A hero of many a WrestleMania, Bret Hart’s wrestling career was ended in the cruellest of fashions – and he’s still counting the eyewatering cost.
A five-time former WWE Champion in his pomp, Hart is considered one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time.
WWEWrestling icon Bret Hart was a multi-time former world champion in WWE and WCW[/caption]
His unique mix of technical ability, in-ring execution and believability on the microphone made him the all-round package for many fans, the star known as ‘The best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be.’
He was later inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, first in 2006 and then in 2019 when The Hart Foundation were inducted.
Sadly, Hart’s career was never able to reach its natural conclusion thanks injuries sustained during a chaotic spell with WCW.
The Canadian traces his downfall back to Starrcade in 1999 when, in a WCW World Heavyweight Championship match, he sustained a concussion after being kicked in the head by opponent Goldberg.
Hart claimed Goldberg failed to execute the planned move carefully enough, the fallout resulting in the star calling time on his career not long afterward.
Despite at times acknowledging that Goldberg “doesn’t have a mean bone in his body,” Hart has since launched many a scathing attack on the Spear master for what he feels was his unprofessionalism in the ring.
He told Inside the Ropes: “I regret that I got injured by a guy that couldn’t wrestle and has no business being in a Hall of Fame.
“He should be in the Hall of Shame.”
WWE NetworkSerious injuries dating back to the deadly clash at Starrcarde in 1999 ended up forcing Bret Hart to end his illustrious career[/caption]
In a 2019 interview, Hart revealed the damning cost of the incident, telling Sean Mooney: “When Bill Goldberg kicked me in the head, I honest to God, I lost about 16 million dollars in like one second.
He added: “I just signed with WCW for three million a year for another three years on top of the two years I had left on my original contract, so it was bad timing, and unfortunate.”
Goldberg, himself a former champ in WWE and WCW, was remorseful, saying in 2016: “That will forever go down in history as the biggest mistake that I have ever made in my entire life.
“For those who haven’t heard me say it, I apologize profusely.
“God knows I put Bret Hart up on a pedestal where very few sit. The last thing that I ever wished upon him was harm, especially by my own hand.”
The former leader of the Hart Foundation revealed he likely wrestled with the effects of multiple concussions following the incident, before finally having to retire in October 2000.
Hart – who netted one of his WWE title wins at WrestleMania 10 in 1994 – had only signed with WCW in 1997 following a controversial exit from WWE known as the Montreal Screwjob, where he was effectively stripped of his world championship, losing a title match to Shawn Michaels by submission despite knowing nothing of such an ending.
It later emerged that WWE boss Vince McMahon had engineered the alternate ending to the Survivor Series show as a way to take the gold away from Hart – and prevent him taking it to WCW with him.
WWE NetwrorkAfter decades wrestling for Vince McMahon in WWE, Hart made the switch to rival company WCW in controversial fashion in 1997[/caption]
Hart did return to the ring for various short or gimmicked matches in 2010 and 2011, even winning the US Championship in his home nation by defeating The Miz.
His last outing came in Ontario on a September 2011 edition of Raw that saw him team with John Cena to defeat Alberto Del Rio and Ricardo Rodriguez.
