The SmarK DVD Rant for Bret Hart: The Best There Is, The Best There Was, and The Best There Ever Will Be.
This DVD came courtesy of Rob Huner of Software Plus, so check out their website at www.shopforsoftware.com if you’re interested in picking it up.
So here’s how this is gonna work — I’ve of course been hit by endless requests for this DVD, but didn’t get the DVD until recently. I managed to watch the documentary portion previously and posted thoughts to the blog, but everyone wanted rants for the matches included, too, and I didn’t really feel like going back to take notes on the documentary portion to do the entire DVD set. So the documentary portion is going to be a guest rant by longtime reader and friend of mine Taryn Long, who covered most of what I would have written about it anyway, and then we’ll hit the matches with fresh rants for stuff I haven’t done before or haven’t done in a long time. For time reasons and for reasons of efficiency, I copied stuff where my opinions haven’t changed or where an updated version wasn’t going to be different enough to warrant a redo.
The Film
First I want to thank Scott for giving me space to rant. My better half bought this DVD a couple of weeks ago and while I’ve never been a huge Bret Hart fan (and definitely not at the levels of Scott), I’ve enjoyed his matches over the years and I was interested in hearing his story.
So you won’t get a lot of CANADIAN VIOLENCE~! or insider comments because I admittedly don’t have the knowledge of the backroom politics like Scott does. Instead it’s an honest, completely unbiased opinion on a very entertaining biography…
Already I got my $25 worth with McMahon’s statement. He totally kisses Bret’s ass for being big enough to take part in this story. It’s a “dual” production presented by WWE & Bret Hart.
Gene Okerlund says the Hart family is synonamous with professional wrestling. Roddy Piper says the Harts are basically the Kennedys of pro wrestling. Road Warrior Animal says the Harts and Rougeaus basically ran the Canadian territory. Steve Lombardi talks about the dungeon…
Bret says he was unknowingly expected to be the best wrestler in the family. He says a lot of the Hart kids had a strong wrestling sense.
His first taste of wrestling was just sneaking in the basement and watching the wrestlers there working out.
He wrestled because his felt like Stu expected him to. No one asked. He dedicated himself to wrestling in high school and impressed Stu by his dedication to winning.
Bret relays a great story about him winning the city championship and he was so excited to tell Stu, who was on his way to a show in Edmonton. Bret gets a little choked up talking about that moment and how their relationship took a turn at that point. He was very close with his dad and it really comes through here. Bret says his earlier accomplishments lit a fire in both of them.
Bret continued to rise through the amateur ranks all while sporting a nice ‘fro…very Andre the Giant-esque. He became a collegiate champion and was prepped to go to the Commonwealth games. But Bret was sick of the collegiate way and cutting weight. Stu wanted it bad and the only way for Bret to get on the amateur track was to say he would become a pro wrestler.
He was taught by Mr. Hito and Mr. Saccarata (??) and they would teach him while he would officiate for Stu’s card. The Japanese pair taught him the basics, the execution and he says he owes everything he’s ever done to those two men.
Bret’s first in-ring action was when he was 19 and they were a few guys short. He didn’t want to do it. Of course his first match was against Hito and Saccarata and they predictably beat the shit out of him. He thought they were mad, but they explained to him that he was just an official two matches previous and the fans wouldn’t take them seriously if they didn’t beat the hell out of him.
They show some clips of his first match and yeah…he got FUBAR big time…
Bret’s off to Puerto Rico with his brother Smith…Bruce was supposed to go but gave his spot to Bret so he could experience life in Carlos Colon’s promotion. Bret enjoyed his time there and enjoyed the fans’ passion. It was in Puerto Rico where Bret decided he was going to give this a full-time try….as if he had a choice to begin with..
His first few months Bret basically did what he did well at that point…get beat up…”No one could take a shit kicking like Bret Hart.” He was very convincing at selling and really getting his ass kicked. He talked about being cautious and willing to get beat up because he was the promoter’s kid and he didn’t want guys jobbing to him…He felt like that allowed him to be respected as a guy who paid his dues…
AWESOME clips of Jr. Heavyweight matches between Hart and Dynamite Kid…Hart had a tough time keeping up with him IMO…Bret says Kid was the best wrestler he ever saw pound-for-pound….I must agree, Dynamite was quite the shiz-nit…
They show about 3 minutes worth of highlights from their matches and this stuff looks stiff as hell. I mean no wonder Dynamite has been pissing blood for 15 years now.
