Bret 'The Hitman' Hart

Introduction

Bret Sergeant Hart (born July 2, 1957) is a Canadian second-generation wrestler and member of the infamous Hart wrestling family. Son of Stu and Helen, brother to Owen (Slenderslam 1, 6 and 8), Bruce, Keith and Dean, Brother-in-laws, Davey Boy Smith (Slenderslam 10) and Jim Neidhart and Cousin Roddy Piper (Slenderslam 2 and 5).Dickie Davies is said to have claimed he is the best wrestler he had ever seen and in 1987 after an appearance on World of Sport after he was seen to be hitting other men, Dickie stated that he was like a "Hitman", after that the nickname stuck and the moniker assigned.
After an eight and a half year spell with his Dad's Stampede Wrestling, Bret joined the WWF in 1984 and it was not long before his excellently excellent career reached its summit in 1991's Tuesday in Texas where Bret defeated Skinner (Slenderslam 5) to retain his Intercontinental Title.
Bret referenced this encounter in his first biography 'Excellence of Elocution' - 'I remember saying to Vince in July of 1991, so I am gonna fight Skinner at King of the Ring, I slap the Sharp-shooter on and we ring the bell, great, then I am gonna fight him again in December 91 in Texas, I slap the sharp -shooter on and ring the bell - then what Vince? Where do I go after that? The two greatest wrestlers of the modern era and then where Vince?' - Vince had no answer to this and off course he didn't know what to do, it was at this point I knew that I had to start looking beyond the WWF, it was then that I needed to contact Ginger McMahon and see what the Waterloo Wrestling Federation had to offer.'
As fate would have it, it was about the same time that Ginger McMahon was already plotting his dream to bring his childhood heroes in spandex to Shirley, and for Ginger there is no bigger hero than The Hitman and he made it no secret that bringing the Pink and Black attack to the Waterloo was the driving force behind bringing his vision to life.
Bret finally contacted Ginger in the summer of 1992, they met at the Waterloo Arms whilst Bret was over for WWF's Summerslam, at the time The Waterloo was a regular pub and Ginge was just a mayonaisse salesman. But Ginge has a dream and shared it with Bret.Bret was impressed with the vision but unsure if Ginger had the power to pull off the dream, he left him his contact details and wished him goodluck.
The pair remained in contact, exchanging birthday cards every year there after, in 1997, whilst Bret was filming Wrestling with Shadows, footage of Bret, Mitch Sizemore and Ginger McMahon rubbing themselves with Goosefat and lemon juice was later cut from the the final edit because Bret felt that it made him look a little bit unstable.
Eight and a half years later Ginger got the go-ahead from the Board of the Waterloo Wrestling Federation to host the innaugaral Slenderslam and the first name he contacted was, of course, John Cena, but then straight after that he spoke with The Hitman and the rest as they say is history.

Slenderslam 1

Long before Ginger McMahon moved Slenderslam to a Summer gig, the first Slenderslam was held on a cold night in April, ticket sales were low but expectation were high, the line-up was limited in number but packed with quality.
Bret had convinced brothers Owen and Keith that if they travelled with them he would get them a payday, Bret believed that he could call the shots in Waterloo and Ginger would have to roll over.
Sadly Bret's reputation for being a whining ball-bag had travelled across the pond and Ginger was not going to give in to Bret's demands, he reluctantly agreed to allow Owen to feature as the Blue Blazer and Keith was in charge of operating the cameras.
The Hart's were pissed, they decided to sabotage the footage from that event and ensure it was never seen, a crime that Ginger would only find out much later and one that he ensured would never happen again (see Waterloo Screw-Job). Blazer and Bret were rebooked for future events and Keith was never allowed back in Shirley again.

Slenderslam 8

The Bret Hart that the Waterloo faithful were treated to at Slenderslam 8 was well past the prime Bret we saw eight and a half years earlier. By this time Bret was a bitter and twisted figure all too keen to take cheap shots at the Waterloo Federation.

Bret knew that his best days were behind him and Gingers WWF was on an upward trajectory, any normal wrestler would have used the limelight provided by the Waterloo Arms to help give their flailing career a boost, but Bret was still Bret, he used the platform to bitch and moan about the calibre of attendees and the lack of excellence.
Bret came to the event as firm bookies favourite to take home the gold but sadly too preoccupied with his own agenda, taking cheap shots at Nailz, Stone Cold and Sizemore himself, lost out to younger brother Owen.
This might be the last time we see The Hitman in Shirley and our verdict, The best there is? Maybe, The Best there was? Possibly, The Best there ever will be? Probably Not.

The Waterloo Screw-Job

Of course it is well documented that Bret Hart is one of the illustrious few multi-attendees at Slenderslam, appearing in the First and Eigth annual. However not many know why such a huge star and notorious weiner would sign up once let alone twice, especially when you consider this is not held in Canada and the last time he was on these shores he dropped the belt to the braided Bulldog with the wrestling ability of a broomstick.Following the success of Slenderslam 1, Ginger McMahon honoured his promise and took all the wrestlers to Shirleys finest establishment for post event food and drink, whilst at Nando's McMahon took the opportunity to ask Hart for his signature, claiming it was for his Grandson, Red McMahon. Whilst Ginge has a grandson, he had no intention of passing the signature on to him, because of course he dislikes all children even those born from his seed.Unbeknown to Bret though he had signed a contract that tied him into an exclusivity agreement to Slenderslam for eight and a half years. McMahon now reserved the rights to call upon Bret's presence at any Ginger McMahon production up until March 2018, that included any Slenderslam event, Netflicks original TV series 'Jizz or Jazz' or ITV2's fly on the wall documentary 'Ginger Pubes and Oily Dudes'.
Upon finding out of the ruse, Bret quite predictably cried for some considerable time, blaming everyone including those closest to him, which of course included his greasy hairdresser and the good people of Fray Bentos. The contract though was of course as tight as a Valentine figure four leg lock and as punishing as a Garvin Stomp.
When approaching Ginger McMahon on the matter of the Waterloo Screw-job he had this to say:-
"Some would say I screwed Bret Hart. Bret Hart would definitely tell you I screwed him. I look at it from a different standpoint. I look at it from the standpoint of the Waterloo Wrestling Federation did not screw Bret Hart. The good people of Nando's certainly did not screw Bret Hart. Nor did Ginger McMahon screw Bret Hart. I truly believe that Bret Hart screwed Bret Hart. And he can look in the mirror and know that.
When I make a wrestling decision it's like Phil Collins said it's just another day in paradise for Ginger McMahon, because against all odds you can't hurry love and you Bret are an easy lover who showed your true colours."

Bret Hart

Slender Slam 1 (2009)

Slenderslam 8 (2016)

Born Bret Sergeant Hart Date of birth July 2, 1957 Origin Calgary, Alberta, Canada Occupations Professional wrestler, Excellent Executioner, Progessional Weiner, Slenderslam Apps Slenderslam 1 (2010), Slenderslam 8 (2016)

“I was recognized as being an artist and a storyteller. If Hulk Hogan was the Elvis of wrestling, I was the Robert De Niro.”