BRET HART DISCUSSES RIC FLAIR'S WWF RUN IN 1992. VIDEO RIGHTS GO TO KAYFABE COMMENTARIES. USE OF CLIP PROTECTED UNDER THE INTERNET FAIR USE ACT. FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY.
Bret's lack of promo skills actually HELPED his character. He was real, and didn't portray himself is a cartoon, superhero, or some stupid gimmick. He talked like an athlete would talk.
Bret you Are 10 of 10 Quite Undermining yourself .or underselling. Yourself. Austin 10 of 10 Rock 10 of 10 Taker 10 of 10 Yoko 10 of 10 Macho/Piper/Perfect 10 of 10
"Lemme tell you something boys, I AM the World Wrestling Federation champion. The Excellence of Execution is on top... there's a new gun in town" - Bret Hart, 1993.
It's unbelievable how self aware Bret is. He might come across as mean and bitter but he's just a straight shooter, brutal with the truth and holds himself to the same standard.
I would give 1987 Macho Man a 10 across the board. 1989 Terry Funk.1997 Bret Hart. 1997 Steve Austin(pre neck injury). 1992 Rick Rude. 1992 Big Van Vader. These are other guys I would give 10/10 across the board.
I agree with you. I bash Bret a lot on youtube videos, and overall, I'm not a big fan of Bret. But I do like his Canada heel run and I think that was when he was at his best in terms of mic, wrestling, and look. I always found Bret to be bland, but he had a fire lit under his ass and he was not happy with the direction the WWF was going and it gave him an edge that I felt that he needed.
StuUngar yeah he got strangely really good around 96-97 whenever he was pissed off he was like a 11 on the mic...and his physique near the end wasn't bad at all
Bret was basing his look in comparison to guys like Warrior. Warrior had powerful physique and the bright colors and crazy entrance to match. Where as Bret who was smaller needed something extra such as the glasses, the color, the jacket etc... That's why he said "Hogan, 9/10 look" Those guys were physically impressive with the least amount of gear (wrestling trunks and boots) in comparison to guys like Bret & Shawn.
@@pikkon899 i get what he means, but he looked so much f***ing cooler than all those guys...his ring outfit and physique were both 10/10 PERFECT, and live long in the memory
Ric has a very old-fashioned wrestling style and his promos were legendary, and the fact that he still has draw makes him immortal in the eyes of wrestling fans. Bret Hart is equally immortal for his skill and his history with the many famous promotions in wrestling, and his signature look will never be duplicated. I think they are both awesome.
@@DmanDice These days (for a long time) everything I see is corny as hell. It's not like it wasn't corny in the 90s... the 90s were really corny... but it was a different style. Back then it was silly but still fun, and now it just looks childish and stupid. Age and nostalgia definitely factors in there, but I think it's more than that.
Guys psychology is the first , most important aspect of a match . Dean really was a man of a thousand holds and he could show off quite a bit and it got him noticed but the difference between fast action and psychologically performing is how emotionally intense thw fans get . I put him about dead center of the scale , not bad not good . Which ,If we are honest is much better than most any cruiser weight . I have seen him have very good matches But mostly he worked with spot monkeys . I do not think he was given the chance to show what he was capable of because he worked almost exclusively as a cruiserweight and cruisers are just acrobats . They are expected to be quick and do a shit ton of high spots because thats all most can do . I thought Malenko was the best cruiser theie was because he used a lot of ground and pound stuff to negate the aerial stuff his opponent did but without cutting his opponents nuts off in the process . So that is why I gave him a 5/10 score . Rey Misterio had to learn this after he started working with so ma y heavyweights so I put him high too but still not geeat .
aidsbrigade I reckon the reason why he was better in 97 in his heel promos was because a lot of what he was saying was genuine, he wasn't really acting, just venting his natural anger and bitterness which is why those promos came across as natural rather than akward like in his face days.
In his prime, 9.5/10 wrestler 6/10 promo 7/10 look. all around the best WRESTLER in the wwe ever. Bret was very slick, confident, and legit made next to nothing in mistakes in the ring, made everyone he wrestled better then they were. So when he says he's the best there is, the best there was and the best they'll ever will be, I think even in his own mind that he knows that to be ONLY as a wrestler. Great Canadian. Love Ya Bret.
Hart vs Piper at WMVIII goes back and forth between it and Bret vs Shawn at WMXII as my favorite match of all time, depending on the day. It's the ending with the bell and Bret's amazing finish...Bobby Heenan's commentary definitely has something to do with it, too. "He's goldbrickin'!"
@@merleshand2442 - if you can't tell that Flair knew more than he let show in the ring and that he probably forgot more than you ever knew too - than there's nothing to do for you. Hart is another story: professional jealousy is very real there - and the truth of the whole matter is revealed now through Women's Wrestling. Who is the better wrestler: Charlotte Flair or Natalya Hart? Charlotte - by a landslide!
I was always a fan of Brets in ring performance, he was the first wrestler I really enjoyed watching in the ring. Most guys from when I first started watching (late 80s) started becoming more about looks and personality over in ring ability. Bret was a guy I looked forward to seeing in the ring. Even When He Jumped To WCW, I was a WWF fan. When I knew he was going to be in the ring, my remote went down and I was paying attention.
God I miss the old WWF time. They use to come to Toronto once a month, instead of once every two years, I've seen Brett wrestle so many times, and he never disappointed.
He definitely started coming out of his shell big time. WCW dropped the ball so bad. Hottest free agent in the history of wrestling at that point, coming off the hottest behind the scenes reality-based crap that WCW loved and they still managed to screw that up. It's absolutely mind-boggling how they managed it. "Uhh... lets pay this guy millions and millions every year for us to use him the worst way we can, not capitalizing on any of his buzz..."
Bret Hart had the greatest "Look" we've ever seen in Pro Wrestling. The ladies loved him and the guys wanted to be him. Not to mention he was the most skilled in ring performer of all time.
Brett was okay on the mic until he couldn’t separate Brett the person from Brett the wrestler. Brett v Shawn could have been like a 20 year feud but it wasn’t because he took everything too personally.
I agree with Bret on Ric Flair. In Ring, I found Flair repetitive and he did not have the power, speed or the diversity of moves like Bret Hart and some others. Flair was an amazing showman and certainly the greatest on mic-promo guy of all time.
Funny: me, I saw Flair come off the top, elbow first, and connect with his target - not get caught, therefore! He did it in WCW (vs Rude) and much later in his career too, in WWE (vs Murdock and vs HHH) However, Flair was comfortable with a certain core set of moves and, most importantly of all, he believed the fans wanted to see it and would have felt cheated if he deviated too much, too often from that routine... Sting was told just that when he pleaded with Ric to diversify a bit more their matches! Wrestling fans are supposed to LOVE IT: this repetition, the same routine, over and over... That is why every wrestler has a finisher: because we all know it's building towards that! ROUTINE IS THE KEY! Why would anyone complain about it then??? Make up your mind, rasslin fans!
@@lindoluciano431 I get the build to the finisher, but can we go back to where a finisher actually did that: finish the match? I'm tired of todays matches where it takes 2 or 3 finishers to finish the match.
Moves don't make a crowd pop for very long. Rick put asses in the seats year in and year out. Bret just admitted his promo skills weren't up to par and what puts asses to the seats at the events is the ability to sell the audience on why you should be there to see the event. Hogan, Randy Savage and Rick Flair all had one major thing in common that Bret Hart never had. The ability to get people interested enough to come to the event. The Road Warriors sure could wrestle worth a hoot and were repetitive also but their promo skills and look put lots of asses in the seats. Bret seems to think wrestling skills are what put asses in the seats. It doesn't and never has been the case. Another example that Bret could never beat and that is Dusty Rhodes. Mega promos of his put lots of asses in the seats and back in 1974 Dusty Rhodes was putting more asses in the seats than Bret Hart could ever dream of. Oh and Dusty Rhodes couldn't wrestle worth a hoot either. Thus the reason Vince took the strap off Bret because Shawn Michael could put asses in the seats because of his look and mostly because of his promo skills. It's all about $$$$$$$ and wait makes $$$$$$$ in pro-wrestling is the ability to put asses in the seats consistently. Bret Hart didn't have the kill to do that.
@@CommandoG331 but Bret had such a wide variety of moves used and every match was not repetitive, he always incorporated a different variety of spots in most matches.
Outside of a one on one match, this was the greatest wrestling event I've ever seen. Out of the 30 guys in it , half were Hall of Famers, and sad to say at least half or more are no longer with us. Savage has been knocked for paying too much attention to detail and preparation, but if you don't take care for those things it will show in the ring. Rave on Macho!
The biggest problem with Ric Flair's early 90s run in the WWF was that he couldn't talk about his past. He couldn't do the modern day promo where the business has already been exposed. When he came in yes they alluded to him as the real world champion. That being said Vince was still protective of his business so Flair couldn't cut true promos that would've sold his arrival and his fued with Hogan. He couldn't mention the NWA and the all the legends he had been in the ring with a beaten. In other words Flair couldn't say hey Hogan I wrestled the best and defended my title all around the world while you were protected by Vince in your little WWF bubble. Shoot interview were unheard of then so even worked shoots weren't going to happen. The biggest thing you go was when Heenan displayed the belt to Monsoon and Neidhart at the end of Superstars that time. After that the entire thing was a dud. Ric always just seemed like an out of place outsider. Plus, I think Vince and Ric always knew his heart was always in the South and that he was only going to be there at most a couple of years.