Clips of Keith and Bret wrestling together….Bret found himself as the tag champion…not because he was great or asked but because numbers forced it and a lot of people were leaving the territory…
More clips of the Hart Brothers, in one they are fighting Dynamite and some fat guy, maybe Makhan Singh?? And some six-man action with Bruce Hart included….Bruce had a very nice dropkick…Bret’s wasn’t so good, kinda low and one footed…The Stampede commentary is great…
As Bret filled out and got bigger he became a singles wrestler…They show clips of him facing Leo Burke for the North American championship and Burke basically annointed him as being the next champion and Bret admits that there really wasn’t another choice because many of the wrestlers were coming and going..
Clips of Bret facing David Schultz for the title in 1981…I believe Schultz held it at this point…
Clips of Bret facing the great Nick Bockwinkel…Ed Whalen is just music to my ears…
A few clips of Bret doing some promos…He struggled there…very babyface though….
Clips of a ladder match between Bret and Bad News Allen in 1982 and I get all tingly inside with the thoughts of watching Allen Coage beat someone’s ass…But they cut to Dynamite knocking Allen off the ladder and out of the ring…Not a holy shit bump, but looked like a brutal match…
Another clip of him beating Allen and winning the North American title again..
Clips of a lumberjack match in 1983 against The Stomper…In virtually all of these clips Bret is busted open…This is like old school WCCW or something…
Clips of Bret and Stu facing Foley and The Stomper…Stu wasn’t exactly Kurt Angle at that stage but he threw a nasty elbow..
Bret talks about the fans believing that he was the champion and he was as good as he pretending to be..
Stu sells out to WWE and Bret goes to Japan where he is fighting Tiger Mask as a Jr. Heavyweight despite being 230 pounds…He gained some notoriety there..
Vince talks about acquiring Stampede and the talent there most notably Bret and the British Bulldogs..
Early clips of Bret(t) Hart in the WWE…Lord Alfred Hayes’ commentary is like bad music to my ears…
Bret talked about losing a lot, which frustrated him because he thought he was a pretty polished talent…
Steve Lombardi says Bret was a big star in Calgary but was still finding himself elsewhere…but he was a great technical talent, one of the best at the time..
Brisco talked about Bret’s early struggles…
Bret wasn’t really connecting with the fans because he didn’t have a great look, a great physique and he wasn’t very flambouyant…and he hated interviews…and he needed a tan (I added the last one)…
He described how much he hated interviews and eventually George Scott had a “great” idea for him…He was going to be “Cowboy” Bret Hart and ride a horse and hand flowers to women…Needless to say other workers, most notably Jim Neidhart gave him endless shit for it…Everyone got excited about it though…and it was something to do..
But before too long Bret went to Scott and he didn’t want to do the Cowboy thing…He’s from Calgary and there you better be a real cowboy if you’re gonna be a cowboy….He didn’t like cowboy boots or country music…Real cowboys in Calgary eh? I need to move there…
So he kept losing and eventually blew his top to Scott…He suggested tagging with Neidhart who was already managed by Jimmy Hart…But that was shot down because Scott said he didn’t have the look to make it as a heel…But persistence won out and Scott eventually gave in…
Clips of The Hart Foundation, assorted stuff both old and new…Lots of Hart Attacks…I love that move…Imagine Midnights vs. Harts in their prime…Damn Cornette for not selling out…
Bruce Pritchard says the Hart Foundation was the best tag team he ever saw…I’m torn, they are one of five in my book…Between The Harts, The Bulldogs, The Hollywood Blondes, Demolition and The Midnight Express and 1-5 could change almost daily…Except for the Blondes, they are a solid #3, I loved that roll camera bit…
Bruce continues to say they wrestled as a unit..
