JT's Replay: Bret Hart: The Dungeon Collection – Disc One

Bret Hart: The Dungeon Collection – Disc One

- This is a DVD comprised of matches chosen by Bret Hart, most are hidden or forgotten gems…Bret intros the set, talking about the process of digging out these hidden matches…let’s get right to it

- We open with a disembodied voice narrating us up into an attic, spinning some poetic yarns about history unfolding to get us to the present…we go through boxes of photos, DVDs and VHS tapes highlighting Bret and the Hart Family…cool little open, and I will assume this attic of Hart material exists because the world is better that way

- Now we rejoin Bret, who talks about Stampede Wrestling and his days growing up at the Pavilion…he knew all the wrestlers and fans and loved the wild west field of the territory…he talks about only studying wrestling as a kid so he was ready to go when he was at the right age…discusses his early days competing for Stampede and the history in the Pavilion…now Bret talks about his relationship with Dynamite Kid…he tried to be professional with Kid, but didn’t like him because he assumed he was a know-it-all…Bret did his best to hang in and they started working together, including an hour long match…most of the remaining footage of these matches is from the final five minutes, so that must be kept in mind…he puts over Dynamite as the best, an innovator and the influence on many greats…Bret thinks about him a lot and feels for the physical state he is now…with that, we join our first match in progress

- Bret Hart vs. Dynamite Kid…this is from Stampede, December 1978…this is about seventeen minutes in and Bret is up 1-0 in falls, so this must be best of three…Bret focuses on the leg, which Ed Whalen tells us has been going on for a while and led to the first fall…one look at the referee and you know this is the late 1970s…Dynamite’s strikes are so crisp, mixing in uppercuts, knees, fists and headbutts all in one flurry…these two are really so similar in size and look at this point…Whalen talks about the hour long match they had back a few months ago…Dynamite’s nose is busted but it doesn’t seem to slow him down at all…the turntables have turned as Dynamite now goes to the leg…things slow down a bit as Dynamite picks apart that leg of Bret…even with a slower pace, when one of them actually hits a move, it’s like a quick explosion that wakes you right up, which really adds a cool feel to the offense when that happens…Whalen confirms this is Best of Three with a one hour time limit…Bret’s selling is rock solid, and the tide finally turns when he avoids a dropkick as Dynamite crashes into the ropes…both men are hobbling as the second fall edges along, with Dynamite back in control…John Foley manages Dynamite and Whalen mentions how Foley is hoping both Dynamite and Big Daddy Ritter are holding gold by Stampede Week…Hercules Ayala battles Ritter in a strap match in tonight’s main event, but it won’t air on this show because this match is going long…we are hitting thirty minutes as Bret rallies with some knee drops…Dynamite hoists Bret up for a suplex and falls back to the ropes as both men tumble out to the floor in a very nice spot…the bell sounds, as that will be an automatic DQ for Dynamite…Bret retains the British Commonwealth Title…fun match that had an abrupt ending, even if the spot that ended it was a great bump, I wish there was better payoff to all the legwork…still, solid start to the DVD

- Bret talks about his world tour, working Hawaii and Atlanta, which was a brief run after a promising start, thanks to politics…Bret talks about Buzz Sawyer and his surly attitude…he puts over his in ring skills and the flashes of greatness he would show, but it didn’t seem like he had the desire to be great…both Bret and Buzz had just got to the territory before this match happened…Bret talks about the thrill of appearing on GCW and discusses all the legends that passed though Atlanta and he is grateful for the lessons he learned there as a glorified squash guy…he never thought he would make it in the south because he wouldn’t be given a chance, but he admits he wasn’t ready at that point…he always wanted to win and make money and sees nothing wrong with that attitude

- Bret Hart vs. Buzz Sawyer…this is from Georgia Championship Wrestling, September 1979…Gordon Solie introduces the match for us…Bret is billed from Montana as Solie just mentions he is from a big wrestling family…tape quality is shaky here…lots of mat stuff early…Sawyer has a full head of hair, which is rare in its own right…Sawyer works the arm until Bret is able to take him down with a waistlock…lots of amateur posturing here…we get a quick flurry of offense until Sawyer takes Bret back down into an armbar…Solie thinks Sawyer is ahead on takedowns…Solie notes that Bret has two other brothers that wrestle but puts over Bret as the outstanding member of the group…Bret finally wrests control and grabs a headlock, but Buzz breaks free and goes right back to that arm…Bret gets a near fall with a roll up and goes to the headlock…good battle here, the arm vs. the head…both are worn down a bit as they collide in the ring when charging…they recover, but both go for dropkicks, so both whiff and crash to the mat…then they both go for inside cradles…really cool story here, so basic but a good game of one upsmanship, trading holds and pin attempts as the pace picks up…this goes the full ten minute limit as they fight in the corner, and I think the draw actually makes sense here as the story was clearly focused on how even the match was, with neither man ever gaining a true advantage…I liked the barrage at the end with each man going for the same move…fun little match