Well it looked like they were doing a Harley race w flair. Making him bring a fake belt and bragging while getting beat down by piper and Hogan and savage. Then the rumble and I sweat we were nwa kids and we worshiped flair. And we were sick during that rumble. Every wwe legend came to the ring and destroyed flair. My friend said they were going to make sure every wwe wrestler made him Look weak. It wa s masterful storytelling and heenan was incredible. When flair knocked savage out we stood up ... We literally yelled no no as Hogan started to throw him out...when sid threw Hogan out we began jumping up and down and celebrated like a sports team had won a championship when flair won. And I'll tell you a secret we had it on video tape and watched it til the tape broke.... the fans cheered too when he won
I think Hart underrates himself on his look and his promo ability. There's no question in my mind he was 9 in appearance, a 10 promo in the mid-90s, and a 10 wrestler. When he came up, Bret was probably a 5 in appearance and a 1 or 2 promo. He's living proof that guys can work at their skills for a number of years and really have it pay off for them.
Yea, Prime Bret Hart with his black leather jacket with those pink shoulder tassels, long dark hair and reflective pink sunglasses was a 10 out of 10 look for younger viwers. He looked cooler than anyone else in that era at that time (besides maybe the Legion Of Doom).
J Crash first, stop saying “Stan”, you sound like an idiot. Second, his promo skills were insane @ 96-97. I don’t think you actually watched. Why you trying to tear him down?
I could never put my finger on why I didn’t think Flair was “the greatest wrestler of all time” but Bret summed it up very well. It’s true that Flair didn’t evolve and had pretty much the same match for 30 years. This is coming from a Flair fan btw! He’s just not on the same level as The Rock, Hogan, Shawn Michaels Etc for me.
Flair's look.. The Suits, the Robes, when you saw him he was different. His mic skills off the charts. He was built and he could actually wrestle. The fans loved him and he went into other territories and left it better then he found it. WOOOO
@@jonjohnson1978. He didn't look great... in his 50's... AND... having different body styles goes into story-telling. Having a smaller body meant he got the sh*t beat out of him for most of the match and he had to cheat like hell. Nowadays everyone looks the same. Boring!
@@FunkmasterV again I disagre.....aew has a shit load of people who look different....joey janela, lucha brothers,omega, moxley, wardlow, sonny kiss, Derby allen,jericho though he looks a mess, mjf, cassidy, rollins, otis, orton, roman reigns, the fiend all look different
The Bret Hart match that never gets mentioned enough is WM10 against Owen! To me that might be his best. It also shows that Owen was just as good as Bret.
Owen was such a great performer. I loved watching their matches from back then. I wish that they would have pushed Owen after the screwjob with a get even angle instead of what they did.
I will also say that Ric Flair matches tend to be very similar. Much like Hogan you seen one match you've seen them all. Although Flair matches are much more entertaining. One final thing. a lot of people knock Bret for being a mark for himself, but one thing he does have is a respect for most of the wrestlers he worked with. He compliments Flair in this clip, but all Flair ever does in berate Bret.
Waaa another flare hater Bret Hart also has the same match every night except for without doubt falling down and being entertaining and flair was the bestbecause you will go to territories where he didn't know the person and make them look great even if they sucked that's what they mean about it and Brett knows it also flair drop the title to Brett which brought in the rustling expect and not the muscled up and that was Vince McMahon plan from the beginning because he never let Ric flair be Ric flair of the nwa and screw spell check I am not rewriting it you can understand what I said
"If you've seen one Flair match you've seen them all." To be fair, you could say the same about a fair portion of a Bret match. He always went through the exact same sequence of moves towards the end. I.dont remember the exact sequence but it included a back breaker, inverted atomic drop, russian leg sweep, forearm from the turnbuckle, then sharpshooter. He did it exactly the same, in the same order, every single time.
Bret is such a nice guy. Very level headed, intelligent, his manner of talking is very calming. I love his stories. He looks a lot like Stu. Bret is a great wrestler, I love watching his matches.
How about Bret Hart and his "five moves of doom" that seemed to appear in every match in sequence? 1. inverted atomic drop, 2. Russian legsweep, 3. backbreaker, 4. elbowdrop from the second rope, and 5. Sharpshooter.
All wrestlers have a set of moves iconic to them that will be used in almost every match they have. But you have to also look at all the creative ways he would come up to setup the sharpshooter or to score a pin from an inside cradle, a small package, crucifix position to even using Lucha pins like victory rolls or even La Magistrale!
I found it interesting how Bret used this "rating system." I think that he "rated" his abilities with honesty and self-reflection. Having met Bret, he proved to me to be a genuine person. I remember him saying, "My father taught us humility, not humiliation" from his book, "My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling;" it's obvious from this video that Stu did indeed teach him that.
I met Owen hart in fresno ca at fashion fair mall. Maybe 97 ? He bought an autographed Mickey mantle baseball and had it shipped to him from the card collectible shop. He signed autographs for some promo before. He was so nice to my friend and I we saw him inside so I went I. To buy some baseball cards just to have an reason to be by him. Not sure if we talked ? ? ?can't remember I was 13 maybe..I know he took an pic with us. And was nice. But far as conversation..Can't really remember. But it stood out how genuine of an man he was. He also had these big red and white converse ball sneakers. I remember that. And he smiled an lot. They were obviously raised right in the dungeon
BH and UW have that same blank look in these post career interviews. they just look like theyve seen it all. I appreciate these champs and what really went on in that crazy world. Respect
and to add that, if you also add the category of popularity/how much of a "draw" someone has been, it becomes even more apparent. since the majority of other all-time in ring greats weren't mega stars (pun intended).
Senatus Populusque Americanus Wrong from 77 till the plane crash he was chiseled remember the doctors told him he’d probably never walk again he broke his back and still became one of the all-time greats
See folks that don’t have Bret in their goat debate on wrestling should watch this! He holds nothing back and holds himself to the same standard! True class and sportsmanship!
Owen could keep up with Bret but Owen was more of a high spot performer. I liked Bret more as a kid but now like Owen more as an adult. Owen was incredibly clever with his mic and promos as well
Flair wrestled 20 years, twice on saturday and sunday and never took a day off....so he is not just the greatest wrestler of all time, he is the greatest athlete of all time in any genre.
I mean, which era? Jericho has had a million looks, and has even changed his promo and in-ring style a few times. The thing that makes him great is his ability to reinvent himself for the time and stay relevant, so ratings like this for someone over their entire career aren't always useful, because they don't take stuff like that into consideration
Jericho has never stirred me. I don't know why. He's had a stunning career, and his accolades and achievements speak for themselves, but he just never had that special little something for me.
Bret Hart was one of the greatest storytellers in the history of the business between the ropes. He wasn't as good at it outside the ring. Ric Flair could sell tickets on his storytelling outside the ring. And people were so wanting to watch him get his ass kicked, that it didn't matter what he did in the ring, as long as he kept the story going. Ding Ric Flair for his in ring stuff all you want. He put asses in seats. Jake Roberts did even less in the ring, and people went nuts. The Rock had about five moves, never went to the top rope, and had a standing elbow drop for a finisher. But it was how he did it that mattered.
Looking at todays wrestlers i can't find anyone that is close to wrestling the way Bret did. You always hear people compare wrestlers to HBK, Steve Austin, The Rock etc, but never hear anyone compare anyone to Bret.
I would say Hogan was 9/10 look, 10/10 promo, and 5/10 in the ring. Go watch him vs Fuginami. Bret was 9/10 look (awesome ring gear and overall appearance), 4/10 promo, and 10/10 in the ring. Ric was 10/10 look (those robes and that hair), 10/10 promo, and 7/10 in the ring. All three are legends in their own way and I don't consider any to be significantly better than the other overall.
+st r Hogan is the sort of person that puts success over self perfection when he day bued in 1979 he literally was a head taller than the standard pro wrestler of the time and was far more muscular and he spammed that to success hes was also a good actor how ever he saw no need to improve his in Ring ability.
***** Indeed. And I have a hard time believing that the WWF forced him to limit his moveset. They probably said: "We don't need that fancy stuff." and he went along with that. But would they have really told off or even punished their biggest star for doing more than five moves?
st r Maybe because that 80's era was more about gimmiked stereo types than move sets since the were trying to make it look like a real fight I mean hulk hogan invented the lariot and the clothes line which were massive departures from the standard pro wrestling of the time
I love Bret but come on man? The 1992 Royal Rumble was the greatest rumble of all time and large in part due to Flair. He is right though about himself...Bret never injured anybody. And Bret has the most 5 star matches in the WWF from Dave Meltzer...who rarely gives 5 star matches. That tells you a lot about him. Bret winning the title was a turning point in wrestling and it forever changed the business. If it weren't for Bret, we would've had Hogan main eventing all the way through to WM 14.
I would agree that 1992 is the best Rumble, and that it's because of Flair - and on a side note Jake Roberts' psychology where Savage was concerned. It was not, however, because of Flair's *wrestling*.