Christian comments on the way they complemented each other with the speed and power mixture…
Jim Ross describes Neidhart as “squatty, thick powerhouse”
Jimmy Hart comments on Bret’s no nonsense style…
Bret liked being a heel because he could control the dance and make the other good lok good for a change…He credits Neidhart with carrying the team in the early part and especially in the interviews…He says he doesn’t get the credit he deserves for how much he did…
Bret says that the matches with the Bulldogs were really when they got noticed..He says he and the Bulldogs took the most pride in their matches and they wanted to show the boys in New York how to light up a territory and get the fans excited…
Bret mentions the other great tags during that time (Demolition, Killer Bees, Rougeaus, etc….I’ll add Strike Force and the Rockers to that)…
Clips of the Harts wrestling all those teams and then an interview spot, probably from 1990 when they were faces…Neidhart was very underrated on the mic and during this particular clip (I’m guessing an SNME spot) I fail to see how they kept a straight face at Neidhart’s antics…
Bret enjoyed the variety of teams and felt like the Harts could have a great match with any of them…No arguments there..
Clip of the Harts beating the Bulldogs for the titles in 1987…Jimmy Hart’s reaction is hilarious..
Bret was so much, it was real to him…He felt like they were the best team and deserved the titles…Ross and Vince agreed…
Bret remembers that George Scott told him that they put the team together with no plans and they just became the best team through hard work…
Ross thinks that people began to see Bret as a star through the tag efforts…
Clip of a Bret promo during his run to win the I-C title…His mic work was still a little rough but he didn’t forget to hawk the new hitman shades…
Bret felt like he was ready to go singles, but he loved teaming with Neidhart and missed it…In the end he felt like he deserved a singles run and specifically mentioned Warrior as a guy he felt didn’t deserve the accolades he received…No argument there..
Bret talks about the match with Mr. Perfect at Summerslam 91 and talks about how Perfect’s was in considerable pain due to a back injury but wanted to be there out of respect for Bret. Bret gets a little choked up talking about his matches with Perfect and he respected him greatly for the assist…
Clips of Bret-Perfect…I believe Scott gave it ****1/4 and that’s about right…The heat for that match was incredible…Bret says the backroom story of Perfect being there for him meant more to him than the match…
Clips of Piper-Hart from Wrestlemania VIII, Scott gave this ****, but I liked it a little more, probably in the ****1/2 range because Piper jobbed cleanly and it was great drama with Piper teasing a turn…Piper talks about the match and how it ended a 17-year streak of never being pinned. He loves Bret and thinks he’s a great guy…Not sure if he meant it because Piper always seems to say things with a hint of sarcasm.
Bret says he remembers telling Vince that if he wrestled Davey Boy at Wembley it would be the greatest match of all time…Vince trusted him and put the match on last…Bret feels like his stock rose tenfold after that match and the thought of him being a world champion was a great possibility…
Bret talks a bit about the storyline saying of him introducing Smith to his lying hag sister Diana which according to Bret wasn’t all true but wasn’t all false either….What the f*ck does that mean?
Bret admits how nervous he was because of the huge crowd and the expectations…He goes over all the blown spots that Davey f*cked up complete with slow motion highlights…Scott gave this match the full monty but I’m more in the ****1/3 range because Davey blew so many spots including a pescado that almost killed Bret because DBS forgot to catch him…
Bret says Davey always thought that match was his defining moment but it was actually Bret’s defining moment…So there!
Bret never believed he could be world champion and never believed the people would accept it and he’d get over as champion but low and behold there he is in Saskatoon on Oct. 12, 1992…
Clips of Flair-Bret….Bret suggests that Flair improvised a lot of the match, but also complimented him by saying he was a great wrestler who cut a good pace and was one of the most physically fit guys he ever stepped in the ring with…Flair unexpectedly kicked out of a figure four and Bret hit the turnbuckle and dislocated his finger…He snaps it back in and Mr. Perfect (Flair’s manager) reacts to the pain on Bret’s face accordingly…
Clip of the end of Flair-Bret and the crowd wasn’t very hot while Bret applied the sharpshooter so you could tell this was a major shock…The crowd exploded once Flair submitted however…
Clip of Bret post-title victory in Canada talking to Vince in a pre-taped spot…
Bret still really couldn’t believe he was deserving of the championship, but he had a good fanbase that supported him….Says he couldn’t follow Hogan’s act so he had to sell wrestling…He wanted to set a new standard in the ring but still be one of the boys outside of the ring.
