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Bret Hart On WWE Wasting Talent

12K views 103 replies 73 participants last post by  Defei 
#1 ·
Bret talked among other thing but one thing really interesting is about WWE Wasting Talent...
WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart spoke with Rob McNichol of the UK Sun this week about his return to Montreal on Monday for RAW and WWE wasting great talent by focusing on making them “television stars” instead of world class pro wrestlers. Here’s what he said about:

Returning To Montreal After The Montreal Screwjob: “It was a big night,” Hart said. “I knew it was going to be, because any time I’ve gone back to Montreal for anything, it’s always been emotional. It was fitting, going full circle. I think it was important to do. I think it was more important than WWE or anyone realized.

“I think when they called me it was more to be there for Pat Patterson Appreciation Night than anything else — I love Pat and I’m a big fan of his — but it had more significance to me than that. The Montreal Screwjob was a famous, historical meltdown that in a lot of ways was my finest hour.

“WWE failed me on that day and buried the knife as far as they could. I think the little fisticuffs that happened afterwards with Vince was my finest hour. It’s not so much the physicality of it, but more that I stood my ground as a Canadian and as a professional.

“That reaction from the fans told me that I did do the right thing. These people wouldn’t feel the way they do right now and have that emotion 15 years later if I had done the wrong thing that day.

WWE Wasting Quality Talent: “They have some great wrestlers, and Tyson Kidd is as schooled as they get. Technically and mentally – as far as wrestling psychology, moves, timing – Tyson Kidd is maybe one of the best in the world,” Hart said. “There are a lot of wrestlers in that company that have not been used properly. Brodus Clay is a guy that when I first saw how he moved and how skilled he was as a big 300-pounder, and now I see him with the girls and he’s just a cartoon character. Whoever thought of that should be taken out the back and shot.
what Bret said is so true...today Product is so PG like back in 80's. Look at Bryan right now, he supposed to be on Main Event and because of Kids he job out to Sheamus on smackdown who is over with kids but with IWC/Non-casual fans find him boring. how many Kids watching WWE these days? i think most money comes from is from IWC/Non-casual where they spent the most and now Buyrates-attendance-ratings decrease...so much for PG.

from what i hear Mark Henry Hall of Pain character suppose to be Brodus Clay who came with that idea but WWE put it on Henry...
 
#33 · (Edited)
I can definitely see how someone could find Bret Hart's matches boring.
- His matches were usually pretty slow paced, a lot of armbars or other submission moves that you know aren't going to go anywhere
- especially against larger wrestlers, he tended to work specific body parts, such as the leg, which definitely isn't that exciting (wow a leg kick for the 20th time, that was awesome :rolleyes:)
- he loved to sell... like 2/3rds of all his matches consist of him writhing in pain on the ground. It is another reason his matches are slow paced
- His matches are very formulaic.

Not everyone is a fan of technical wrestling. I can see how someone who likes faster paced matches finding Bret's style pretty boring.

That being said, I do think he threw the best worked punches of all time and always appreciated that
 
#52 ·
This basically summaries my opinion.

Technical wrestling at its purest is effectively trying to accurately recreate a real fight scenario, which is interesting to watch from an analytic point of view (Oh, that leg is taking a lot of punishment which will restrict multiple potential moves) but wont be as memorable as throwing a person through an announce desk. Not dissing either, my list of favourite fights would be comprised of both technical matches, power matches and spot monkey matches.

As to the topic at hand, yeah, talent underutilized but WWE are getting better what with their massive amount of TV times now. Though as much as I like Kidd, I feel Bret was over-promoting his product there.
 
#11 ·
Whoever the idiot was that said Bret's matches were boring shouldnt even be on a wrestling forum, because he has no idea what professional wrestling is. Bret matches are maybe the best in WWE history, and certainly rank up there with anyone else in the companys history. And to that other moron who said Bret almost put them out of business, read a book you hick. He did the opposite, he carried Vince's ass through steroid scandals and horrible storyline and gimmicks. Jesus, you kids are fucking retards.
 
#5 · (Edited)
The old man is delusional. Tyson Kidd? Really? The guy is definition of bland. Very good worker but absolutely no charisma whatsoever. I guess bret wouldnt know anything about charisma since he never had any. 90% of his matches put people to sleep.

As for Henry and Brodus, no one knows if the hall of pain gimmick would have worked with Brodus. He had the monster look and also the talent but he unfortunate that henry already pulled it off.
 
#6 ·
The old man is delusional. Tyson Kidd? Really? The guy is definition of bland. Very good worker but absolutely no charisma whatsoever. I guess bret wouldnt know anything about charisma since he never had any. 90% of his matches put people to sleep.

As for Henry and Brodus, no one knows if the hall of pain gimmick would have worked with Brodus. He had the monster look and also the talent but he unfortunate that henry already pulled it off.
 
#7 ·
I don't really know if you can say WWE really wastes talent as much as they did say 2-3 years ago when it was the John Cena show (yeah it still kinda is, but to a lesser extent). I mean now you have guys like ADR, Sheamus, Punk, and Bryan as solidified main eventers with guys like Barrett, Rhodes, Ziggler, Ryback, and Sandow waiting in the wings (all of which are without a doubt heading towards main event status) so you can't really say WWE's not moving utilizing talent, but you could probably make a case for them not doing it as effectively as they could. Just look how Barrett's been treated up until now.



Pretty much. Clay debuting as manufactured monster heel #239 wouldn't have gotten him far as few can pull that off as a debut gimmick. Heel's are only successful when there's people to hate on them and what better way to do that than to build Clay a large following like he has now and then turn him at his peak causing his former fans against him. Turns out much better in the long run.