Using Bret's scale/format for a few of the top pro wrestlers Bret Hart Look: 8 In-Ring Ability: 10 Promos: 6 (mainly for his 97 work) Ric Flair Look: 9 In-Ring Ability: 8 Promos: 10 Hulk Hogan Look: 10 In-Ring Ability: 4 (mainly for his work in Japan and carrying Warrior to a classic) Promos: 8 Stone Cold Steve Austin Look: 8 In-Ring Ability: 8 Promos: 10 Shawn Michaels Look: 7 In-Ring Ability: 10 Promos: 8 The Rock Look: 8 In-Ring Ability: 7 Promos: 10
I'm obviously talking about Flair in his prime when it comes to his look, not today. In his prime in the 80's his physique was solid. And there's more to a wrestler's "look" than just their physique. It also includes their outfit/costume, and other distinctive physical characteristics. Flair had the whole 80's playboy look going with the suits, the expensive robes, the long blonde hair. He stood out among all the other wrestlers. That and a solid physique are why he gets a 9/10. Bret Hart is in the same boat. His physique was solid, but his outfit with the black and pink pants and leather jacket and sunglasses gave him a very distinct look. I'd also give him an 8/9 for look. And yes Flair definitely get a 10/10 for promos. Even today he can still cut a helluva promo. He's in the top 3 ever in promo work with Rock and Piper.
I think you are giving too many guys 10/10 at promos. The only guy that is 10/10 at promos is Jake Roberts, that's the bar and Flair/Rock/Austin don't come close.
Freddyphelp I'd argue Stone Cold at his peak was a 10/10/9. While he was never the best at promos, for a while he had the audience hanging on his every word (plus he began the era of catchphrases). And he was an incredible worker in the ring.
spsawyer22 I don't think anybody would score 29/30 tbh. Stone Cold was solid in all 3 categories but I wouldn't say he was a 10 in any of them. Also I'm not sure starting the era of catchphrases is a good thing, probably should be docked points for that.
His rating system is great. And he’s right. His mic work in 97 was his best. He had awesome back and forth moments with Michaels and Austin throughout the year and that in ring interview earlier in 1997 with McMahon where he threatened to quit the company was huge to help kickstart the Attitude era. It really sucks he went to WCW that hear. So many great matches and feuds that he and us fans missed out on.
I know people like to rip on Bret due to his ego and tendency to not give people credit they deserve but what he's saying isn't bullshit. The whole "Best there is..." bit isn't something he pulled out of his ass. You had people like Monsoon and Ventura saying he was the best in the WWF as early as 1984! Can anyone name a botch in a Bret Hart match that was HIS fault? I sure as hell can't. Bret, HBK, Benoit, and Dynamite are the best workers of all time. Period.
He always gives credit where it's due, and actually spells out his criteria. Innovators score best, as do guys who can have a good match with anyone - whether they're 500 pounds, or 7 foot tall etc. - and make them look good.
Which is one of the reasons he always deserved the accolades he received. The guy really was "The Excellance of Execution". Besides not botching moves, there wasn't a single thing he did in the ring that came off as a work ...well, as more of a work than it already was, of course.
+Blind Terry Tucci this is true. However his moveset was pretty safe: russian leg sweep, sharpshooter, safe things to pull. He wasn't kicking and not being a big guy it wasn't easy for him to hurt someone with a punch. Shawn was pulling way riskier moves, jumping from ladders, falling from the hell in a cage, moonsault outside of the ring through a table with Ric Flair. Or stuff that Jeff Hardy pulls.
Shawn had flashier spots but Bret created more moves, had more original finishes, and put together move exchanges that still can't be topped...and he did pull risky stuff and put himself in danger, as well. He broke his sternum when he wrestled Dino Bravo but continued to do his famous Irish whip to corner spot, he wrestled in ladder matches 10 years before him and Shawn in '92...Bret was careful and only retired because he had to while Shawn forced himself into early retirement from being careless a few too many times. I respect the guy to no end but it does take away from his legacy.
In my opinion two guys come to mind for 10s across the board. That's Shawn Michaels and Macho Man. There's more I'm probably missing but those two guys immediately come to mind.
Bret Hart Looks: 7/10 Wrestler: 9.5/10 Promo: 7/10 Ric Flair Looks: 8/10 Wrestler: 7.5/10 Promo: 10/10 Comparing Brer Hart and Ric Flair on looks it's pretty equivalent. Their physique were pretty equal. But Flair's robes and suits gives him the edge. Comparing their wrestling ability, Bret Hart was one of the best at telling a story in the ring. He and Eddie Guerrero are my two favorites when it comes to telling a story. But Ric Flair was no slouch. I loved it when Ric would "get frustrated" and crawl out of the ring pretend to head to the backstage area, or he'd start yelling at the fans, etc... It was entertaining. But Bret is correct, Ric would tend to do the same shtick every match. Whereas Bret would come up with new ideas to tell the story. So definitely Bret wins this easily. When it comes to promos, Ric was one of the best. He was always entertaining on the mic. He had a lot of charisma. I always enjoyed Ric's promos. Bret started off pretty weak on promos. They weren't bad but they weren't anything memorable either. Just a typical promo. Once he became the top guy in the WWE he began to cut much better promos. But still, Flair gets the win here too. Bret comments that Flair wasn't the greatest wrestler, but I think Flair was one of the most entertaining wrestlers to grace the ring. The only negative i see with Flair was that his matches tended to be redundant, but they were still entertaining.
"How they picked me I'm not sure." In his head: Because I'm the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be. In actuality: Pretty damn accurate.
@@Sacrilege83 yeah, Bret deserved it since he called the entire match. Him, Hbk, and Stone Cold Steve Austin helped made wrestling relavent in the 90's
I understand Bret's view on Flair and I can respect anybody who says he is the GOAT. Take the 1992 title win for Bret as an example. That match is ridiculously watchable. Bret is solid, as usual, and makes every move count. You can see where the match is going. On the other hand, every movement of Flair is enjoyable and adds to the excitement of the match. Bret liked to plan his matches before he went out. Ric didn't need to do that because he was indeed a flamboyant character and everybody knew it was going to be a fun match. With Bret, he would make sure the excitement of the match would keep building because he couldn't rely on his character to garner the enthusiasm.
Enjoyed hearing these comments. That's why the NWA in the70s and 80s was so good to watch. Their wrestlers looked like athletes an were athletes. Nice to know someone like Bret Hart thought the same way.
I feel like if you've seen one Ric Flair match you've seen them all (aside from who he's working with). You get lots of chops, maybe a butterfly suplex, a chop block, a shin breaker, flip spot in the corner and a figure four. That's pretty much it.
it's because it's different eras. Go back and watch a Bruno Sammartino match. Dude would sell out arenas (especially MSG), but had a very limited set of moves when compared to the wrestlers of today or even the early 2000s. Flair was the same way. Sure it's great that the luchadors came into WCW and WWF during the wars and changed the style of wrestling to what we see today, but the majority of the wrestlers in the 80s and even early to mid 90s were not high flyers. Lots of slams, rest holds, and suplexes were not just common, but they were the standard. That's not saying there weren't wrestlers who couldn't fly early on. But it was more common to see a wrestler with Flair's moveset than it was to see somebody like HBK.
@@m.k.v.g.7203 exactly true. Bret could also get very formulaic and sometimes he does sound like a hypocrite. Back then it was also about self preservation. These guys wanted to max out their careers. Feed their families. Everybody had their bread and butter moves that they know are safe and dependable and the fans still mark out for them.. You mix things up over time. But I mean who could wrestle as Dynamite for 30+ years. Impossible. Your body can't take it. Bret and Flair and Hogan weren't throwing themselves into steel railings every day night after night
Macho man was all 10s in the 80s to early 90s. In WCW however those numbers started to drop as he got older. He was always great on the Mic & in promos but not so much in the ring, especially in late 90s WCW when he had 'Gorgeous George' as a valet!!
Bret gets an 8 on looks, 10 on ability, but on his promos during the Hart Foundation run I give him a 7.5 but on average his whole career 5 on mic. Flair gets a 10 on gimmicks and looks and a 7 on body looks in his prime. On mic Flair gets an 11 on a 10 scale. Flairs ability in his prime 1980-1994 gets a 9 IMO. I know that's a controversial statement among roughly half of all wrestling fans but I give him that for two reasons. For well over a decade Flair wrestled hour long matches night after night, very few wrestlers ever did that. That and some of the best matches I've ever seen were between Flair and Ricky Steamboat. That's before the mid 90's and beyond of course. That's a great system of judging a wrestler Bret Hart came up with IMO!
Ric could walk into a promotion and carry it on his shoulders. In the dying days of WCW one of the high spots was literally just Flair walking out to the ring and doing a promo on anything for 10 minutes.
I got to see Flair in person sereral times and he was pretty awesome, I thought. He was undoubtedly best as a heel (one of the greatest of all time) but he was a damn good baby face as well. His matches with Ricky Steamboat are, arguably, some of the greatest ever! Hart was awesome, too..no doubt about that. But, I think he may have been a little too hard in his critique of the Nature Boy. Flair also had the ability to make an average wrestler look spectacular. A definite skill in pro wrestling that is underrated, imho.
I was a little kid when I saw Flair winning the 1992 royal rumble and he looked like an out of shape old man BACK THEN! He stood out like a sore thumb in a ring full of ripped guys. The only real talent Flair had was doing promos and even then, he had a SPEECH IMPEDIMENT.
thank u!!! I get so tired of people swearing ric is the greatest of all time. smh. he could never ever wrestle to me. he just had "flair" which made him who he was. great talker n gimmick.