- Back to Bret, who discusses returning to Canada…he came back humbled but put on 20 pounds and went right into a feud with Leo Burke…his dad had helped school him on psychology and card structure but now it was time to prove himself in the ring…after weeks of tags, it was time for Bret and Leo to have a singles run…during one match, an inadvertent Burke elbow cracked Bret in the nose, leading to gallons of blood but Leo took care of him the rest of the way

- Bret Hart vs. Leo Burke…this is from Stampede in January 1983…Ed Whalen on the call…Burke is the North American Champ and the belt is on the line…we join about ten minutes into the match with Burke in control…Whalen says Burke has turned into an idiot…Burke hammers away in the corner…the referee looks like a young John C. Reilly…Whalen rips on Burke for running away from Bret earlier in the bout, saying they should have donated a pair of track shoes to him…he says Leo has not joined with JR Foley, but instead associated himself with Wakamatsu, ending his run of popularity that spanned the last decade…and the reason Burke gave for his change of heart was inflation, claiming he makes more money with Wakamatsu…makes sense to me…Burke slowly heads up top, but Bret sends him flying off with a press slam to pop the crowd…Burke begs off as Bret stalks him, eventually catching up and smacking Burke around with right hands and uppercuts...Whalen tells us the match has been going on for a “dozen minutes”…Bret whiffs on a roundhouse, allowing Burke to clamp on a sleeper…Bret tries to mare out of it, but Burke keeps the hold on, only breaking when Bret makes the ropes…Bret buries a knee to the gut but Burke dodges a shoulderblock and referee Reilly eats it instead…Burke immediately goes to the tights and pulls out knucks, but Bret ducks it and crunches Burke with a piledriver…with the referee down, some dude in a suit named Hathaway hits the ring and makes the count, declaring Bret the winner and new champion to a huge pop…Reilly is up now, but overturns Hathaway’s call, disqualifying Burke and taking the title away from Bret…after the match, Whalen catches up with Bret, who trashes the referee and says he proved that he can beat Burke…he wants the belt, but he wants Burke more…rambling promo, but good emotion…fun match, despite the screwy finish…they had good chemistry together for sure

- Next up, Bret dishes on Dynamite Kid…says they loved working together…a lot of his Hitman persona was taken from Dynamite and John McEnroe, including his temper and being a brat…when he wrestled Dynamite at the Cap Center, at that point, it was the only time they had wrestled in a singles match for the WWF, with Davey Boy and Anvil not around…they knew the match was being taped, so they really tried hard to steal the show in case they never got the chance again…he remembers Randy Savage and Terry Funk gushing about the match afterwards…and with that, we head to DC

- Bret Hart vs. Dynamite Kid…as mentioned above, this takes place from the Capital Centre in Washington, DC on September 14, 1985…Gorilla Monsoon & Lord Alfred Hayes are calling the match and that creep Mel Phillips is doing the announcing…Gorilla reminds us that WWF is the hottest ticket in town and Alfred is excited to watch these two young lions go at it…Alfred talks about the modern way of training and nutrition as the two lock up to a stalemate…Bret has the baby blue tights on for this one…Bret bails to the floor to regroup as Gorilla pimps the upcoming Wrestling Classic and Rolls Royce giveaway…Bret gets caught during a leap and sent flying into the corner via a Dynamite slingshot…Bret again hits the deck to gather himself, which Dynamite allows…back inside, Dynamite continues to frustrate Bret, blocking a kick and dropping him with an atomic drop, followed by a perfect snap suplex for two…Dynamite cranks on a rear chinlock but Bret fights out of it leading to a series of hammerlock reversals, which end with Bret getting dumped outside once again…Bret makes it back in and goes to the arm, but Dynamite flips out of it and snaps Bret down…Bret finally turns momentum with a slam and follows up with some stomps and a stiff knee to the gut…Bret pulls Dynamite up by his hair and slams him back down…that was a neat spot…even at this point, Bret’s offense is so crisp…he comes off the middle rope with an elbow and then drops the leg…Bret pitches Dynamite outside and then slams him on the concrete floor…back in the ring, Bret hits a nice backbreaker for a near fall…I hate this referee, the guy with the blond pompadour that worked the circuit during this period…he always looks so pissed off…Dynamite gets a quick flurry but it is short lived as Bret continues to slug away…Dynamite blocks a right hand and turns into a backslide for a near fall…he then flips out of a backbreaker and hits one of his own but is too rattled to take advantage…Bret shakes it off and mauls Dynamite against the ropes before tying him up…Bret charges, but Dynamite breaks free and Bret careens hard into the ropes…Dynamite rips Bret’s head off with a clothesline, drops a headbutt and then returns the favor with a hair spike…nice callback there…Bret takes his usual chest bump in the corner and then eats a big kneedrop from Dynamite, who covers for two…Dynamite hoists Bret up and snaps him over with a German suplex for a near fall…Dynamite heads to the second buckle and drops a knee, but Bret again stays alive…Bret drops down as Dynamite hits the ropes, but Kid trips over him and bangs hard off the ropes…they battle over a scoop slam, but Bret is able to Dynamite outside…Dynamite quickly pops back in and hooks Bret into a roll up to pick up the flash pin for the victory…very good match here…great showcase for both men, fans were into it as well…Neidhart hits the ring and the Harts beat down Dynamite, dropping him with a double stun gun before Davey Boy makes the save…Neidhart bails and Davey drops Bret with a press slam…Davey checks on Dynamite as the Harts walk off…Gorilla & Alfred did a nice job calling this one and putting both guys over as well

