[Cowabunga]

"That's a dumb question man, He's Canadian like them!" That's probably what you're about to type but first read my post entirely.

Everytime WWF went to Canada Bret Hart had the pop of the night, even as a Heel in 1997. Look at Canadian Stampede, they cheered liek crazy for Bret and booed Austin even though Austin was the Face and Bret was the Heel.

And who can forget about Survivor Series 1997? The crowd was rabid when HBK walked out as champion.

The thing is, Jericho, Christian, Edge are Canadians and even if they get a pop when WWE goes to Canada they also cheer for other wrestlers and I've seen Edge and Jericho being booed in Canada before, not by the majority of the crowd but they were booed. Edge was booed in 2004 once when he was still a Face and Jericho was booed against Cena in a 2005 Raw.

It's strange how years after Survivor Series 1997 Canadians would still chant "You screw Bret!" at HBK and even Earl Hebner. I know it was not exactly a very good idea for HBK to do stupid stuff to the Canadian flag that night like simulating sexual intercourse with it, one thing is to insult Canadians in general like The Rock in 2003 but the crowd knew he wasn't being serious.

The problem is that WWE most of the times they went to Canda they'd mention the screwjob to pour more gasoline into the fire.

I just have trouble understanding these kind of things because I'm not very patriotic myself and definitely not nationalsitic at all. If a wrestler did something similar in my country I just couldn't see myself hating them for that.

SO what's with Candian fans love for Bret Hart and hatred for those involved in the screwjob? Did most Canadians see the screwjob as a personal attack to their country or something?

 

[just1988]

Bret was the first Canadian wrestling superstar, fans gravitated towards him because of where he was from. Then he had the bonus of having such a large wrestling family and being such a good wrestler. He also had a great look which will always endear you to women and children.

Davey Boy Smith shared a similar fandom from UK fans because he was our first superstar.

 

[reDREDD]

Pretty much. He was the first wrestler to come out of Canada who wasnt ashamed of it and didnt completely suck. Plus the Harts are huge there. If like if a Von Erich kid came to Dallas texas, except the Harts werent all on drugs and an overwhelming majority didnt commit suicide.


I cant remember what my point is.

 

[Cowabunga]

Bret was the first Canadian wrestling superstar, fans gravitated towards him because of where he was from. Then he had the bonus of having such a large wrestling family and being such a good wrestler. He also had a great look which will always endear you to women and children.

Davey Boy Smith shared a similar fandom from UK fans because he was our first superstar.

Sure, but I find their hatred for those involved in the screwjob a little too much, I mean Bret got over it so why don't most of them get over it as well?

 

[Kratosx23]

I don't know, I'm Canadian and I can't stand the son of a bitch.

 

[just1988]

Sure, but I find their hatred for those involved in the screwjob a little too much, I mean Bret got over it so why don't most of them get over it as well?

Because the problem is, not only was Bret their hero but HBK and Vince McMahon both held a place in the fans, so when we found out that these guys who we look up to (Shawn & Vince) would screw over out hero (Bret) we gain huge resentment and start to feel betrayed ourselves because we eld them in such high esteem.

Bret on the other hand just saw them both as colleagues so although the betrayal was upsetting for him, it wasn't the same kind of deal as how we felt.

 

[Hiplop]

i dont like him, but most canadians love him because his gimmick really was "canadians are better than everyone else, and im canadian"

and he was our first star

 

[Stinger Fan]

"That's a dumb question man, He's Canadian like them!" That's probably what you're about to type but first read my post entirely.

Everytime WWF went to Canada Bret Hart had the pop of the night, even as a Heel in 1997. Look at Canadian Stampede, they cheered liek crazy for Bret and booed Austin even though Austin was the Face and Bret was the Heel.

And who can forget about Survivor Series 1997? The crowd was rabid when HBK walked out as champion.

The thing is, Jericho, Christian, Edge are Canadians and even if they get a pop when WWE goes to Canada they also cheer for other wrestlers and I've seen Edge and Jericho being booed in Canada before, not by the majority of the crowd but they were booed. Edge was booed in 2004 once when he was still a Face and Jericho was booed against Cena in a 2005 Raw.

It's strange how years after Survivor Series 1997 Canadians would still chant "You screw Bret!" at HBK and even Earl Hebner. I know it was not exactly a very good idea for HBK to do stupid stuff to the Canadian flag that night like simulating sexual intercourse with it, one thing is to insult Canadians in general like The Rock in 2003 but the crowd knew he wasn't being serious.