Mista Chuck LOL flair fanboys are almost as pathetic as Hogan fanboys. We've already spelled out reasons why he isn't a great wrestler you fucking idiot. Learn to read.
Mista Chuck all around wrestling like Bret Hart, thats what. Flair had "flair" hence the name. He was a playboy typa character who had a great gimmick n terms of being a limosine ridin, jet flyin son of a gun. always had great woemn walking him to the ring with the shiny robe n livin the high class lifestyle. but n terms of n ring skills, u know n i know he was no better than any other wrestler. take away the chop, knee drop n him flippin over the turnbuckle evefry match or fallin down face first 2 da mat, n u have nothin more than a pretty boy character who was designed to be the poster child 4 a company making his opponents look good by putting them over. every match he had was da same ol thang. 2b a 16 time champ also means u lost 16 times 2. js.
Brett left one key thing out of his equation. The ability to put butts in seats. Hogan could wrestle he chose not to. he was trained and broke in by some of the best in the business. He didn’t “wrestle” like Brett because he was a 6’6” 300+ guy and fans don’t want to see big guys wrestle like small guys. If only the big guys nowadays actually fought like big guys. Flair was a genius in the ring and on the mic. And he did what really mattered in any entertainment business. He put butts in seats. Brett was a genius in the ring (accept for that chest bump he liked to take in the corner. I mean it was cool the first few times but after a while it’s like dude just turn around.) but he couldn’t put buts in seats unless he was in Europe or Canada.
I think Bret was severely missing the 4th category and that's "Attitude/Work Ethic". You need the right type of Work Ethic and Attitude in order to succeed in the business. Scott Hall was a perfect example of a guy who excelled in all 3 categories, but failed in the 4th one. Razor Ramon: Look (9/10), Promo (8/10), Workrate (8/10). He was tremendous, but his demons & personal problems held him down.
@@jameskennedy7307 Bit of an exaggeration if we're talking about Scott Hall. His work ethic was certainly better back in the day than it was, say, in his later WCW days, but there was only ever one year in his career (1994) he had more than 200 matches - hardly "EVERY NIGHT for DECADES."
![[LIVE] : ONE ลุมพินี 68 | คู่เอก "พระจันทร์ฉาย vs โจนาธาน"](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/F3IM3w-XchI/mqdefault.jpg)
Bret's lack of promo skills actually HELPED his character. He was real, and didn't portray himself is a cartoon, superhero, or some stupid gimmick. He talked like an athlete would talk.
I never thought of it that way, but you're spot on! It did give him a more realistic character/personality.
Nah Only 97. In 96, Austin ran circles around him mic-wise
Bret you Are 10 of 10
Quite Undermining yourself .or underselling. Yourself.
Austin 10 of 10
Rock 10 of 10
Taker 10 of 10
Yoko 10 of 10
Macho/Piper/Perfect 10 of 10
"Lemme tell you something boys, I AM the World Wrestling Federation champion. The Excellence of Execution is on top... there's a new gun in town" - Bret Hart, 1993.
@@gumdeo Hhhhheeeeeyyyyy. It's WRESTLEMANIA! FIGHTING FOR OUR LIVES!
It's unbelievable how self aware Bret is. He might come across as mean and bitter but he's just a straight shooter, brutal with the truth and holds himself to the same standard.
That’s why so many people dislike him now. Most people don’t like to be called on their bullshit.
a 1990 Randy Savage has got to be a 9/10 looks, 10/10 mic and 9/10 in ring...........his promos that year were unbelievable literately all of them
Cocaine is a powerful drug 👏
True but many people didn't like working with macho because he controls the structure and of things, move by move
@@calmstormambience1875 He'd fit right in now.
I would give 1987 Macho Man a 10 across the board. 1989 Terry Funk.1997 Bret Hart. 1997 Steve Austin(pre neck injury). 1992 Rick Rude. 1992 Big Van Vader. These are other guys I would give 10/10 across the board.
@@mrfake675 Destroyed our bkack communities in the 80s and 90s. Its not a somthing to.joke about bucko. People are dying.
Bret is being brutally honest. He even critiqued himself. Very hard on his own promos. Great wrestler !!!!
Bret got really good on the mic around 96-97. Especially during the whole USA vs Canada thing. I give Bret
10 wrestling 7 Look 7 mic
I agree with you. I bash Bret a lot on youtube videos, and overall, I'm not a big fan of Bret. But I do like his Canada heel run and I think that was when he was at his best in terms of mic, wrestling, and look.
I always found Bret to be bland, but he had a fire lit under his ass and he was not happy with the direction the WWF was going and it gave him an edge that I felt that he needed.
StuUngar yeah he got strangely really good around 96-97 whenever he was pissed off he was like a 11 on the mic...and his physique near the end wasn't bad at all
yup. he was absolutely gold during that period.
+b00s95 what is a ten at wrestling for you?
You're right about Michaels and Perfect, but Hart is as well. Macho Man is a 9.
Bret Hart's look was 10/10...it's crazy he doesn't see it...he was ICONIC
Dude the leather jacket with the glasses was a cool freakin look.... only guy that could make hot pink look cool back in the day lol
Yeah, I always thought he looked so badass when I was a kid. I always wanted those shades.
Facts I was just thinking the same thing his look was def 10/10
Bret was basing his look in comparison to guys like Warrior. Warrior had powerful physique and the bright colors and crazy entrance to match. Where as Bret who was smaller needed something extra such as the glasses, the color, the jacket etc... That's why he said "Hogan, 9/10 look" Those guys were physically impressive with the least amount of gear (wrestling trunks and boots) in comparison to guys like Bret & Shawn.
@@pikkon899 i get what he means, but he looked so much f***ing cooler than all those guys...his ring outfit and physique were both 10/10 PERFECT, and live long in the memory
Bret sells himself short on promos. In 97 his heel promos are very underrated.
To me Bret is truly, "The best there is, The Best was, & The Best that there ever will be. I miss Bret so much.
Are you gay?
@@lmuriilo5803 ok little edgelord...
Bret rules ! He is the hitman
His theme song is the best from that era
BEST WRESTLER of ALL TIME!!!
Ric has a very old-fashioned wrestling style and his promos were legendary, and the fact that he still has draw makes him immortal in the eyes of wrestling fans. Bret Hart is equally immortal for his skill and his history with the many famous promotions in wrestling, and his signature look will never be duplicated. I think they are both awesome.
I like his rating system.
he was a 2 on promos
It was excellently executed
art cobb he could cut a good storyline promo but not so good at match hype. I think 4-5 is fair. I’ve seen worse.
Chris Pineo
Definitely seen worse. Especially now days lol.
@@DmanDice These days (for a long time) everything I see is corny as hell.
It's not like it wasn't corny in the 90s... the 90s were really corny... but it was a different style. Back then it was silly but still fun, and now it just looks childish and stupid. Age and nostalgia definitely factors in there, but I think it's more than that.
Dean Malenko: promo 1/10, look 2/10, ability 11/10.
One of the greatest in ring performers ever but wasn't a great character
Inside the ropes Malenko is damn bear untouchable
Kind of a Lance Storm
Psychology 5/10
Guys psychology is the first , most important aspect of a match . Dean really was a man of a thousand holds and he could show off quite a bit and it got him noticed but the difference between fast action and psychologically performing is how emotionally intense thw fans get . I put him about dead center of the scale , not bad not good .
Which ,If we are honest is much better than most any cruiser weight . I have seen him have very good matches
But mostly he worked with spot monkeys . I do not think he was given the chance to show what he was capable of because he worked almost exclusively as a cruiserweight and cruisers are just acrobats . They are expected to be quick and do a shit ton of high spots because thats all most can do . I thought Malenko was the best cruiser theie was because he used a lot of ground and pound stuff to negate the aerial stuff his opponent did but without cutting his opponents nuts off in the process . So that is why I gave him a 5/10 score . Rey Misterio had to learn this after he started working with so ma y heavyweights so I put him high too but still not geeat .
4:49 "I wanted my wrestling to be real, I wanted it to look real." Something that is sorely missing from today's matches!!!
I literally started reading this comment as Brett started to say it. We were perfectly in sync. Kind of cool. 😆
A lot of people have forgotten how great Bret was. He was the best worker on the planet at one point.
Bret is straight fire in shoot interviews. He breaks down ppl so quickly 🗣
Bret's promos skills in my opinion was 7 out 10, his in ring skills 10 out of 10, truly the best technical wrestler.
Hahahahaha you are smoking crack
Mr perfect was the greatest wrestler
Perfect was...perfect.
Angle vs Bret would have been a great match
@@crowns9966 angle wins easily
1992 Royal Rumble was the greatest match of all time.
it's one of best rumbles with 2001 as a close second.
Roddy Piper and Greg Valentine "Dog collar match".... just sayin.
I actually think that Bret is underestimating his promo skills, I always was a big fan of Bret, also on the mic.
Bret certainly cut some decent promos when he was a heel. I'll give him that.
aidsbrigade I reckon the reason why he was better in 97 in his heel promos was because a lot of what he was saying was genuine, he wasn't really acting, just venting his natural anger and bitterness which is why those promos came across as natural rather than akward like in his face days.