- Bret talks about the Islanders…he discusses how much he loves the energy of this next match…how the match fit the Philly Spectrum atmosphere, as that was the craziest arena they would visit on the tours…it was a zoo with fan fights and other craziness…two teams going all out at a fast pace fit right in with the crowd that night…the fans and atmosphere can add a lot to a match and that intensity made this a good one…he thinks the Islanders were at their prime here…he puts over Haku and mentions that it was sad Tonga Kid got derailed shortly after this one…time for the match

- Hart Foundation vs. Islanders…this is from the Spectrum on 3/14/87 and the Harts’ titles are on the line…Dick Graham & Ken Resnick have the call…Danny Davis & Jimmy Hart are with the champs…no Mel Phillips here, so something odd seems to be afoot…lots of cockiness from the champs…Davis steps in for the ref to check the tights, which is funny…lots of stalling and posturing by the Harts as they argue over who gets to start…we get some plugging in for WM3 as things finally get under way…Haku and Neidhart kick things off with a lockup…Anvil takes his shoulder straps down early, so he means business here tonight for sure…my research assistant Chad Campbell tells me this is Resnick’s final WWF appearance, so I guess I should enjoy it while it lasts…Anvil takes a powder after Haku won the first battle…he also wins the second, a test of strength…Anvil pinballs around a bit before finally stumbling into the corner and tagging Bret…Graham tells us we will see Roddy Piper’s final Philly match later tonight as he is set to retire after Mania…Bret works a side headlock but Haku catches him with a nice thrust kick to kill his momentum…Haku goes to the leg before tagging in Tama…Tama works him over a bit before Hart is able to bail to the floor and into the warm embrace of his cronies…Tama is all fired up as Bret takes his sweet time recovering out there…as soon as the Hitman slides in, he tags Anvil who continues to be frustrated by the speed of the Islanders…Haku is back in and the double teams are on as the challengers target the arm…Anvil is able to make the tag to Bret, who goes right to Tama’s eyes to swing the tide…Bret goes right to the precision offense, using elbow drops and kicks to wear Tama down…Anvil back and he starts to club away…Anvil drops Tama with a stun gun, allowing Bret to choke him from the apron until Haku makes the save…Tama gets tossed outside, where Davis starts kicking away at him…Bret tags back in and hits a nice standing dropkick for a near fall…Tama comes back with a sunset flip but Bret is able to make the tag during the count…Anvil comes in and starts wearing Tama down with a rear chinlock…Tama is again dumped outside and he is hurting, only able to get back in with an assist from his partner…Bret goes for a cover after a backbreaker but Haku again saves the match…Anvil tags in but he collides with a charging Tama, wiping both men out…Tama gets a cross body press for two, but Anvil grabs a tight hold, drags him to the corner and tags Bret in, who reestablishes control…although, that is fleeting as he eats a knee on a charge, allowing Tama to make the hot tag…Haku is on fire, taking it to both champs and the fans are fired up along with him…Anvil bails to the floor and for some reason Haku tags Tama right back in…Haku slams Bret and then decks Davis, who was getting frisky…Tama flies off the top with a high cross body but there is all sorts of confusion and the ref is tied up, allowing Davis to sneak in and turn Bret on top…after a few beats, the ref finally spins around and counts the fall, giving the champs the win…that was fun, but I was expecting a bit more from this one…all four worked hard and have good chemistry but this felt like a portion of what could have been a great long match

- Back to Bret, who talks about flying to Milan, Italy and having no rest time as the bus took them right from the airport to the arena for the first day of the tour, which would be televised…he walked backstage and saw he was programmed against Andre the Giant, and he thought it was a joke…he didn’t understand why but he rolled with it and went to have a chat with the Giant…he felt they had a good relationship as Andre liked his drawings…Bret wasn’t sure how to work with Andre, but the Giant just told Bret to relax and that they would figure it all out…Bret really felt like Andre made him look good in this one and he really appreciated what Andre did for him on that night

