How Bret Hart’s Unlikely Final WWE Match Really Came Together
Bret Hart’s final match was an unusual affair.
Over the course of his in-ring career, Bret Hart battled the great and the good of professional wrestling. His stunning in-ring skills have earned him a spot in just about every “greatest of all time” conversation, and his matches are still beloved by fans to this day.
However, as has been well documented, The Hitman didn’t get the fairytale ending to his career that he deserved. Thanks to an accidentally stiff kick from Goldberg at Starrcade 1999, and several other painful incidents during the match, Hart was forced into early retirement.
Despite the very real concussion issues and a stroke suffered after a serious motorcycle accident in 2002, Hart made an in-ring comeback with WWE in 2010 where he won the United States Title. But although fans were happy to see Hart back on good terms with the company, he was severely limited in what he could do in the ring due to his health issues.
Bret Hart’s Surprising In-Ring Farewell
In November 2010, Hart’s WWE contract expired, but he returned to the ring one final time to team with John Cena against Alberto Del Rio and Ricardo Rodriguez on the September 12th, 2011 edition of Raw. The match ended with the veteran getting his hand raised after forcing Rodriguez to tap out in the Sharpshooter.
During a new interview with Chis Van Vliet, Rodriguez recalled how the match came together, and how much he enjoyed sharing the ring with the legend.
“Yeah, it’s insane. We were Ontario that day. We’re at the gym, Alberto and I, and then we get a text from Road Dogg, he tells Alberto the rundown. He said Hey, tonight, it’s gonna be you and Ricardo against John Cena and Bret Hart. And we’re like, Ha! So we’re waiting for the LOL, right? And then it never came.
So then I got the text. I was like, wait, what? All right, this is gonna happen. So obviously, Ricardo is not a wrestler. So I had my wrestling gear, but Ricardo is not a wrestler. So at that gym that we were at they were selling women’s tights and stuff, which I like them a little bit more because they’re more colourful and then they have more designs than the men’s, obviously there’s not any men’s tights.
So I bought a couple of the female workout tights and I took it to Road Dogg and then he’s like, Yeah, that one. So then we go over the match, and then it’s still not clicking in my head that what’s about to happen, and then we get in the ring, and I’m like, Dude, this is cool. This is awesome. I’ve worked with John, but I was always grateful for the opportunity.
But just the fact that, hey, we’re in Canada, Bret Hart’s about to put me in a sharpshooter. This is cool. This is super cool. So that’s one of those images I think I have that printed in the office too.”
During a recent media appearance, Bret Hart came to the defence of one of his most famous matches. After a fan suggested his Iron Man Match with Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 12 wasn’t all that special, Hart shot back, claiming it still stands as one of his great performances.
H/t to ITRWrestling