+aidsbrigade The heel turn was good, what came afterwards not so much...
In 97 Brett was one of the best promo's around. In 93-95 he bored me senseless though.
Great heel.
"He was locked into the 70s, & could not break out of it!" ROFL!
In his prime, 9.5/10 wrestler 6/10 promo 7/10 look. all around the best WRESTLER in the wwe ever. Bret was very slick, confident, and legit made next to nothing in mistakes in the ring, made everyone he wrestled better then they were. So when he says he's the best there is, the best there was and the best they'll ever will be, I think even in his own mind that he knows that to be ONLY as a wrestler. Great Canadian. Love Ya Bret.
macho man v flair at wrestlemania 8 was a great match ....but so was Piper v Hart
+Keva Rosenburg One of my favourite matches when I was a kid. It was booked brilliantly. Flair and Savage worked really well together.
+Keva Rosenburg Fantastic match. But in all fairness I find it hard to find a bad Savage match. He even made Warrior look good.
Hart vs Piper at WMVIII goes back and forth between it and Bret vs Shawn at WMXII as my favorite match of all time, depending on the day. It's the ending with the bell and Bret's amazing finish...Bobby Heenan's commentary definitely has something to do with it, too. "He's goldbrickin'!"
ric flair can only do his one match that he's done since the 70s he would have made a much better manager
@@merleshand2442 - if you can't tell that Flair knew more than he let show in the ring and that he probably forgot more than you ever knew too - than there's nothing to do for you.
Hart is another story: professional jealousy is very real there - and the truth of the whole matter is revealed now through Women's Wrestling. Who is the better wrestler: Charlotte Flair or Natalya Hart? Charlotte - by a landslide!
I was always a fan of Brets in ring performance, he was the first wrestler I really enjoyed watching in the ring. Most guys from when I first started watching (late 80s) started becoming more about looks and personality over in ring ability. Bret was a guy I looked forward to seeing in the ring. Even When He Jumped To WCW, I was a WWF fan. When I knew he was going to be in the ring, my remote went down and I was paying attention.
I'm 34 yrs of age and American. I grew up watching Bret Hart. He's still the best wrestler I even seen
hey me too!
God I miss the old WWF time. They use to come to Toronto once a month, instead of once every two years, I've seen Brett wrestle so many times, and he never disappointed.
Flairs work from 82 to 89 make him one of the all time greats.
HBK, Rick Rude, Scott Steiner, Kurt Angle. Eddie Guerrero honourable mention.
Mr Perfect
10 looks,
10 in-ring ability,
8 promos but 10 with Bobbie Heenan they worked off each other Perfectly
Mr. Perfect, lol his looks were a 7.prolly all the coke and steroids.
Thank you. Curt Henning wasn't just good, he was great.
He wasn't great he was....
Perfect.
I thought Bret did a good job of being honest here and like the way he talked about wrestling. And his rating system isn't a bad one.
'97 heel Bret was one of the best. He would light up DX on the mic.
He definitely started coming out of his shell big time. WCW dropped the ball so bad. Hottest free agent in the history of wrestling at that point, coming off the hottest behind the scenes reality-based crap that WCW loved and they still managed to screw that up. It's absolutely mind-boggling how they managed it.
"Uhh... lets pay this guy millions and millions every year for us to use him the worst way we can, not capitalizing on any of his buzz..."
@@lrodzen They milked the hell out of the NWO gimmick. They couldn't do anything else.
Bret Hart had the greatest "Look" we've ever seen in Pro Wrestling. The ladies loved him and the guys wanted to be him. Not to mention he was the most skilled in ring performer of all time.
Sounds like something JR or the king would say about him on commentary LMAO
You are absolutely right bc I was in love with Bret Hart back in the early 90s....💯
You have lost your mind
mid carder
One of the all time best!
Bret was an underrated promo.
what was his best promo?
Epictetus who are you to doubt El Dandy?
@@epictetus175 ok boomer
@J Crash ok boner
Brett was okay on the mic until he couldn’t separate Brett the person from Brett the wrestler. Brett v Shawn could have been like a 20 year feud but it wasn’t because he took everything too personally.
I agree with Bret on Ric Flair. In Ring, I found Flair repetitive and he did not have the power, speed or the diversity of moves like Bret Hart and some others. Flair was an amazing showman and certainly the greatest on mic-promo guy of all time.
Funny: me, I saw Flair come off the top, elbow first, and connect with his target - not get caught, therefore! He did it in WCW (vs Rude) and much later in his career too, in WWE (vs Murdock and vs HHH)
However, Flair was comfortable with a certain core set of moves and, most importantly of all, he believed the fans wanted to see it and would have felt cheated if he deviated too much, too often from that routine... Sting was told just that when he pleaded with Ric to diversify a bit more their matches!
Wrestling fans are supposed to LOVE IT: this repetition, the same routine, over and over... That is why every wrestler has a finisher: because we all know it's building towards that! ROUTINE IS THE KEY! Why would anyone complain about it then???
Make up your mind, rasslin fans!
@@lindoluciano431 I get the build to the finisher, but can we go back to where a finisher actually did that: finish the match? I'm tired of todays matches where it takes 2 or 3 finishers to finish the match.
Moves don't make a crowd pop for very long. Rick put asses in the seats year in and year out. Bret just admitted his promo skills weren't up to par and what puts asses to the seats at the events is the ability to sell the audience on why you should be there to see the event. Hogan, Randy Savage and Rick Flair all had one major thing in common that Bret Hart never had. The ability to get people interested enough to come to the event. The Road Warriors sure could wrestle worth a hoot and were repetitive also but their promo skills and look put lots of asses in the seats. Bret seems to think wrestling skills are what put asses in the seats. It doesn't and never has been the case. Another example that Bret could never beat and that is Dusty Rhodes. Mega promos of his put lots of asses in the seats and back in 1974 Dusty Rhodes was putting more asses in the seats than Bret Hart could ever dream of. Oh and Dusty Rhodes couldn't wrestle worth a hoot either. Thus the reason Vince took the strap off Bret because Shawn Michael could put asses in the seats because of his look and mostly because of his promo skills. It's all about $$$$$$$ and wait makes $$$$$$$ in pro-wrestling is the ability to put asses in the seats consistently. Bret Hart didn't have the kill to do that.
Bret was repetitive too. Always used same moves in the lead up to his finish.
@@CommandoG331 but Bret had such a wide variety of moves used and every match was not repetitive, he always incorporated a different variety of spots in most matches.
Outside of a one on one match, this was the greatest wrestling event I've ever seen. Out of the 30 guys in it , half were Hall of Famers, and sad to say at least half or more are no longer with us. Savage has been knocked for paying too much attention to detail and preparation, but if you don't take care for those things it will show in the ring. Rave on Macho!
The biggest problem with Ric Flair's early 90s run in the WWF was that he couldn't talk about his past. He couldn't do the modern day promo where the business has already been exposed. When he came in yes they alluded to him as the real world champion. That being said Vince was still protective of his business so Flair couldn't cut true promos that would've sold his arrival and his fued with Hogan. He couldn't mention the NWA and the all the legends he had been in the ring with a beaten. In other words Flair couldn't say hey Hogan I wrestled the best and defended my title all around the world while you were protected by Vince in your little WWF bubble. Shoot interview were unheard of then so even worked shoots weren't going to happen. The biggest thing you go was when Heenan displayed the belt to Monsoon and Neidhart at the end of Superstars that time. After that the entire thing was a dud. Ric always just seemed like an out of place outsider. Plus, I think Vince and Ric always knew his heart was always in the South and that he was only going to be there at most a couple of years.
Well it looked like they were doing a Harley race w flair. Making him bring a fake belt and bragging while getting beat down by piper and Hogan and savage.
Then the rumble and I sweat we were nwa kids and we worshiped flair. And we were sick during that rumble. Every wwe legend came to the ring and destroyed flair. My friend said they were going to make sure every wwe wrestler made him Look weak. It wa s masterful storytelling and heenan was incredible. When flair knocked savage out we stood up ...
We literally yelled no no as Hogan started to throw him out...when sid threw Hogan out we began jumping up and down and celebrated like a sports team had won a championship when flair won.
And I'll tell you a secret we had it on video tape and watched it til the tape broke.... the fans cheered too when he won
I think Hart underrates himself on his look and his promo ability. There's no question in my mind he was 9 in appearance, a 10 promo in the mid-90s, and a 10 wrestler.
When he came up, Bret was probably a 5 in appearance and a 1 or 2 promo. He's living proof that guys can work at their skills for a number of years and really have it pay off for them.
Yeah, that's exactly how I'd grade him through the years as well.
Yea, Prime Bret Hart with his black leather jacket with those pink shoulder tassels, long dark hair and reflective pink sunglasses was a 10 out of 10 look for younger viwers. He looked cooler than anyone else in that era at that time (besides maybe the Legion Of Doom).
J Crash first, stop saying “Stan”, you sound like an idiot. Second, his promo skills were insane @ 96-97. I don’t think you actually watched. Why you trying to tear him down?
J Crash I hope I’m not replying to wrestling videos on YT this way as a 50 yr old
Wrestling is subjective..so your opinion may differ from someone else...
macho man: 10/10/10
I agree 100%...and can't think of anyone else who deserves that score.
