Face Vs Heel: Bret 'The Hitman' Hart
3. Moments
Face:
The highs and lows of Bret Hart's WWE career were the subjects of two very different in-house DVD projects in the mid-2000s, but thank f*ck that stupid Montreal-obsessed hit piece never saw the light of day.
The Survivor Series screwjob resonated because Vince McMahon put a bullet in your best mate, not a dead horse. He should know - he promoted that kinship with expert touch.
Hart's first three title wins in 1992, 1994 & 1995 were evocative shows of faith, apology and contrition respectively. His kayfabe peaks were epic in scale, his troughs as long and difficult to escape from as they looked. It was appropriate that Jerry Lawler stomped about in horse-sh*t before their Kiss My Foot payoff in 1995 - Hart helped him become more irritating than that bit on the bottom of your shoe you can never scrape off.
Heel:
'The Hitman' changed the art of the heel turn in plain sight and nobody could see it until the most important match in company history had already happened.
Inspiring a new type of persona as the justified complainer following some unfair losses in late-1996 and early-1997, Hart allowed his misery to show itself in flashes. Shoving babyface announcer McMahon on his a*se six days before the brutal WrestleMania 13 war with Stone Cold Steve Austin was the last bit of wizardry before the industry-altering double turn.
Winner: Face