However when Bret finally felt like he was the star of the company, he had to bow down to Hogan again and he was very angry because he didn’t feel like Hogan deserved it and in the words of Bret…he didn’t last…Meow…
Bret went into King of the Ring wanting to send a message to Hogan that the new generation was here…He said Razor Ramon worked hard with him to have a great match and he and Mr. Perfect had a “beautiful, classy” match that was different from Summerslam but filled with similar drama and he almost blew his knee out on a floor spot…Then he had a completely different match with Bam Bam Bigelow, who he respected as the best big man in the sport and loved working with…He mentions he was able to have three completely different styles of matches in one night and they were all very good…
He had to deal with Vince trying to promote Luger as the next Hogan type and in the long run he was able to overcome all of that and finally have the spotlight to himself at Wrestlemania 10 and he says that even Lex would be the first to admit that Bret was the people’s choice…Bret says when he wn the title at MSG he finally felt like the belt was his and he didn’t have to take a back seat to anyone…He was the King! Long Live Bret!
Mentions that as the champion he wrestled everyone, big, small, brawler, science…Talked about the priviledge of giving Bob Backlund his final moment in the sun in a long….brutally boring match I might add.
Bruce Prichard and Chris Benoit say kind words…Benoit says he tried to emulate Bret…
Various clips of Bret through the 1994 year and clips of the World Tour and his fan following…Bret says he always spent time after the matches talking to the fans and giving them thanks for his success..
Bret says to be the best there is he had to wrestle anyone of any style and give them a great match….Benoit says that his matches with Bret are on a pedastal…Vince says the only wrestlers comparable to Bret from a technical and storytelling standpoint were Buddy Rogers and Dusty Rhodes…and I’m lying about one of those but you’ll have to guess which one..
Road Warrior Animal says Bret is #3 or 2 on his list of best technicians he’s ever worked with…Because you know…Billy Gunn is untouchable…
Clips and clips and clips…
Finally we get to the Owen stuff…YEAH!!
Great Owen interview clip…I f*cking loved Owen’s jealous brother gimmick…
Bret says Owen was ready to quit and become a firemen or whatever, but he stuck with it and he feels like he was very proud of what he did in the ring and the things they did together…
Bret says he had so many people indentified with the story…people would come up to him with tears in their eyes and say they hadn’t spoken to their brothers in years and I’m totally sorry but I don’t buy that for a second…
Clip of Owen winning their WM 10 match and the post-match clip where he had spit on the side of his mouth…Someone give that man a towel…
Clip of Owen’s pre-match interview before their Summerslam Cage match…Scott gave it *****, I’m more like **** because I loved the wrestling, but hated the bloodless cage matches..