- Bret Hart vs. Andre the Giant…we head to Milan on 4/10/89 for this one…commentary is in Italian and the footage quality is in really rough shape…crowd is pretty rowdy as Andre slowly marches to the ring, where Bret awaits…not sure what the commentators are discussing, but they have mentioned Tim White like ten times before the match even started…Andre chokes Bret in the corner and then slams back into him…Bret dodges a second attempt and goes right to the midsection…Andre clubs him down and then stands on his midsection…Andre continues to stomp and squat onto the prone Hitman…Bret battles back and stuns Andre, knocking him back into the ropes…the tape quality has improved greatly as Bret hammers on Andre, until the Giant slips free and chokes Hart to slow him down…the fans are all over Andre, who stomps around, blocking his ears to ignore the catcalls…he keeps stomping and choking away at his leisure, wearing the Hitman out…Andre grabs a bear hug, only releasing to bash Bret in the face…Andre’s strikes look awesome here as he just crushes Bret…things turn as Bret starts slugging away at Andre’s gut, trying to rock him…Andre stops him cold with a headbutt as we are informed that the commentator is Dan Peterson, which is not quite the name I was expecting…with Bret down and writhing, Andre coolly stomps over and drops an elbow for the win…I really enjoyed this one as Andre was at his methodical best, just dropping heavy hurt bombs on the Hitman, who gamely kept trying to fight his way back into it…Andre sold just enough to make it seem like Bret had a chance, which was good too…the crowd atmosphere helped and even though Andre was winding down by this point, it was almost a trip back in time as he seemed like a big time unbeatable star once again

- Bret talks about his relationship with Curt Hennig…they got along well…Bret says he was respected as a worker, as was Hennig…Bret notes that other wrestlers would always talk about a potential Hart/Hennig match and they all were hyped to see it one day…finally, after a post Wrestlemania layoff, they got the chance to go at it and all the boys watched from the curtain…they knew each other well from always watching each other’s matches…they had a rough match in Philly that night but both were too polite to call the other out, so they rolled into Toronto and never changed a thing, but that night it clicked…Bret knew they had the formula in place despite having an off night in Philly

- Bret Hart vs. Mr. Perfect…we head to Maple Leaf Gardens, 4/23/89, for this next bout…Gorilla and Alfred have the call…Gorilla notes that these two are very evenly matched right down the board…Perfect has interesting tights on, his usual style, but they are royal blue with orange and black stripes going from his thigh to his back…Alfred even notes the interesting “costumes” and Gorilla jokes about the colors…Bret gets a warm welcome in his home country…we get a few lockups and breaks as neither man gains an advantage until Bret hooks a side headlock…Gorilla puts over the referee for once…Perfect is tossed across the ring by Bret and he needs a minute to regain his composure…Gorilla takes a dig at Barry Horowitz, which seemed uncalled for…they are really taking their time early here, showing that they are trying to wrestle a strategic pace…Gorilla notes that Bobby Heenan has been sending out overtures to Perfect but that Perfect has not yet shown interest…after a quick flurry from Bret, he goes back to the side headlock, grinding Perfect to the mat…video quality of this match is fantastic…Bret ducks a right hand and gets a crucifix for two, leading to Perfect bailing to the floor to regroup again…Perfect tries to battle back but Bret is just beating him to the punch at every turn, again decking Perfect with an uppercut to send him out onto the ramp…Perfect is really taking his time, which Bret allows him to do, pissing off Gorilla…it doesn’t help Perfect, who gets caught in the corner via a Bret drive through a lock up…Bret tries it again, but this time Perfect uses the ref for leverage and decks Bret in the grill…Perfect goes right to work with an array of strikes, eventually kicking Bret down to the floor…Perfect follows him out and beats on him, which Gorilla notes…Bret tries to get back in but Perfect slugs him back to the ground…Bret pulls himself up again but this time Perfect uses the ropes to shove Bret back into the guardrail…Bret finally gets back in, but Perfect just clubs on him and the chucks him back out again…Perfect whips Bret hard into the corner and gets a near fall…Perfect tosses Bret out onto the ramp and Gorilla wonders why Perfect didn’t go for another cover in a match as big as this one…interesting match structure for this one…Bret rolls back and Perfect nonchalantly chokes him with his boot…he follows with a spinning toehold as Alfred surmises that Perfect is really trying to make Bret suffer…Bret kicks out of the hold, sending Perfect careening into the ring post…Perfect is nursing his arm, so Bret targets and goes right to work on it…he drops Perfect with a hammerlock slam and then drops a leg across it…Bret keeps up the assault, rocking the arm with right hands…Bret goes for another crucifix, but Perfect has learned, so he blocks and then flies back, crunching Bret to the mat…Gorilla keeps calling Perfect “Mr. P” which makes me laugh for some reason…Perfect starts to work the midsection of Bret as he tries to get feeling in his arm back…Perfect floats over Bret off a whip and gets a roll up for two, but Bret shoots him to the floor when he kicks out…Bret ambles over to the ropes and flies onto Perfect with a plancha…he pitches Perfect back into the ring and takes him over with a suplex for two…crowd is really waking up now…Bret snaps Perfect with a great backbreaker and then drops the elbow for two, but the bell rings…looks like we are out of time on this one…oh man, just when it was really cranking up…this match was building beautifully and needed like another five minutes to really bring it home…as it is, it was a lot of fun and a very different type of match, with each man using pitches to the floor as part of the offense…it was very balanced as well, with both men looking great…Bret grabs a mic and wants five more minutes but Perfect shuts him down, saying Bret couldn’t win in twenty, so five more won’t help…Perfect attacks Bret from behind as he plays to the crowd, beating him to the mat and smacking his face…Perfect heads up top, but that is a mistake as Bret crotches him and then beats him silly in the corner…Bret knocks him to the ramp with a back elbow, sending Perfect scurrying to the back…good stuff