The problem is that WWE most of the times they went to Canda they'd mention the screwjob to pour more gasoline into the fire.

I just have trouble understanding these kind of things because I'm not very patriotic myself and definitely not nationalsitic at all. If a wrestler did something similar in my country I just couldn't see myself hating them for that.

SO what's with Candian fans love for Bret Hart and hatred for those involved in the screwjob? Did most Canadians see the screwjob as a personal attack to their country or something?

You're comparing Brett to different kinds of wrestlers though, different eras etc. Although Edge out popped Cena when they faced eachother a couple years ago in Toronto , I think thats when Edge lost his belt and he was heel. It depends mostly on where you go in Canada.

Sure, but I find their hatred for those involved in the screwjob a little too much, I mean Bret got over it so why don't most of them get over it as well?

It took Brett a long time to get over it. Also a lot of fans are annoyed but majority just boo because its the thing to do.Like when someone cuts a promo and pauses then the crowd yells "what?"though thats not as much as it used to be these days it seems. Alot of people like to have fun with it so they go along.

 

[dxbender]

Bret was an icon for canadians when he was wrestling and was the first major star from canada.

Fans still go crazy if someone like Jericho,Edge appear in canada.


I'm sure the same thing applies for other superstars from other countries. Look at great khali, he's a huge star in india because he's the first "big wrestling star" from there. I'm sure the same might apply for other stars from other countries.

 

[PezzieCoyote]

I'm Canadian and I don't care about him. I marked for him briefly back in the mid-90s but then I noticed HBK. I still don't see what the big deal over the screw job was. Perhaps, because he went to WCW and got retired by a should-have-been jobber, having his career reduced to a punchline basically... I forget my point now. I used to hate how he would say he's a Canadian hero. I would think, no, you're not. Terry Fox is a Canadian hero. You are a wrestler with a sense of entitlement. Meh.

 

[D17]

Probably because he was the first international Canadian superstar, and is perhaps the 2nd greatest canadian wrestler of all time. If he was America he would be very well liked (not loved) by Canadians because he was awesome and very popular.

 

[wrestlingfan91]

Because if Bret Hart isn't a Canadian Legend, nobody is. He put up Classics in WWF since 85 to 97, he isthe first Legend and one of the greatest Wrestlers of all time, he always had a great connection to Fans, and to me he isgreater than anyone in Canada ever, there will nobody ever come close to Bret don't matter how good you are.

 

[LeapingLannyPoffo]

It's either Bret, Benoit or the Mountie. Which would you choose?

 

[Starbuck]

It's either Bret, Benoit or the Mountie. Which would you choose?

Or Bryan Adams or Celine Dion.

 

[radiatedrich]

He's kind of like the Canadian Hulk Hogan, only he can actually wrestle.

 

[Khalid Hassan]

Cuz we saw him grow in front of our eyes, on TV. Stampede Wrestling was huge in Canada, and we saw the progression of Bret Hart. When Stampede got folded into the WWF (at the time), we continued to cheer on our Stampede Wrestling Alumni. As he succeeded in WWF, we felt more and more proud of him. First the Tag titles, then the Intercontinental, and finally the WWF championship. We couldn't help but feel proud that one of "our guys" from "our little promotion" could ever be as big as he was for the biggest wresting company in the world.

When fans call Bret Hart "Canada's son", that's not jus cuz he's a wrestler who just happened to be Canadian. It's cuz we saw him grow as a wrestler, step-by-step from the very beginning; much like watching your own son grow up.

 

[weProtectUs]

Well in '97 he was heel because his stables gimmick was anti America but pro Canada so of course he's going to be cheered while the opposition is booed also his wrestling skill is...was top notch so with a wrestler like that representing their country they should embrace him like a legend, cause he is.

 

[JAKE LA MOTTA]

Considering that in our country talentless hacks like Cheryl Cole get labelled as heroes, I have no problem in Bret declaring himself as a Canadian hero. At least he is actually gifted at something. We seem to crave mediocrity in England.

 

[Mr Nice Guy]

I'm still wondering how Bret managed to get 4 million dollars a year out of WCW.

 

[Shady_Jake]

He was a Canadian hero. Not to mention how talented he was in the ring. @Hiplop - That was his gimmick for 1 years, not his whole career. I'm suprised by the couple Canadians in here saying they don't like him, did you guys watch wrestling during his prime?