Ranking EVERY WWE Champion From Worst To Best

12. Bret Hart

WWE Champions Ranked
WWE

Bret Hart was never a particularly strong domestic draw for WWE, and though it can be argued that he was a figurehead during WWE's darkest financial depths rather than being responsible for the decline, the fact remains frustratingly in place.

The other way to spin that is to ask this; could anybody other than Bret Hart have been in that spot and kept the company afloat?

Hart's work was so exemplary, his commitment to the cause of professional wrestling so profoundly fantastic, that those that stuck around for the barren years were distracted from noticing how small and empty the venues suddenly were. With eyes glued to action in the ring, it was easy to ignore the basketball hoops in the background, and a Bret Hart match was as adhesive as North American pro wrestling got in the mid-1990s. So much so that, for a generation of fan, no one superstar looked better with the "winged eagle" belt than 'The Hitman' himself.

Muscled behmoths Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage and Ultimate Warrior wore it well, but none of them held, desired and subsequently elevated it quite like Bret Hart. The only exception, oddly enough, was fierce rival and contemporary Shawn Michaels. 

 
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Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett