Bret Hart Vs. Shawn Michaels Complete History | Wrestling Timelines
March 30, 1991 - We Head East
The Hart Foundation, set to imminently disband, defeat the Rockers in the Tokyo Dome. It’s not rated six stars but rather ***¼ by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter's Dave Meltzer. The show, WrestleFest, is promoted in conjunction with the short-lived, moneyed Super World of Sports promotion of Japan.
The match follows the familiar template, but, performed in front of a different audience, is slightly more snug when Hart senses the Japanese crowd won’t put up with their typical high spot-stuffed match. Hart puts real snap on a sublime backbreaker, which Shawn sells brilliantly, his face twisted in anguish. It will become a signature of his.
In a premonition of the future, Hart and Michaels are less interesting the longer they go; this is good, but the lean, punchy SNME match is superior.
June 2, 1992 - Tape Machines Are Rolling
In the second televised singles encounter, taped for the ‘Rampage’ Coliseum Video release, Bret successfully defends the Intercontinental title. McMahon is true to his word; the push is happening. Shawn's singles career as a heel is just beginning.
The match is good, not great. Shawn is precocious, but has yet to develop into a best in the world-tier talent - as evidenced by a jumping knee that misses by a conspicuous distance. It’s an attritional match with many, many sleeper attempts. It’s as if Shawn is very faithfully reproducing how to play a Vince McMahon heel, forgetting how to get his personality across in the process. This is wrestled before he debuts the super-kick as his finish; Shawn is trying and failing to get the teardrop suplex over. Bret, meanwhile, is so great that he nonetheless develops some cracking pin escapes from Shawn’s experimental misfire of a finisher.
The finish is good - Hart dives out of the way as Shawn inadvertently wipes his valet Sensational Sherri off the apron - but the match is a strange one. It’s interesting, though, because structurally, it echoes the stylistic transition period that the promotion itself is undergoing.
It’s still a bit methodical and boring - but the sparks of workrate and technique will soon catch fire.