+Blind Terry Tucci Honestly agree. He was the complete wrestler.
+Nick R Agreed! Kurt Angle and Curt Hennig are up there too IMHO.
+Nick R Macho Man is the real greatest wrestler
+Nick R Shawn Michaels 10/10/10
I could never put my finger on why I didn’t think Flair was “the greatest wrestler of all time” but Bret summed it up very well.
It’s true that Flair didn’t evolve and had pretty much the same match for 30 years. This is coming from a Flair fan btw! He’s just not on the same level as The Rock, Hogan, Shawn Michaels Etc for me.
Flair's look.. The Suits, the Robes, when you saw him he was different. His mic skills off the charts. He was built and he could actually wrestle. The fans loved him and he went into other territories and left it better then he found it. WOOOO
Flairs body was the shits tho
@@jonjohnson1978. no it wasn’t lol
@@FunkmasterV he had loose skin that could be mistaken for cellulite in certain parts....and compared to almost everyone he faced his body was awful
@@jonjohnson1978. He didn't look great... in his 50's... AND... having different body styles goes into story-telling. Having a smaller body meant he got the sh*t beat out of him for most of the match and he had to cheat like hell. Nowadays everyone looks the same. Boring!
@@FunkmasterV again I disagre.....aew has a shit load of people who look different....joey janela, lucha brothers,omega, moxley, wardlow, sonny kiss, Derby allen,jericho though he looks a mess, mjf, cassidy, rollins, otis, orton, roman reigns, the fiend all look different
The Bret Hart match that never gets mentioned enough is WM10 against Owen! To me that might be his best. It also shows that Owen was just as good as Bret.
Owen was such a great performer. I loved watching their matches from back then. I wish that they would have pushed Owen after the screwjob with a get even angle instead of what they did.
Owen certainly was fun to watch. Almost as technically sound as Bret, and very athletic to boot.
Ric Flair may not have been the greatest wrestler of all time but he was the greatest FOR wrestling.
I will also say that Ric Flair matches tend to be very similar. Much like Hogan you seen one match you've seen them all. Although Flair matches are much more entertaining.
One final thing. a lot of people knock Bret for being a mark for himself, but one thing he does have is a respect for most of the wrestlers he worked with. He compliments Flair in this clip, but all Flair ever does in berate Bret.
TNO73 flair wrestled during a time where he wasn’t on tv every week. He basically had the same routine every night.
If people say Bret is mark for himself, fair enough...but he's right. One of my all time faves.
Waaa another flare hater Bret Hart also has the same match every night except for without doubt falling down and being entertaining and flair was the bestbecause you will go to territories where he didn't know the person and make them look great even if they sucked that's what they mean about it and Brett knows it also flair drop the title to Brett which brought in the rustling expect and not the muscled up and that was Vince McMahon plan from the beginning because he never let Ric flair be Ric flair of the nwa and screw spell check I am not rewriting it you can understand what I said
"If you've seen one Flair match you've seen them all."
To be fair, you could say the same about a fair portion of a Bret match. He always went through the exact same sequence of moves towards the end. I.dont remember the exact sequence but it included a back breaker, inverted atomic drop, russian leg sweep, forearm from the turnbuckle, then sharpshooter. He did it exactly the same, in the same order, every single time.
J Crash that’s a Bret Hart comeback, not a whole match. Every wrestler uses the same comeback, it’s their arsenal.
Bret is one of the best all time wrestlers ever. If I met him I tell him thank you for all the great tag matches and single matches. A true champion
He was at a comicon type thing in my city last year and I'm so mad I didn't go
Bret is such a nice guy. Very level headed, intelligent, his manner of talking is very calming. I love his stories. He looks a lot like Stu. Bret is a great wrestler, I love watching his matches.
Love this. Really thoughtful questions, and really thoughtful answers.
How about Bret Hart and his "five moves of doom" that seemed to appear in every match in sequence?
1. inverted atomic drop, 2. Russian legsweep, 3. backbreaker, 4. elbowdrop from the second rope, and 5. Sharpshooter.
Heel Bret had that ring post figure 4. That was just sick!
All wrestlers have a set of moves iconic to them that will be used in almost every match they have. But you have to also look at all the creative ways he would come up to setup the sharpshooter or to score a pin from an inside cradle, a small package, crucifix position to even using Lucha pins like victory rolls or even La Magistrale!
I mean I can only watch flair flip the turnbuckle and drop to the mat so many times
I found it interesting how Bret used this "rating system." I think that he "rated" his abilities with honesty and self-reflection. Having met Bret, he proved to me to be a genuine person. I remember him saying, "My father taught us humility, not humiliation" from his book, "My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling;" it's obvious from this video that Stu did indeed teach him that.
I met Owen hart in fresno ca at fashion fair mall. Maybe 97 ? He bought an autographed Mickey mantle baseball and had it shipped to him from the card collectible shop. He signed autographs for some promo before. He was so nice to my friend and I we saw him inside so I went I. To buy some baseball cards just to have an reason to be by him. Not sure if we talked ? ? ?can't remember I was 13 maybe..I know he took an pic with us. And was nice. But far as conversation..Can't really remember. But it stood out how genuine of an man he was. He also had these big red and white converse ball sneakers. I remember that. And he smiled an lot. They were obviously raised right in the dungeon
BH and UW have that same blank look in these post career interviews. they just look like theyve seen it all. I appreciate these champs and what really went on in that crazy world. Respect
ric flair is way underrated btw, he made so many faces look good by putting them over
Underrated? In terms of in ring ability and gimmick, he's the most name dropped, respected wrestler of all time. Flair and HBK.
hbk is the greatest in ring performer of all time. if he wrestled in the 70s he would of been 30 time champion like ric flair.
Macho Man
Look- 10
Mic- 10
Wrestle- 9
Macho could be argued as the best all time!
I don’t think it’s much of an argument. I believe he definitely was!
Realistically his mic skills were like a 5 or 6, he was absolutely capable of a good/great promo but most times he said absolute nonsense
Macho Man
Mic 10*10
Wrestle: 9
Look: 10*infinity
OH YEAH!
Ref is my favorite of all time, and Savage is second. Like the rest of you said, Savage wasn’t lacking in any area whatsoever.
and to add that, if you also add the category of popularity/how much of a "draw" someone has been, it becomes even more apparent. since the majority of other all-time in ring greats weren't mega stars (pun intended).
Ric Flair
Ring Skill 8/10
Look 8/10
Promo WOO/10
Flair's look was a 6/10 at best. He had saggy tits his entire career.
@@maximinus5151 This, i think some people are getting confused on the look category, goldberg,hogan, warrior would be the 10s in looks, the big guys.
Senatus Populusque Americanus Wrong from 77 till the plane crash he was chiseled remember the doctors told him he’d probably never walk again he broke his back and still became one of the all-time greats
Ric had a terrible body
@@zirsqlid6343 He didn't have a traditional WWF huge muscle body, but he also wasn't fat like Honky Tonk Man.
See folks that don’t have Bret in their goat debate on wrestling should watch this! He holds nothing back and holds himself to the same standard! True class and sportsmanship!
In my opinion, Hitman was the best in ring performer in the game.
Always thought Owen was a better technical wrestler than Bret but bret got the push
Owen could keep up with Bret but Owen was more of a high spot performer. I liked Bret more as a kid but now like Owen more as an adult. Owen was incredibly clever with his mic and promos as well
Flair wrestled 20 years, twice on saturday and sunday and never took a day off....so he is not just the greatest wrestler of all time, he is the greatest athlete of all time in any genre.
Bret was a purest he could make anyone look like a star in the ring he was the greatest
Chris jericho
Look: 8
Promos: 9
In ring ability: 9.5
Promos are without a doubt 10 for Chris Jericho
I mean, which era? Jericho has had a million looks, and has even changed his promo and in-ring style a few times. The thing that makes him great is his ability to reinvent himself for the time and stay relevant, so ratings like this for someone over their entire career aren't always useful, because they don't take stuff like that into consideration
Jericho has never stirred me. I don't know why. He's had a stunning career, and his accolades and achievements speak for themselves, but he just never had that special little something for me.
Bret Hart was one of the greatest storytellers in the history of the business between the ropes. He wasn't as good at it outside the ring. Ric Flair could sell tickets on his storytelling outside the ring. And people were so wanting to watch him get his ass kicked, that it didn't matter what he did in the ring, as long as he kept the story going.
Ding Ric Flair for his in ring stuff all you want. He put asses in seats. Jake Roberts did even less in the ring, and people went nuts. The Rock had about five moves, never went to the top rope, and had a standing elbow drop for a finisher. But it was how he did it that mattered.
Thanks for the upload!
Looking at todays wrestlers i can't find anyone that is close to wrestling the way Bret did. You always hear people compare wrestlers to HBK, Steve Austin, The Rock etc, but never hear anyone compare anyone to Bret.
Bret's deadpan delivery is epic. Really adds to his disgust. Love it. 😁
I would say Hogan was 9/10 look, 10/10 promo, and 5/10 in the ring. Go watch him vs Fuginami. Bret was 9/10 look (awesome ring gear and overall appearance), 4/10 promo, and 10/10 in the ring. Ric was 10/10 look (those robes and that hair), 10/10 promo, and 7/10 in the ring. All three are legends in their own way and I don't consider any to be significantly better than the other overall.
zackvanhalen Hogan overall was maybe 5/10 but Hogan in the WWF was much less.