- Back to Bret…he talks about he always called Akeem “Gang” because that was his name when he first met him…Akeem was one of the biggest fan of his cartoons along with Andre and was always a big reader in the locker room…he would laugh at the cartoons so hard and it led to a nice good natured relationship…he loved Boss Man too, who was like a fun kid all the time…they were all young and respectful of each other…this next match wasn’t give much time, but the four agreed to go out and put on a good match for themselves because they may never fight again while in their primes…Bret talks about a couple of the spots in the match, one that saw Akeem sit on Bret that was a very close call to really hurting Bret seriously…he says Akeem was always safe, but this was just one of those times…they were always proud of this match and knew it would be one people would dig up and watch on a compilation like this some day in the future

- Hart Foundation vs. Twin Towers…we head to Duluth, MN on May 17…and I may cry as Jive Soul Bro is edited out here for some generic jive…how sad…Akeem’s dancing makes me feel a little better…Tony Schiavone and Lord Alfred on the call for Coliseum Video as this was part of the Fan Favorites release…both teams discuss some strategy and settle in…Boss Man and Anvil kick things off with a slow staredown…Alfred puts over Slick as being astute…Anvil grabs a side headlock as Boss Man is already sweating through his shirt…Boss Man plants Anvil with a pair of shoulderblocks…cool seeing Anvil being the smaller guy, should lead to some interesting spots…Anvil plants and digs in, remaining on his feet on another shoulderblock…Boss Man charges but Anvil meets him with a dropkick and then starts to work the arm…he tags in Bret, who keeps up the arm work as well…Akeem tags in now, but Bret keeps him off balance, taking him down and dropping an elbow…he then goes to work on Akeem’s arm as well…Alfred talks about how nimble Akeem is for a big man…Anvil trips up Akeem from the floor, allowing Bret to leap up onto Akeem’s back with a sleeper…Boss Man slips in and nails Bret from behind to turn the tide for the Towers…Bret goes for a sunset flip but Akeem blocks it and sits hard and flush on Bret’s chest…that was nasty and I can see why Bret thought it could have been bad…Boss Man tags back in and goes to work on the chest of Bret…Boss Man drapes Bret across the middle rope and crashes onto his back as Slick celebrates…Akeem is back in and drops a big elbow across the chest…I love Akeem’s dancing and hand motions between every move…Akeem shoots Bret into the corner and tags in Boss Man…they both charge and squash Bret into the corner…Boss Man hoists Bret into a big bear hug but Bret busts it up by clapping the ears of Boss Man…Bret gets up but turns right into a big boot…Boss Man makes the tag and Akeem jukes his way over…I could watch this guy all day long…now Akeem hooks the bear hug…now Anvil hops in the ring and clubs Akeem from behind, breaking the hold…and God bless him, Akeem dances even while selling his back and the blow, amazing…Akeem keeps it together and hammers Bret’s back before tagging back out…Boss Man is still a pretty damn big dude at this point…he wrenches in a rear chinlock, pushing his weight on Bret…Bret fires out with elbows but it is short lived as Boss Man plants him back to the mat…Akeem is back in but he misses a splash in the corner…it does not buy Bret enough time as Akeem goes right back on the attack…this is a hell of a heat segment…Boss Man back in and slugging away as Bret is in dire condition here…Boss Man now misses a splash and this time it is enough for Bret to make the hot tag…Akeem is in as well but Anvil meets him with a flurry of blows…he shoots Akeem into Boss Man for a huge collision…Bret is back up and they drop Akeem with a double dropkick…Anvil slingshots Bret onto Akeem for a near fall…Boss Man is dumped to the floor and Anvil is out after him thanks to Akeem…Akeem follows and everyone is now brawling as Bret flies onto Boss Man with a plancha…Dave Hebner is counting and we get the bell as Akeem slips into the ring at nine, giving the Towers the count out win…after the match the Harts dump the Towers and cuff Slick to the top rope so they can hammer away at him…Bret grabs the cane and bashes Akeem with it…Boss Man tries to save Slick but he gets clocked as well…this almost felt like a double turn…Bret refuses to give Hebner the key, which he stole from Boss Man…really fun match for sure, all four worked hard and kept a good pace…the heat segment dominated the match but it was really well worked, with the usual good selling from Bret and quick tags and heavy blows from the Towers

