Ranking Who Was Really The Man In Wrestling Every Year 1990-2020

24. 1997 - Bret Hart

Austin Jericho
WWE

The ratings were more cosmetic than they are now, post-rights fee, in an era in which house shows and pay-per-views were still of vital importance.

There was no real 'Man' in the U.S. in 1997 (Shinya Hashimoto remained the top star in the east), since Hulk Hogan wrestled infrequently on pay-per-view, and top babyface Sting didn't wrestle at all from January until December. The WWF, meanwhile, was only re-approaching the big time.

Factoring in everything else without the intangible, definitive Ace, Bret Hart was the Man on aggregate: he helped make a megastar with wrestling's greatest ever storytelling performance at WrestleMania 13. He ascended somewhere close to national hero status in Canada, when at Canadian Stampede his arrival was greeted so thunderously that the hard camera shook. It wasn't just a home nation thing, either; Hart was the #4 draw worldwide, and, post-Montreal, the #1 talking point.

And, after years of...acceptable output on the stick in the babyface role, Hart mastered the mic game with a legendary series of scathing heel tirades

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!