+st r Hogan is the sort of person that puts success over self perfection when he day bued in 1979 he literally was a head taller than the standard pro wrestler of the time and was far more muscular and he spammed that to success hes was also a good actor how ever he saw no need to improve his in Ring ability.
*****
Indeed. And I have a hard time believing that the WWF forced him to limit his moveset. They probably said: "We don't need that fancy stuff." and he went along with that. But would they have really told off or even punished their biggest star for doing more than five moves?
st r Maybe because that 80's era was more about gimmiked stereo types than move sets since the were trying to make it look like a real fight I mean hulk hogan invented the lariot and the clothes line which were massive departures from the standard pro wrestling of the time
hulk hogan is not that good looking
Love all these 15 year old WWE marks who don't understand why Ric Flair was great.
The ric flair character can’t be in wwe now. The rich arrogant ladies man wouldn’t pass.
I’m 36 and ric flair’s repetitive matches suck.
Same spots every match and sometimes multiple times in the same match.
Lame.
Im 36 and did not think Flair was great...Bret hits the nail on the head here when he says Flair is stuck in the 70's
@@bethlarson7144 Nice comment. What are you, six?
Glorified Truth older than you and that still doesn’t change flair being a rump ranger
Chris Benoit and Bret Hart match was one of the greatest I've ever seen. It was in memory of Owen Hart
I love all these old wrestling stories
I love Bret but come on man? The 1992 Royal Rumble was the greatest rumble of all time and large in part due to Flair.
He is right though about himself...Bret never injured anybody. And Bret has the most 5 star matches in the WWF from Dave Meltzer...who rarely gives 5 star matches. That tells you a lot about him. Bret winning the title was a turning point in wrestling and it forever changed the business. If it weren't for Bret, we would've had Hogan main eventing all the way through to WM 14.
I would agree that 1992 is the best Rumble, and that it's because of Flair - and on a side note Jake Roberts' psychology where Savage was concerned. It was not, however, because of Flair's *wrestling*.
Roguemember a wrestler who don't hurt other wrestlers is always a 10 in work fare as my judging.
Roguemember "come on man? The 1992 Royal Rumble was the greatest rumble of all time and large in part due to Flair."
When did Bret dispute this?
+st r because of the steroids scandal
alex kanyima
What was "because of the steroids scandal"? You are making no sense.
Flair in his prime (1979 - 88) was a 10-promo 10-Look 8-wrestler = 28
10 look?
@@ZBR_ProXP i.redd.it/yysoranpdb211.jpg
Flair looked out of shape his whole career.
As soon as he took the rope off, he looked like a 45 year old man his whole career.
I give him credit. He's not one of those guys who goes, Yeah, I'm the man. 10/10/10.
Bret forgot longevity. Body of work. Flair smashed everybody there. WOOOOH
Macho Man was never a 10!! I'm talking about space mountain!! The Macho Man is beyond any 10!! OOOHHH YEEAAAHHH!!! dig it!!
Gibson Weasel The Macho King Randy Savage ooooooh yeaaaaaah dig it!!!
Using Bret's scale/format for a few of the top pro wrestlers
Bret Hart
Look: 8
In-Ring Ability: 10
Promos: 6 (mainly for his 97 work)
Ric Flair
Look: 9
In-Ring Ability: 8
Promos: 10
Hulk Hogan
Look: 10
In-Ring Ability: 4 (mainly for his work in Japan and carrying Warrior to a classic)
Promos: 8
Stone Cold Steve Austin
Look: 8
In-Ring Ability: 8
Promos: 10
Shawn Michaels
Look: 7
In-Ring Ability: 10
Promos: 8
The Rock
Look: 8
In-Ring Ability: 7
Promos: 10
flair is a 9/10 look for you? Old and out of shape look is a good thing? Also 10/10 promos? LOL for real?
I'm obviously talking about Flair in his prime when it comes to his look, not today. In his prime in the 80's his physique was solid. And there's more to a wrestler's "look" than just their physique. It also includes their outfit/costume, and other distinctive physical characteristics. Flair had the whole 80's playboy look going with the suits, the expensive robes, the long blonde hair. He stood out among all the other wrestlers. That and a solid physique are why he gets a 9/10. Bret Hart is in the same boat. His physique was solid, but his outfit with the black and pink pants and leather jacket and sunglasses gave him a very distinct look. I'd also give him an 8/9 for look. And yes Flair definitely get a 10/10 for promos. Even today he can still cut a helluva promo. He's in the top 3 ever in promo work with Rock and Piper.
I think you are giving too many guys 10/10 at promos. The only guy that is 10/10 at promos is Jake Roberts, that's the bar and Flair/Rock/Austin don't come close.
Freddyphelp I'd argue Stone Cold at his peak was a 10/10/9. While he was never the best at promos, for a while he had the audience hanging on his every word (plus he began the era of catchphrases). And he was an incredible worker in the ring.
spsawyer22 I don't think anybody would score 29/30 tbh. Stone Cold was solid in all 3 categories but I wouldn't say he was a 10 in any of them. Also I'm not sure starting the era of catchphrases is a good thing, probably should be docked points for that.
His rating system is great. And he’s right. His mic work in 97 was his best. He had awesome back and forth moments with Michaels and Austin throughout the year and that in ring interview earlier in 1997 with McMahon where he threatened to quit the company was huge to help kickstart the Attitude era. It really sucks he went to WCW that hear. So many great matches and feuds that he and us fans missed out on.
Ric is the greatest! He could work he could draw and earn that's a champion!
I know people like to rip on Bret due to his ego and tendency to not give people credit they deserve but what he's saying isn't bullshit. The whole "Best there is..." bit isn't something he pulled out of his ass. You had people like Monsoon and Ventura saying he was the best in the WWF as early as 1984! Can anyone name a botch in a Bret Hart match that was HIS fault? I sure as hell can't. Bret, HBK, Benoit, and Dynamite are the best workers of all time. Period.
He always gives credit where it's due, and actually spells out his criteria. Innovators score best, as do guys who can have a good match with anyone - whether they're 500 pounds, or 7 foot tall etc. - and make them look good.
+Blind Terry Tucci No. Bret and Perfect were the safest there was in the ring. Nash, Hall, and Austin rave about Bret never getting anyone hurt.
Which is one of the reasons he always deserved the accolades he received. The guy really was "The Excellance of Execution". Besides not botching moves, there wasn't a single thing he did in the ring that came off as a work ...well, as more of a work than it already was, of course.
+Blind Terry Tucci this is true. However his moveset was pretty safe: russian leg sweep, sharpshooter, safe things to pull. He wasn't kicking and not being a big guy it wasn't easy for him to hurt someone with a punch.
Shawn was pulling way riskier moves, jumping from ladders, falling from the hell in a cage, moonsault outside of the ring through a table with Ric Flair. Or stuff that Jeff Hardy pulls.
Shawn had flashier spots but Bret created more moves, had more original finishes, and put together move exchanges that still can't be topped...and he did pull risky stuff and put himself in danger, as well. He broke his sternum when he wrestled Dino Bravo but continued to do his famous Irish whip to corner spot, he wrestled in ladder matches 10 years before him and Shawn in '92...Bret was careful and only retired because he had to while Shawn forced himself into early retirement from being careless a few too many times. I respect the guy to no end but it does take away from his legacy.
Macho Man is prob the only guy who could be a sure candidate for 10/10/10.
Mr Perfect
Austin
Vince beimg made at savage and flair for not doing the match his way....
Vince let the proffessionals wrestle please
Sainandan Ramakrishnan Kenny Omega
He was Mr. Wrestlemania before Michaels even dreamt up the term
In my opinion two guys come to mind for 10s across the board. That's Shawn Michaels and Macho Man. There's more I'm probably missing but those two guys immediately come to mind.
Bret Hart
Looks: 7/10
Wrestler: 9.5/10
Promo: 7/10
Ric Flair
Looks: 8/10
Wrestler: 7.5/10
Promo: 10/10
Comparing Brer Hart and Ric Flair on looks it's pretty equivalent. Their physique were pretty equal. But Flair's robes and suits gives him the edge.
Comparing their wrestling ability, Bret Hart was one of the best at telling a story in the ring. He and Eddie Guerrero are my two favorites when it comes to telling a story. But Ric Flair was no slouch. I loved it when Ric would "get frustrated" and crawl out of the ring pretend to head to the backstage area, or he'd start yelling at the fans, etc... It was entertaining. But Bret is correct, Ric would tend to do the same shtick every match. Whereas Bret would come up with new ideas to tell the story. So definitely Bret wins this easily.
When it comes to promos, Ric was one of the best. He was always entertaining on the mic. He had a lot of charisma. I always enjoyed Ric's promos. Bret started off pretty weak on promos. They weren't bad but they weren't anything memorable either. Just a typical promo. Once he became the top guy in the WWE he began to cut much better promos. But still, Flair gets the win here too.
Bret comments that Flair wasn't the greatest wrestler, but I think Flair was one of the most entertaining wrestlers to grace the ring. The only negative i see with Flair was that his matches tended to be redundant, but they were still entertaining.
Hogan:
Look: 9 out of 10
Wrestling skills: 3 out of 10
Mic: 8 out of 10
3 is too nice
i think zero is enough .. he was a shitty wrestler
"How they picked me I'm not sure."