- Now Bret talks about Japan and how fans didn’t always get to see the WWF stars…they were aware of the cache of the promotion and Wrestlemania but not really the specifics…he talks about the big joint supercard in Japan, with the mix of superstars from both countries…we see some really neat clips of the show…Bret had spent time in Japan but this was the first trip for many of the guys…he talks about the potential struggles of wrestling in Japan…now he talks about Tiger Mask II…only him and Randy Savage were matched with Japanese guys…Misawa was under the Tiger Mask here and he was bigger than the original…he felt Misawa would have a tough time filling the original’s shoes as well…Bret set out to make it a goal here to have the best match of his career and even top his bouts with the original

- Bret Hart vs. Tiger Mask II…this is from the Tokyo Dome on April 13, 1990…Bret is noticeably more jacked at this point, a year since our last match…they trucked Mel Phillips to the Orient for this one, that must have been quite the feat…nice reaction for Bret…TM jogs down to the ring as we get some 80’s daytime talk show sounding music…no commentary for this one…crowd has turned on Bret a bit now that TM is out there…tentative lock up and clean break starts us off…TM gains control early going to the arm and grounding Bret…the bright blue mat is a task on the eyes, especially since TM’s tights are the same color…TM slips loose of a counter by Bret and dropkicks him to the floor to a nice pop…Bret charges back in but TM catches him with an armdrag and boot for two…TM back to the arm followed by a crucifix for two…Bret charges but gets caught by the arm again…Bret finally fires his way free but TM ducks a charge and hits a cross body that Bret rolls through for two…before TM can go to the arm, Bret hooks a rear chinlock to slow him down…TM breaks free and after a series of reversals, he dodges a Bret dropkick and then slingshots him into the corner…TM stomps away and then goes back to the arm…TM goes for another crucifix but Bret blocks and slams back…those crucifix spots mirror the Perfect match from earlier to a tee…Bret drops an elbow and then slams TM down hard and goes back to the chinlock…Bret hits the ropes but eats a spin kick…TM then dropkicks Bret to the floor and follows with a plancha…this is weird, like watching a Bret match with Bret playing the role of Bret’s opponent…back inside, TM locks in a cross armbreaker but Bret gets the ropes to break…TM hits the ropes but Bret injures his knee landing on a leapfrog, which slows the match down…of course, it was all a rouse as Bret hammers TM with a clothesline to very good heat from the crowd...fun seeing Bret work as a heel here…Bret goes to his stand by offense, executed crisply as usual…TM blocks a right hand and gets a backslide for two…Bret comes back with a back elbow and Russian legsweep…TM fights out of a chinlock with a scoop slam but Bret comes back with a nice atomic drop backbreaker, which was pretty cool looking…Bret gets a suplex for a near fall as the crowd is rallying behind TM…well, rallying as much as Japanese crowds do…Bret goes back to the chinlock again and then follows that with an abdominal stretch…TM turns it around but Bret tosses him out of it…TM eats a boot on a charge to the corner but dodges a Bret elbow off the middle rope…TM slams him down and heads up top…he comes off with a high cross body for two…Bret takes his front bump to the corner to “oohs” from the crowd…TM hammers an elbow across the back of Bret’s head but Bret fires right back with right hands…as TM hits another cross body, the bell rings as we hit the time limit…oh man, what a shit finish that was…this was not nearly as good as I hoped it would be as they worked a slower pace and just never seemed to really get in a groove…everything seemed very regimented and not as smooth as you would expect…still, Bret did come across as more of a star than he was in WWF at the time, which was a good sign…ok match, but nothing that stands out

- Next up, Bret discusses Ric Flair…because of all of his travelling, he didn’t get to see much of Flair but heard everyone putting him over and raving about his talent…he was highly touted by everyone Bret respected and was looking forward to working with him…Flair visited the WWF locker room while he was still with WCW and told Bret he loved his work and was really nice in his praise…Flair arrived shortly after and still had a lot of buzz and lots of guys wanted to work with him…after watching him work, Bret finally got a crack at him in the ring…Bret always wanted to be respectful of Flair because he was already a legend at that point…Bret let Flair set the pace of the match, he was always a hard worked and could do it all technically…Bret’s only criticism of Flair is that he didn’t use any psychology, always making things up as he moved along…he thinks it was a generational thing…it was a great era, but a lot of guys would work the same holds over and over within a match…he feels this time period was a changing of the guard even though Flair was still in his prime…Bret wanted to rev the engine and do some different stuff but Flair was in his routine…things were starting to take off but Flair wasn’t ready to change

