Bret Hart Discusses His Cancer Diagnosis, Owen Hart Likely Not Being Inducted Into The WWE Hall Of Fame & More

WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart was a guest on yesterday’s edition of the Ring Rust Radio podcast. He talked about many different topics including: opening up about his prostate cancer diagnosis, Owen Hart probably not getting inducted into this year’s WWE Hall of Fame, Triple H winning the Royal Rumble and his impressions of this year’s Royal Rumble PPV.

Hart announced Monday that he was battling with prostate cancer and that he’d be undergoing surgery in the next few days. When asked how he can spread awareness of this issue in addition to helping those who are going through the same situation, Hart responded by saying:

“I think just by being open and honest about it. Letting people know that I’m in the fight, and as I go through it, I’ll show people just that. Hopefully in the near future I can prove to people that I will overcome this battle and be on the better side of it in six months or so. Hopefully, people will gain strength from that and use me as somebody they can look up to if someone in their family or themselves goes through it.”

Last week the eldest brother of the Hart family, Smith Hart, announced on his Facebook page that World Wrestling Entertainment will not be inducting Owen Hart into the WWE Hall of Fame this year. Tensions were bad in the past between the Hart Family and the WWE regarding Owen’s tragic death. However, it seemed like things were beginning to settle down as the WWE recently released a DVD/Blu-ray centered on Owen’s career and life. The DVD/Blu-ray was very successful in addition and received well by many fans. Bret was asked if he can confirm this news or not and this is what he had to say:

“I can confirm it to a certain degree, but no one has told me officially. I have heard from various family members that are closely tied in with WWE that it doesn’t look like Owen is being inducted. I think it’s a real shame and it breaks my heart.”

Bret continues about how Owen’s widow Martha is really the one has unfortunately slowed down this process of getting Owen into the WWE Hall of Fame since she’s apparently still very hurt and still holds a lot of anger towards the WWE.

“The main obstacle I think is his widow Martha, who is really obtuse and kind of a bitter woman that never understood that it was of the wrestling fans or wrestlers that killed Owen. It’s pretty easy now to look back on it and see that it was really just an unfortunate accident. I think Martha is guilty of burying and doing nothing to help keep Owen’s memory alive. Wrestling fans have every right to remember Owen and cherish his career. A lot of people loved Owen just for the type of person he was and not just the wrestler he was. A lot of wrestling fans got to know him over the years and miss him. I just think it’s really sad that Martha is still so obtuse and has it in her head the only ones that can grieve over Owen are her and her kids and everyone else can go to hell. The rest of us miss him too and I don’t agree with her and her idea on how to remember Owen. It’s a shame that she can’t accept that fans love him and miss him just as much she does.”

Bret went on to talk about how he’s not too excited about the idea of Triple H winning the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and headlining WrestleMania 32. Bret also mentions how he feels like Triple H’s idea of what to look for in a wrestler is much different than his, and because of this he finds it much harder to watch wrestling today than he has in the past.

“I find it harder to watch wrestling nowadays. I was a really big fan of Daniel Brian and CM Punk. They were great wrestlers. I think Triple H is a guy in a different mindset and is more about how you look. More into a guy like Batista, The Rock and Brock Lesnar. I will say though, I think Brock is a great wrestler. If they all look like Hulk Hogan or big muscle-bound guys like Arnold Schwarzenegger, he would be really happy. That to him is what wrestling is all about. He thinks that is the type of guys you should push, and maybe that’s why he is the champion.”

Bret continues by talking about how he’s more into those who can legitimately wrestle than those who are just bodybuilders types. He also explains why he felt that this year’s Royal Rumble, to him, fell flat.

“I am personally a guy that’s more about wrestling. I don’t really have an interest in watching bodybuilders stumbling around the ring. Most of the time, they aren’t the best athletes. It’s not about how you look; it’s about how you wrestle. Wrestling fans are the priority. I’m a big fan of Kevin Owens and I think he’s a great wrestler, and I’m also a big fan of Brock Lesnar and I think he should have won the Royal Rumble. I wasn’t too impressed with the Rumble this year. I thought it was really flat and a lot of bad calls were made about who got pushed and who didn’t. I think it’s a sad state of affairs when they have the biggest wrestler in the world, the Big Show, go out there and be thrown out of the ring by just one guy is just stupid booking. I think you look at someone like Mark Henry who is billed legitimately as the strongest man in the world, he goes out there and he’s thrown out of the ring in less than 30 seconds? It all just makes me wonder. They have all these other guys that they are pushing, but then they lose track of what the Royal Rumble is all about. I was extremely disappointed this year. The Rumble was always one my favorite pay-per-views but it has been lackluster and hasn’t lived up to what I had hoped for. The last few years have been downers as far as the Rumble goes. I will say, WrestleMania they always surprise me. When I was there watching it, I was surprised that they pulled it off and it was really exciting to watch. I’m hoping they can pull a rabbit out of their hat with this one, but I am not so sure they can this year.”

Bret also goes on to discuss being a part of a company called Sharp Shooter Funding, guys he wishes he could go back in time to wrestle, and the infamous “Montreal Screwjob.” If you’re interested, you can listen to Ring Rust Radio’s interview with Bret Hart in its entirety right here:

Mark’s reaction: It’s great that Bret is deciding to lead by example in opening up about his prostate cancer diagnosis. Someone of his status being open about it certainly helps bring awareness to the issue. He’s also absolutely right in saying that how he handles himself going forward will help set a great example for those who are also battling this illness.

It’s unfortunate about Owen Hart not getting inducted into this year’s WWE Hall of Fame, since I suspected he might have with the success of the Hart of Gold DVD/Blu-ray. However, I have no doubt that he will be inducted eventually; his time will come for sure. I also like the idea of inducting the Hart family as a whole into the WWE Hall of Fame. They are arguably the most illustrious family in wrestling history, and it wouldn’t be a first something like the would happen since the Von Erich family was inducted in 2009.

I echo Bret’s sentiments in that I also take more of an interest in the guys and girls who are talented wrestlers, no matter the size. However, I’m not too sure if he is aware of the work Triple H has been doing in NXT and how he was reportedly instrumental in getting Kevin Owens to come to the WWE, someone Bret really enjoys watching.