In his head: Because I'm the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be.
In actuality: Pretty damn accurate.
SummerSlam Bulldog vs Bret. That's why they picked him.
@@Sacrilege83 yeah, Bret deserved it since he called the entire match. Him, Hbk, and Stone Cold Steve Austin helped made wrestling relavent in the 90's
I understand Bret's view on Flair and I can respect anybody who says he is the GOAT. Take the 1992 title win for Bret as an example. That match is ridiculously watchable. Bret is solid, as usual, and makes every move count. You can see where the match is going. On the other hand, every movement of Flair is enjoyable and adds to the excitement of the match. Bret liked to plan his matches before he went out. Ric didn't need to do that because he was indeed a flamboyant character and everybody knew it was going to be a fun match. With Bret, he would make sure the excitement of the match would keep building because he couldn't rely on his character to garner the enthusiasm.
Just for the record, Bret is the GOAT as far as I am concerned. Greatest worker and had the "it" factor.
Enjoyed hearing these comments. That's why the NWA in the70s and 80s was so good to watch. Their wrestlers looked like athletes an were athletes. Nice to know someone like Bret Hart thought the same way.
Jumping Jeff Farmer: 10/10 Look, 11/10 Promo, 10/10 Wrestling Ability. 31. GOAT
Yip!
The 92 RR is widely considered to be the best RR of all time..;)
this is the best interview I've seen not including Jim Cornette. Bret is super honest, and very self-aware.
I disagree. I think he is bitter and I never cared and definitely never paid because he was in a match
Best overall score : Randy Savage
Look : 10/10
Promos : 10/10
In-Ring : 8/10
Total : 28/30.
Hahahahaha you don’t k is shiy
@@bethlarson7144 What language are you speaking?
Bullshit jake snake ass
He was a 9 or 10 in the ring
I feel like if you've seen one Ric Flair match you've seen them all (aside from who he's working with). You get lots of chops, maybe a butterfly suplex, a chop block, a shin breaker, flip spot in the corner and a figure four. That's pretty much it.
it's because it's different eras. Go back and watch a Bruno Sammartino match. Dude would sell out arenas (especially MSG), but had a very limited set of moves when compared to the wrestlers of today or even the early 2000s. Flair was the same way.
Sure it's great that the luchadors came into WCW and WWF during the wars and changed the style of wrestling to what we see today, but the majority of the wrestlers in the 80s and even early to mid 90s were not high flyers. Lots of slams, rest holds, and suplexes were not just common, but they were the standard. That's not saying there weren't wrestlers who couldn't fly early on. But it was more common to see a wrestler with Flair's moveset than it was to see somebody like HBK.
Same with Bret: Mat wrestling, flying elbow, grapevine takedown, Sharpshooter.
@@m.k.v.g.7203 exactly true. Bret could also get very formulaic and sometimes he does sound like a hypocrite. Back then it was also about self preservation. These guys wanted to max out their careers. Feed their families. Everybody had their bread and butter moves that they know are safe and dependable and the fans still mark out for them.. You mix things up over time. But I mean who could wrestle as Dynamite for 30+ years. Impossible. Your body can't take it. Bret and Flair and Hogan weren't throwing themselves into steel railings every day night after night
brets promos in 1997 were a 10 ! he was the best as a heel it brung out the best out of him
I absolutely love Bret's shothousery 😂😂 my all time favourite though. Him Vs Austin wm13 turned me into a fan of wrestling
Macho Man was 10/10 in every category.
Mach was a great character but pretty Average bell to bell. He was one of my favorites for his Era tho
Macho man was all 10s in the 80s to early 90s. In WCW however those numbers started to drop as he got older. He was always great on the Mic & in promos but not so much in the ring, especially in late 90s WCW when he had 'Gorgeous George' as a valet!!
loved the guy but no way for me, promo 9, in ring 8, look 8, i would not give any wrestlers 3 10 scores.
Mach was 10 when he have the hat and the shades, but when he take off the thing he looked old fart
Bret gets an 8 on looks, 10 on ability, but on his promos during the Hart Foundation run I give him a 7.5 but on average his whole career 5 on mic. Flair gets a 10 on gimmicks and looks and a 7 on body looks in his prime. On mic Flair gets an 11 on a 10 scale. Flairs ability in his prime 1980-1994 gets a 9 IMO. I know that's a controversial statement among roughly half of all wrestling fans but I give him that for two reasons. For well over a decade Flair wrestled hour long matches night after night, very few wrestlers ever did that. That and some of the best matches I've ever seen were between Flair and Ricky Steamboat. That's before the mid 90's and beyond of course. That's a great system of judging a wrestler Bret Hart came up with IMO!
Ric could walk into a promotion and carry it on his shoulders. In the dying days of WCW one of the high spots was literally just Flair walking out to the ring and doing a promo on anything for 10 minutes.
I found his in ring style to be awesome. 70's rule.
I got to see Flair in person sereral times and he was pretty awesome, I thought. He was undoubtedly best as a heel (one of the greatest of all time) but he was a damn good baby face as well. His matches with Ricky Steamboat are, arguably, some of the greatest ever!
Hart was awesome, too..no doubt about that. But, I think he may have been a little too hard in his critique of the Nature Boy. Flair also had the ability to make an average wrestler look spectacular. A definite skill in pro wrestling that is underrated, imho.
I was a little kid when I saw Flair winning the 1992 royal rumble and he looked like an out of shape old man BACK THEN! He stood out like a sore thumb in a ring full of ripped guys.
The only real talent Flair had was doing promos and even then, he had a SPEECH IMPEDIMENT.
thank u!!! I get so tired of people swearing ric is the greatest of all time. smh. he could never ever wrestle to me. he just had "flair" which made him who he was. great talker n gimmick.
keon mcintosh Tell me in your opinion what makes a great wrestler?flair scores high in every category.
Mista Chuck
LOL flair fanboys are almost as pathetic as Hogan fanboys.
We've already spelled out reasons why he isn't a great wrestler you fucking idiot. Learn to read.
Mista Chuck all around wrestling like Bret Hart, thats what. Flair had "flair" hence the name. He was a playboy typa character who had a great gimmick n terms of being a limosine ridin, jet flyin son of a gun. always had great woemn walking him to the ring with the shiny robe n livin the high class lifestyle. but n terms of n ring skills, u know n i know he was no better than any other wrestler. take away the chop, knee drop n him flippin over the turnbuckle evefry match or fallin down face first 2 da mat, n u have nothin more than a pretty boy character who was designed to be the poster child 4 a company making his opponents look good by putting them over. every match he had was da same ol thang. 2b a 16 time champ also means u lost 16 times 2. js.
Mista Chuck
i Like flair but he doesnt have the look or athleticism.
Interviewer: Asks question about Ric Flair
Brett Hart: Talks about himself for 10 minutes.
Great Interview!!
Zack, tell us all about the time you saved Jessie from those damned caffeine pills
On an eight minute segment? I hope you got more intelligent within the past two years lol
Bret's mic skills were at their peak circa 1996-1997
Flair ‘78: Look 7, Promo 9, Ability 9
You’re too realistic. You need to be a mark and give your fav wrestler a 10 in every category.
Brett left one key thing out of his equation. The ability to put butts in seats. Hogan could wrestle he chose not to. he was trained and broke in by some of the best in the business. He didn’t “wrestle” like Brett because he was a 6’6” 300+ guy and fans don’t want to see big guys wrestle like small guys. If only the big guys nowadays actually fought like big guys. Flair was a genius in the ring and on the mic. And he did what really mattered in any entertainment business. He put butts in seats. Brett was a genius in the ring (accept for that chest bump he liked to take in the corner. I mean it was cool the first few times but after a while it’s like dude just turn around.) but he couldn’t put buts in seats unless he was in Europe or Canada.
I think Bret was severely missing the 4th category and that's "Attitude/Work Ethic". You need the right type of Work Ethic and Attitude in order to succeed in the business. Scott Hall was a perfect example of a guy who excelled in all 3 categories, but failed in the 4th one. Razor Ramon: Look (9/10), Promo (8/10), Workrate (8/10). He was tremendous, but his demons & personal problems held him down.
Work Ethic?? ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS??? LOL. He wrestled EVERY NIGHT for DECADES. Attitude? Not as great. But to question his work ethic... 🙄🙄🙄
@@jameskennedy7307 Bit of an exaggeration if we're talking about Scott Hall. His work ethic was certainly better back in the day than it was, say, in his later WCW days, but there was only ever one year in his career (1994) he had more than 200 matches - hardly "EVERY NIGHT for DECADES."
@@chrisninety1 hahaha I was talking about Bret 😂😂
@@jameskennedy7307 Oops. In that case, ignore me.
@@chrisninety1 😁😁😁 no problem haha. No WONDER we were in such disagreement!!!
In Bret’s eyes only he is the best
I think his promos are perfectly fine. His stuff with Razor Ramon and just countless others USA vs Canada too yeah Bret is the GOAT.
Randy Savage
Look 10
Promo 10
In- Ring 10
Boom
Yeah
Also drawing power 10
Mental health -100
That's only 30 out of 100... .bang?
Mr.Perfect was better, bigger and everybody's best opponent even Brett Hart's.....bang!