- Bret Hart vs. Ric Flair…this is from November 13 in New Haven…Flair and Mr. Perfect make their way out to kick things off…Sean Mooney & Alfred Hayes have the call for Coliseum Video as this aired on Invasion 1992…Mooney claims Flair is one of the biggest threats to the World Title…Bret is the IC champ here and looks like the title is on the line as Hebner raises it in the air…Flair has his World Title with him, but Mooney explains the situation regarding the strap…both men circle each other a bit before locking up…Bret goes to the side headlock off the bat, natch…after a minute or so, Flair breaks free and we reset with another lock up…Bret regains control of the headlock as Mooney notes that Flair is undefeated in the WWF so far…Perfect was still wearing the windbreaker suit at this point…Flair stands himself up and back Bret into the corner and then shoves him, but Bret retaliates with a huge slap to the face…Flair knocks Bret down with a shoulderblock, but Bret takes him down with a drop toehold…Flair gets in Hebner’s face and now Hebner shoves him…this isn’t fair to Flair at all…we get another lockup which turns into a battle over a wristlock that Flair wins by kicking Bret’s ankle…they battle over the wrist a bit more with some counters mixed in…that ends with a Bret right hand…Alfred notes that Flair is a great but isn’t as good when he gets rattled…Flair chops away in the corner as Mooney asks Alfred if he thinks Flair could defeat Hulk Hogan…they hint that the match is inevitable and may be coming soon…if soon means two and a half years, then sure…Bret comes back with a flurry of clotheslines until Flair begs off…Flair regains control and goes to his bag of tricks with a kneedrop to the skull and a rope assisted pin attempt…he shoots Bret into the corner and goes for another assisted pin but Bret fights free…Bret tries to fire back but Flair meets him punch for punch…Bret puts Flair down with a shoulderblock but Flair catches a charging Bret in a sleeperhold…Bret breaks it by running Flair into the corner and then hitting an atomic drop…Flair blocks Bret and hits a shinbreaker before hooking in the figure four…Flair uses the ropes on and off as Hebner checks on Bret…Flair smacks Bret around as he tries to fight free…Bret rallies and eventually turns the hold over until Flair is able to break free…Bret is too hurt to really take advantage but he is able to block a Flair suplex to the floor attempt with one of his own into the ring…Flair is still up first and back to chopping Bret in the corner…Bret straightens up and slugs back at Flair…he shoots Flair into the corner, where he flips out to the floor…Bret follows right after him and they are brawling in the aisle…back inside Bret hammers away at Flair but Flair pops right up and gets in Bret’s grill…Bret snaps off the backbreaker and then goes for the sharpshooter but Flair is able to get to the ropes with an assist from Perfect…Bret starts jawing with Perfect but turns back to Flair, hitting another backbreaker…Flair gets on the apron to distract Bret from going back to the sharpshooter…Flair recovers and dumps Bret to the floor…he brings him back in with a suplex attempt, but Bret floats through and rolls Flair up for two…Flair takes Bret down with a side headlock…Bret bridges out of the hold and gets a backslide for two…things get a bit sloppy but they recover as Bret knocks Flair over the top and out with an uppercut…Flair turns the tables outside and goes for a piledriver but Bret blocks with a back drop…both men start t climb in, but Perfect trips up Bret, giving Flair the win by countout…can’t argue with that finish too much as Bret needed to keep the strap and Flair had to stay undefeated…this was some very good stuff, with nothing crazy, just solid matwork and story telling…I can sense some of what Bret talked about pre-match as Flair kept going back to his spots against the grain of the match, but that changed about halfway through and I enjoy the second half quite a bit…Bret showed he could hang with Flair and Flair gave WWF fans a taste of what he could do with a quality opponent

- Now Bret talks about Undertaker…says he didn’t really buy the gimmick and magic tricks but Taker did such a good job that you could dismiss that piece of it and get into him…the Taker character early on was more like Frankenstein…they were still budding stars at this point, not having broken out just yet…the Taker match was just being molded here…Bret really loved his character at that time and going in there against Taker felt honest…Taker went to Bret years later and said he wished he could have matches with Bret to show how he could really work…they never thought they would get the chance, but they would years later…Taker was thrilled he could show everyone how he could work and Bret took that as an honor…this match here was the threshold for both men about ready to break through and improve…Bret misses this Taker character now that he looks back at it