Bret says their cage match told a great story and he doubts anyone else could pul it off like they did…He says working with Owen brought them closer and they loved their matches…His emotion comes through as he talks about how he tried to protect him in that match on a top rope suplex and damn if I’m not crying with him…He takes pride in their professionalism but his eyes had such sadness in them with that segment…
We move to the end of 1995 and his third title run…He felt like he was building up his legacy and people were really believing in his legendary status…But he felt like everything he was doing was being ignored because of Shawn’s push…He mentions he had great matches with Diesel at the Survivor Series and Bulldog at an In Your House but they seemed to go unrecognized…Instead of letting Bret have his time, they were really focusing on Shawn…
Skip to pre WM 12 and Bret talks about training and some vignettes and Bret felt like he looked inept in them…He could barely run on the ice in Calgary, he looked as if he could barely swim and he was getting stretched by Stu while Shawn looked pristine and in perfect condition and Bret didn’t look like he could beat anyone…Bret kinda chuckled though, didn’t seem to mad…
Clips of the Ironman match….Bret felt like the match was designed by Shawn and felt like a lot of cheap shots were made to benefit Shawn…The match in my opinion is like the second or third best match ever in North America behind a couple of Flair-Steamboat matches…
Bret takes nothing away from Shawn athletically and says the match was great because both of them cut an incredible pace and worked hard…Bret said he did all he could to keep up with the ‘little bastard’ and it was a testament to both men to be able to go that hard for 60 minutes..Bret also said Shawn was magnificent and took an incredible beating in the match…It was one of his favorite matches and it was tough…
After the match Bret says Shawn told him to “get the f*ck out of the ring and let him have his moment”…Bret was a little hurt and felt like that set the course for his run…In hindsight they deserved to share the ring together…
Bret takes time out and was hoping things could pan out with his film career. He had been on the road for 12 years straight and rarely took a day off…Says no one cut a schedule like he did…
Move to the Steve Austin feud…
Clips of Austin throwing a challenge at Bret Hart…Bret saw Steve coming back in the Hollywood Blond days and suggested Vince sign him even back then…
Clips of their feud before the first match at Survivor Series 96…Austin says anyone that’s been in the ring with Bret knows his talent…Bret says they were both great artists..
Clips of the Survivor Series match and I’m PISSED this match isn’t in the extras…This match was as good as I ever saw that didn’t include Ric Flair or Ricky Steamboat…Bret admired Steve because of the pride he took in his matches…Boy their first match drew incredible heat…Vince said Bret and Steve were made for each other…
Clips of Bret adjusting to the “attitude” era and his “There are no rules in the WWF” promo…
Bret says he doesn’t know of any feud that had the realism of the Austin feud…The promos were filled with intensity and the tension was very high…
Clips of Royal Rumble 1997 and Austin wins as Bret begins to slowly flip out..
Another Bret promo as they prep for the Wrestlemania match…
Clip of Austin promo from the 1997 Slammies..
Clips of the WM 13 match…A classic brawl that is a must-see for any wrestling fan…
Ross says they story an incredible story and thanks to Bret, Austin became a major player that night…Vince concurred and said that anyone who stepped in the ring with Bret left a better man for it…Ross talks about the double turn and Bret says he felt the difference in the fans and he had to go with the flow…Austin had an admirable quality because he liked to fight…I personally thought it was because he said ‘ass’ a lot..
They show a clip of Bret post-WM promo which was the best thing he ever did…Unfortunately it’s not fully included because it was a great promo with he and Shawn…
Bret starts his hate on American fans…and says the fans in the U.S. can kiss his ass…Bret always felt funny about that but on the flip side he was glad to revive the Canadian fans in the territory…He talked about how one day he was loved in London and the next he was booed in Philadelphia…He says wrestling fans in the states wanted to play a role, they wanted to be the bad guys…But the fans in Canada loved Bret…It was the first time to Vince’s knowledge that he had a contingent that was favorable to one nation and not another…
Clips of the new Hart Foundation…Sadly 3/5ths of them are no longer with us…
Clips of the whole USA/Canada thing as Ross and Christian make comments…This was high level stuff that really set the table for the WWF retaking the top spot in the wrestling wars if for no other reason than the elevation for Austin…Bret says it was good for Canadians to see someone stand up to the Americans and Bret says it was all a lot of fun and since there is no real bad blood between countries it’s was no big deal and many times its hard to tell if there’s any real difference between the countries…Ross says he wasn’t sure how comfortable Bret was when it came to being booed by Americans but he went with it and Bret says he’s very proud of his Canadian and American heritage and he’s had a great time in America…The Canadian hero stuff was fun and good for the people of Canada….I totally agree with him…
Bret talked about how much fun touring Canada was in those days and especially the Canadian PPV in Calgary in front of the whole Hart family…Bret says it was a beautiful experience and he was proud of those times..