The old man is delusional. Tyson Kidd? Really? The guy is definition of bland. Very good worker but absolutely no charisma whatsoever. I guess bret wouldnt know anything about charisma since he never had any. 90% of his matches put people to sleep.

As for Henry and Brodus, no one knows if the hall of pain gimmick would have worked with Brodus. He had the monster look and also the talent but he unfortunate that henry already pulled it off.
:lmao :lmao
 
#4 ·
The hall of pain gimmick really sychronized with henry's wsm, and i'm glad that he got a main event run since he'll be gone soon. However, BRodous still has time for a gimmick change and Me run
 
#54 ·
Not necessarily true. Chris Benoit was never exceptional on the mic. He got over pretty much on his wrestling skill alone.
 
#20 ·
WWE Wasting Quality Talent: “They have some great wrestlers, and Tyson Kidd is as schooled as they get. Technically and mentally – as far as wrestling psychology, moves, timing – Tyson Kidd is maybe one of the best in the world,” Hart said. “There are a lot of wrestlers in that company that have not been used properly. Brodus Clay is a guy that when I first saw how he moved and how skilled he was as a big 300-pounder, and now I see him with the girls and he’s just a cartoon character. Whoever thought of that should be taken out the back and shot.
The bolded is one of the smartest things Bret ever said in his life
 
#23 ·
Anyone who thinks Bret was boring in the ring and that he wasn't loved by the fans is seriously stupid.

As for his points, it's ironic really because WWE seem to be at least trying now instead of a few years ago when they thought Batista, Jericho, Edge, HBK, Triple H, Cena etc would be around forever and never bothered saving for a rainy day. Mainly, they have to try but when the storylines are that uninspiring, well...Punk has turned into a generic arrogant heel, this current gimmick has nothing on his previous gimmicks of self-righteous and obnoxious straight-edger and the pipe bomb guy. Del Rio is about as exciting as watching paint dry, Bryan is doing a good job but he's played more for laughs now instead of letting the humour flow naturally and it's all a bit of a mess quite frankly.

I disagree with Bret on Brodus though. We've already had Henry, Tensai, Kane and Show as monster heels in the last eighteen months. It's a played out gimmick.
 
#35 ·
Kids today have no idea of what Bret Hart was back in the early '90s. I know Bret deserves all the whining insults and should stop talking about the past so much, but why do people always question his wrestling ability in all Bret Hart threads. The man was a phenomenal performer in the ring. I agree he wasn't the most charismatic on the mic. But he was the best wrestler in the company when he was around. Anyone who thinks his ring work was boring doesn't have any idea what a good match is all about.
 
#36 ·
Most of Bret Hart's matches were the same, but he had a good/great match with just about anybody he worked with. He was a great storyteller, and seller. He wasn't the best on the mic, even he can tell you that. I enjoy Bret's matches to this day and every one of his opponents were better off after they worked with Bret.
 
#43 ·
Bret is right honestly. As if the matches weren't short enough, once they switched to the 3 hour format and started weighing the show down with endless recaps, commercials, product placement, etc... I lost interest in it. You'd think they could find time for multiple matches that can run 10 minutes or longer, but instead it's more crap.

They have some very talented wrestlers like Kidd, who should actually have programs in the midcard, but they don't use them. They stick them on Superstars.
 
#46 ·
LOL someone posted something stupid and this thread has now 5 pages with off-topic. If a troll posts here that Stone Cold was a jobber in the Attitude Era would you waste your time trying to convince him or would you just ignore him?
SMH how some people are easily trolled
 
#48 ·
I will be the first to admit, Bret hart was slightly before my time. But I have taken the time to go back and watch his matches, I've also read through his book.

When I was younger, yes sure, Bret hart was very boring to me. Because as a child and a teenager, I was more interested in the characters and the storylines. But once you get past the stage of "Wrestling was still real" and learn of the technical side of wrestling, that is when I began to appreciate Bret hart as a technical wrestling. I admit, he is not the most charismatic performer, he's just a great in ring wrestler.

His Match against Austin at WM is one of my all time favorites, along with his matches against Mr Perfect. Whilst Bret does moan...a lot, and after reading his book, I couldn't always stomach the Hart families "We are wrestling royalty" Attitude, even Natalya said that on Colt Cabana pod cast. And before I get flamed to hell and back by some mark, it's just my opinion. I'm not knocking that fact that Bret isn't a great performer, it's just his moaning gets in my nerves. He wasn't the first wrestler to get screwed by Vince and he won't be the last.
 
#49 ·
Tyson Kidd is a great wrestler but thats all he is. Same with Drew Mcintyre. They need a personality to make it in the industry. Look at Miz for example, I dont like the guy, but no one can deny he has somehow managed to establish himself through hard work.
 
#51 ·
This young generation is so corny......for some reason they're obsessed with constantly talking out their asses and expressing strong opinions about things that happened before they were born. And I have no idea why.


You won't find me telling people who are older than me and were actually there, that Harley Race was better than Billy Graham or some shit. Why? Because I wasn't there, and have no idea who was better. It's before my time, and I can comprehend the concept of not talking out my ass and having an uninformed, worthless opinion about EVERYTHING. Stick to talking about Kofi Kingston and the shit that is of your own time, you little turd nuggets, and shut the fuck up when grown folks are talking about things that they actually know about.


Rant over.
 
#58 ·
Hey idiot, don't you find it funny you rant about me being uninformed and not knowing what I'm talking about and then start spouting off about me and my age, when you clearly don't know either. Chill out! You're calling me young and talking about "shut the fuck up when grown folks are talking" but you're the one acting like a child. You can't even make your point with cursing. Its pathetic.
 
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