Home Video Classics Review: Bret “Hit Man” Hart

Tomás Cunha
Apr 13
6 min read

Updated: Apr 14

Welcome to my first review of WWF Home Video Classics! Today we start off with Bret Hart and we’re going to look back at some of his matches and see if they’re worth watching or if they’re worth being forgotten about. Let’s roll!

1. Bret Hart vs. Jerry Lawler

This was a dark match from a Wrestling Challenge taping that took place on September 29th 1993 in Portland, Maine. This was in the midst of the deeply personal Jerry Lawler vs Hart Family feud. This was a very by the numbers match, with both men executing their familiar roles. Bret was on defense throughout the match while Lawler drew heat from the crowd. In the middle of the bout, Lawler pinned Bret by hitting him with his crown after a referee bump, but unfortunately for him, the match was restarted after another referee ran down to tell referee Tim White how Lawler won the match. After the restart, Bret hit his traditional comeback moves and won with an inside cradle. Nothing special to see here.

Rating: **

2. Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels (w/ Diesel)

Always nice to watch a Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels match. This one took place on January 11th 1994 in a Wrestling Challenge TV taping in Florence, South Carolina. In contrast to the Jerry Lawler match, this one was shorter with a much faster pace. Both men wrestled a solid back and forth bout, with Michaels’ unique selling standing out here. Towards the end of the match, Shawn threw Bret to the outside of the ring, with Diesel attacking Bret and tossing him into the ring post while Shawn had the referee distracted. Looking to capitalize on this onslaught, Shawn tried executing a Piledriver on Bret before brother Owen ran down to the ring to make amends and attack the Heartbreak Kid and cause a disqualification finish. Even with the finish and time restraints, this was a pretty decent match.

Rating: **3/4

Next up, we have some highlights of memorable Bret Hart matches and career moments which included his Intercontinental Title win at Summerslam 1991 against Mr. Perfect, the first ever ladder match in WWF/E history between Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels and most importantly, his first WWF Championship win against Ric Flair in October 1992.

3. Bret Hart vs. Irwin R. Schyster

Pretty uneventful encounter here. This match took place on February 1st 1994 in White Plains, New York. The match began with the crowd constantly chanting “Irwin” which severely angered I.R.S. The chants lasted minutes and not gonna lie, they were very annoying. The story of the match was all on I.R.S. targeting Bret Hart’s left leg, which is usually Bret Hart’s go-to offense. After a devastating chinlock, Bret made a pretty uninspiring comeback while selling the damaged leg. After that, Owen Hart came down to ringside to taunt Bret (keep in mind, this was right after Owen had turned on Bret at the 1994 Royal Rumble). Owen tossed Bret into the ring, which led to Bret knocking Owen off the apron after running into the ropes and scoring the win over I.R.S with a roll up.

Rating: *3/4

Next up, we get a short Bret Hart promo where he talks about his work ethic and how he got to the top of the wrestling world after 10 long years. The Excellence of Execution talks about how you need to work hard and study wrestling as a science to conquer opponents like Yokozuna, Lex Luger and Razor Ramon.

4. Bret Hart vs. Adam Bomb (w/ Johnny Polo)

This match took place on August 31st 1993 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The match started off with Bret Hart gaining control of things before Adam Bomb took over with a big powerslam. Adam Bomb worn down Bret and after a chinlock, Bret made an exciting comeback with a red hot crowd to support it and won with a Sharpshooter. A fairly decent match here, although I preferred the Shawn Michaels bout.

Rating: **3/4

5. Bret Hart vs. Kwang (w/ Harvey Wippleman)

This match took place in Springfield, Massachusetts on February 2nd 1994. Bret started off the match by wearing down Kwang with armbars and hammerlocks. After the initial phase, Kwang took over with a big spinning heel kick. It was pretty interesting to see how Kwang’s moveset differed in comparison to his future gimmick of Savio Vega. Kwang worn down Bret with a LONG nerve pinch before Bret made his comeback and scored himself an easy win with the Sharpshooter. This was the most bland match so far. Nothing to see here unfortunately.

Rating: *1/2

Next up, Bret describes how it feels to win the WWF Championship for the second time in his career. Bret thanks his fans for supporting him throughout the ups and downs of his career and credits them for being his driving force.

Next up we get some highlights of Bret’s tremendous trilogy of matches at King of the Ring 1993. This was a pretty huge night for the Hitman as not only did he become the King of the Ring, but this also helped solidify him as the best wrestler in the world.

6. Steel Cage Match – Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels

This match took place on December 1st 1993 in a Superstars TV taping in Utica, New York. The match started off with Shawn Michaels gaining the upperhand with a cheapshot. Bret managed to counter with a big slingshot which sent Shawn face first into the steel cage. Both men then unsuccessfully attempted to escape the cage through the door. After a short rest period, Shawn tried climbing out of the cage before Bret climbed up to punch him down and send Shawn crashing into the mat. After an Irish whip, Shawn caught Bret in a sleeper hold which the Hitman successfully countered by sending Shawn head first into the cage. Both men then attempted to climb out of the cage but Michaels got his leg entangled in the cage bars, which led to Bret climbing out and winning the match. Good match here and the best one so far.

Rating: ***

7. WWF Championship – Bret Hart vs. Yokozuna (c) (w/ Jim Cornette & Mr. Fuji) (WrestleMania 10)

The only PPV match present in this tape and a pretty significant one in the career of Bret Hart. Bret came into this match having already wrestled his younger brother Owen Hart in the opening bout, in a classic for the ages, while Yokozuna came into this match having already retained his WWF Championship earlier in the night against Lex Luger. Roddy Piper was the referee to warn off possible outside interferences. The MSG crowd were well behind Bret in this one. Bret sold for Yoko throughout the match and both men were showing the effects of their previous matches. Bret made a good comeback and almost scored the win with a bulldog, which served for a really good near fall. Yokozuna took over with a belly to belly suplex and went for the Banzai Drop. Yoko lost balance in the middle rope which led to him crashing into the mat. Bret pinned Yoko and became the WWF Champion for a second time. I wasn’t a big fan of the finish. The match was alright for what it was but I preferred their Wrestlemania 9 encounter.

Rating: **1/2

To end the Coliseum video, Bret speaks about the greatest moments of his career. The Excellence of Execution talks about his critically acclaimed Summerslam 1992 match with The British Bulldog. Bret embraces his loss in that historic Wembley night, saying he gave it 100% and that his fans would always be proud of him knowing he did just that.