Skip to the screwjob…we had to come here…
Bret loved the WWF, he respected and took pride in the WWF and he never thought of leaving the company….Vince says he and Bret were close personally and professionally and the only thing that could come between them is Ted Turner’s money…Vince doesn’t exanorate himself from blame, but he feels the money came between the…
Eric Bischoff makes his debut in the bio and says he and Bret had a discreet meeting that he believes only they knew about, but he’s not sure…Ross says the WCW thought they were making the coup of coups by signing Bret but Vince was orchestrating the whole thing…Vince says he made things possible for Bret to negotiate a big money with WCW…Bischoff said the belt wasn’t a factor and he told Bret to close whatever business he had with the WWF and start with a clean slate…He said he would’ve relayed that if he could but no one in the WWF would’ve believed him….hmm I wonder why…
Bret talked about the “time honored tradition” and says he always stood up for what was right in the business and stood up for all the guys and Bret Hart never refused to do anything…He wasn’t rewarded for his trust..
Vince says look at time period and think about the decisions being made and when they were made, not what the situation is now…That’s not a bad point because Vince was a desperate man and he was trailing the WCW in ratings and buyrate..
Clips of Bret and Shawn…Ross says they were two artists, Rembrandt and Van Gogh….
Final the clip of the loss and Bret’s noogie on Vince’s face…that guy has incredible aim…
Bret will always believe that was unnecessary and there was a better way for them to do things…He had given too much and everyone in his family was hurt…especially Owen…Bret says Vince and he had a father-son relationship and he imagined it was tough for Shane to witness what happened between the two in the dressing room after the match…Vince says he isn’t sure if he’d make the same decision today…Bret says there was probably a lack of communication but he always loved the company and he conducted himself in a respectful way…He says you’re either on one side of it or the other and regardless of which side you don’t know the facts and for people to put themselves in their shoes isn’t fair…Bret says Vince probably did what he thought he had to do and Bret stands by what he did…
On to WCW and how they ruined….everything…
Vince was worried about how they would handle Bret and his worries were realized because they should’ve built the franchise around Bret.
Ross says it was tough for Bret because he was such a strong WWF stalwart…Bret will never complain about the money but they never had Vince McMahon’s mind…
Bischoff said that the develop of WCW Thunder was the main reason for signing Bret…They needed more talent…Benoit thought he would make a huge difference there and Bret agreed…
Bischoff feels like the Montreal incident left a scar on Bret that couldn’t be erased…Vince said it was fortunate for his company but sad for Bret personally…
Bret says there weren’t many good moments in WCW, but he liked the spot with Goldberg and the steel plate..He said that one moment was almost worth it…
Skip to May 23, 1999 and the friend we lost in Owen Hart…
Bret wishes he had been there when Owen’s accident happen…He felt a deep sense of loss and agonized over what could’ve happened if he was there…
Clips of Jeff Jarrett speaking on Owen…that’s a tough one to watch…
Clips of Mick Foley speaking on Owen…very kind..
Clips of Edge speaking on Owen…boy Edge looked like a tool in 1999…
Clips of the Owen Hart tribute match…Benoit vs. Hart and it’s on the extras…Bret says that match in Kansas City was as important as any night he’s ever had…Bret says it was a match for one person…Benoit said it was a tough match and he cried for a while after all and he misses Owen…Bret says Stu was particularly touched by the match and he says Owen would’ve been very proud…
Clips of Hart-Benoit at WCW Mayhem for the WCW title…Benoit says it was a great experience to be in the ring with his fellow Canadian in Toronto…
Clips of the Goldberg match and the fateful Starrcade injury…Bret says its a shame that a guy as good hearted as Goldberg ended his career…Things were just starting to look up for Bret what this happened…
Bret talks about his stroke in 2002 and how he’s in a wheelchair reflecting on his life and he feels like he’s more clued in to what’s important…He doesn’t know if everything is forgiven or perfect, but it’s a start…Vince says he doesn’t know if all will be good but it was important for him to relay his story to his fans and his contributions will never be forgotten and hopefully he can still contribute…
Ross, Animal and Okerlund make comments…Ross said you always knew you’d get quality from Bret Hart once the bell ring…
Bret wouldn’t give up the experiences for anything…He talks about his new wife and his new lease on life…He still wants to do a lot of positive things…He had a wonderful career…And it ends with Vince saying you now know you’ve seen arguably the best.