- Bret Hart vs. Undertaker…this match is from MSG on 1/31/92…I was at a house show in Providence the night before…Gorilla & Bobby in the booth…Bobby notes that Bret is without his IC title, which he had lost to Mountie a few weeks before…Paul Bearer leads out Taker and he is still very awe striking at this point…Bobby still hasn’t been able to track down the contents of the urn yet…Taker slugs Bret right down off the bell and then chokes away in the corner…Taker stalks Bret across the ring and keeps hammering away…Bearer is really bizarre at this point…Taker misses a big charge in the corner and then he turns right into an atomic drop…Bret rocks him with clotheslines but Taker won’t go down…Bret hits him with a dropkick, but Taker flips over the top rope and lands on his feet…Bret meets him with a wild plancha and then hammers away on the floor…Taker sits right up and clubs Bret in the face after Bearer runs some interference…Taker runs Bret into the ring steps and then shoots him back inside…Taker keeps the pressure on, hoisting Bret in a choke and then dropping him to the mat…Bobby talks about his recent interactions with Taker…Bret goes for a sunset flip but Taker won’t give in…Bret dodges a punch and starts kicking away at Taker before hammering him in the corner…Bret eats the buckle as he whiffs on a charge…Taker kneels to the urn to which Bobby thinks he is drawing some power…Taker walks the top rope and crashes into Bret with an axehandle for two…Taker drops him with a leaping clothesline for another near fall…he follows that with a claw hold to break Bret down to the mat…Bret fights to his feet and punches his way out of the hold, but Taker strikes him in the throat to stop the comeback…Gorilla thinks that should have been a DQ…Taker goes up top again but this time Bret yanks him off hard to the mat…Taker is to his feet first but Bret meets him with an atomic drop and clothesline…he takes Taker back with a legsweep but can only get two…Bret follows with a suplex for another near fall…Taker is taking some great bumps here…Bret gets the backbreaker and ea clothesline off the middle rope…but Bearer is with Danny Davis…Bret comes over and gets into it with Bearer, allowing Taker to drill Bret with a knee…Bret blocks a kick and locks in the sharpshooter but Danny Davis is still down because Paul is holding him there…Bret comes over to help, but that allows Taker to clock him from behind…Bearer distracts Davis again, allowing Taker to crack Bret with the urn…Taker covers and gets the win…this was pretty damn good…Taker was really moving around well and a lot more aggressively than he usually did in this gimmick…his bumping was great too and it really helped Bret’s offense look crisp and effective…Bret got a lot of shine in that match and even looked like he had Taker beat down the stretch…good stuff here…a fun brawl in MSG

- Bret talks about how tiring all the travelling got…he would fly on holidays, doing two shots a day, flying and driving all over the place…he slept on lots of airport floors, always right by the door so he would be sure to be woken up when everyone boarded the plane…it was common for most wrestlers…he always was good with sleeping on the plane…now he talks about Bam Bam Bigelow…Bigelow was the best big man he ever worked with…he was coordinated, skilled, strong and safe…you can see in this next match what a good athlete Bigelow is

- Bret Hart vs. Bam Bam Bigelow…this is from Milan, Italy on 4/25/93…Dan Peterson is on commentary and he seems to be alternating between Italian and English…Bigelow is out alone for this one…we get a backstage interview with Bret before he enters…we start with some feeling out by both men…Bret hits the floor to think things over and then comes right into a side headlock…Bigelow hoists him high in the air and runs him to the corner and hammers him to the mat…Bret bails again to regroup…he slides back in but Bigelow goes right to work on the back with clubbing blows…Bret is able to slip free from Bigelow and start to work on the arm…Bret keeps the pressure on but Bigelow is able to finally punch his way free…Bret ducks an elbow and shifts his weight on a press slam attempt, falling onto Bigelow for two…Bret keeps bringing the heat, rocking Bigelow and knocking him outside with a charging elbow…Bigelow is taking his time out thee, so Bret leaps off the apron, but Bammer catches him and runs him into the ring post…Bigelow slides in as Bret is hurting on the floor…Bigelow hops out and hammers on Bret some more…he grabs the ring steps but Dave Hebner won’t let him use them…Bret is in some serious trouble on the floor but the crowd is trying to rally him…Bigelow is content to let Bret recover and slide in, which he eventually does…Bammer is right back on the attack though…he whips Bret to the corner so hard that Bret just collapses…Bret has done a nice job selling the back throughout this entire match…Bigelow has a nice swagger going here too…he just slings Bret out to the floor again…Bigelow fetches him and picks up a two count back inside…he shoots Bret in and catches him with a bear hug off the whip…Bigelow releases and gets another near fall…everyone now and then I understand some of this Italian…the cadence has a nice relaxing rhythm even though I barely know what the hell he is talking about…Bigelow flips him up into an old school Jesse Ventura backbreaker…Bret flips free and gets a side Russian legsweep to finally slow Bigelow’s assault…both men are slow to get up, but once they do, Bigelow catches a charging Bret and spikes him to the mat with a slam…he drops a headbutt and then plays to the crowd a bit…Bigelow slams Bret again and then drags him up and into a nice double underhook backbreaker…Bigelow busting out the offense here…he heads up to the top, but is really taking his time on the way there…he flies off with a headbutt but Bret rolls out of the way to avoid it…Bret comes back with a series of blows to the midsection and some rabbit punches in the corner…he takes Bammer down with another legsweep for two…Bret follows with a clothesline off the middle rope for a near fall…he heads back to the middle rope and comes off with a bulldog…he goes for the sharpshooter but Bigelow kicks free…Bret charges but gets caught in the bear hug again…this time he bites Bigelow to break the hold…he goes for a suplex but Bigelow turns his weight and crashes onto Bret for two…Bret ends up on the top rope, jumps onto Bammer’s shoulders and takes him over into a victory roll for the win…this was good as usual for these two, but I have seen better for them…this felt like a compilation of their main spots, so it was solid as nails but nothing that will ever stand out…still, I love watching them work as it is a great balance of power, bumping, selling and smooth offense…Bret gets a clean win, which feels like a rarity thus far on this disc

- That wraps up disc one…I will be back with disc two at some point as we continue to trek through the storied career of the Hitman

Review Date: April 2013