Execution a whining villain to American audiences but a morally correct hero to the rest of the world, Hart played both roles to perfection in ways that felt nothing if not sensical and logical. It was brilliant from Bret, with 1997 showcasing an added layer of character depth to the Hitman character and to Bret Hart as a performer.

Never before had somebody managed to pull off such a daring trick of being two different personas to two different audiences at the same time, and it's testament to Bret Hart's talent in and out of the ring that he was able to do just that.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.