Ends with a great highlight package of Bret moments…
Overall this puppy is a little over two hours and worth every second…It’s obviously perfect for Bret fans but for people like me, who aren’t as big a fan of his, it’s still a great story and I really believe how much pride he took in the business and always putting on an entertaining match for the fans…I come out of this liking him a lot more…
The Extras:
Disc One
– The Hart Foundation v. The British Bulldogs. From MSG, 7/13/85. Real old-school Hart Foundation tights here, with a pudgy Bret and black trunks. As Bulldog-Harts matches go, this series doesn’t really match up to the peak of their feud in 1987, but it’s an interesting match from the development perspective. Dynamite Kid controls Bret with armdrags to start, and Bret bails. Anvil time, as he overpowers the Kid, but Davey Boy comes in for the double-team. Anvil opts for the test of strength, but Davey rolls over him and dropkicks him in a nice spot. Over to Bret, who drops Davey on his nads to take over, and sets up a Harts double-team in the corner. They get the Demolition elbow, showing pretty definitively where that move got swiped from, and Neidhart holds Smith in place for Bret’s dropkick. Harts keep switching off, and Bret slickly cuts off a tag attempt. Pair of backbreakers gets two. Davey snaps off a crucifix for two, but Bret takes him down with an atomic drop. Sadly, the Harts do a telegraphed miscommunication spot, and it’s hot tag Dynamite. Headbutts for everyone! Bret debuts the turnbuckle bump to a big reaction from the crowd, and Dynamite one-ups him with the missile dropkick. Smith swoops in with the running powerslam, but Anvil saves. This kind of big-bumping, fast-paced stuff was pretty much unheard of in 1985 in the WWF. Small package gets two for Smith. Rollup is blocked by Bret, and Davey ends up on the floor and in trouble. Bret and Jim switch off on a Boston Crab, and DK punches them in the face each time to break, in a funny spot. So Anvil gets a quick chinlock and it’s more double-teaming in the heel corner. Bret and Davey do a triple-rollup sequence, but Bret cuts off the tag. Davey pops up with a dropkick, but again it’s the Harts cutting off the ring. This is textbook stuff, but sadly the bell rings for curfew before it go any further. Draw at 13:15. ***1/4
– The Hart Foundation v. The Killer Bees. From MSG, 2/17/86. Anvil starts with Brunzell, and easily overpowers him, so Brunzell goes with a takedown instead. He works on the leg, and B. Brian Blair continues that, evading Anvil’s offense and double-teaming him with Brunzell. Brunzell rolls him up for two and they cut off a tag to Bret by maintaining the leg punishment. Blair gets a figure-four, but Bret breaks it up and pounds on him. We get some quality cheating in the corner, and Bret hits the chinlock. Backbreaker, but the second-rope elbow misses and it’s lukewarm tag to Brunzell. He’s the house of fire, but a knee to the back ends that rally in a hurry. Anvil gets two off that. We hit the chinlock again, and Brunzell’s escape is foiled by a trip to the corner, where the Demolition elbow gets two. Bret gives Jim some abuse in the corner and Anvil tosses him for fun, which draws Blair over for an ill-advised brawl. Of course that allows more damage on the floor by Bret. Back in, Brunzell gets a sunset flip for two, but he can’t escape the Harts corner. The Harts do their trademark double-whip into Brunzell and Anvil tees him up for Bret’s dropkick. That gets two. However, Brunzell returns fire with his own dropkick, and Blair gets drawn in too soon, allowing Bret to get a two-count anyway. The Harts cut off the ring again with the old facelock spot, and it’s a false tag as a result. Another double whip misses, giving Bret a chance to work in the turnbuckle bump, and it’s hot tag Blair. Bret sells all over the place for him, and Blair cradles Neidhart for two. The heels collide and Blair gets two, setting up the dreaded abdominal stretch, with the crowd absolutely going nuts. Anvil breaks and it’s BONZO GONZO, as Blair gets two on Bret. Rollup gets two. Brunzell gets the dropkick, but it’s a 20:00 draw at 18:48. Gorilla demands a one-hour time limit next time. ***1/2
