Bret Hart's WWE Career in 1992

Bret "Hitman" Hart has had one of the best careers of any WWE superstar, and much of his success can be traced back to one year: 1992.

In that year, Bret regained the Intercontinental Championship, had a pay-per-view world title audition where he proved he was worthy, and soon after, won his first WWE championship.

Funny how things end up—that audition wasn't supposed to happen that way—in fact, Hart introduced to Vince McMahon one of the most famous matches in WWE history, a match he never competed in on a big stage: the ladder match.

Find out more in my latest three-part video series

Chapter 1: WrestleMania 8

In part one, Bret Hart talks about facing Roddy Piper at WrestleMania 8 and how important it was to his career. Hot Rod hardly ever lost 1-2-3 with his shoulders on the mat, and that's exactly what happened in Indianapolis. Beating a former legend, the headliner of the very first WrestleMania, was exactly what Bret needed to propel himself into the main event stratosphere.

Then came Summerslam 1992, a rare circumstance where the IC title was in the main event at Wembley Stadium, where Bret defended the gold against British Bulldog.

But in Part 1 of this interview, we are talking about the original plan for Summerslam 1992: Bret Hart vs Shawn Michaels, in Washington DC, in a ladder match.

Why didn't this happen according to plan? How did Bret introduce the ladder match (setting up an "audition match" for Vince that Vince didn't watch)? Why was his idea stolen years later?

Part 2: Summerslam 1992 vs British Bulldog

Now comes Summerslam 1992. Plans change, but for the better. Bret Hart has an "audition" of sorts against British Bulldog, in England in front of 80,000 people, to prove he is world title material.

In part two, Bret talks about the match in detail: the circumstances before the bout, his nerves and the match itself, which he calls the "finest display of wrestling I've ever been a part of."

Part 3: Winning the WWE Title for the First Time

Finally, in the fall of 1992, at a live event in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Bret Hart wins the WWE title, defeating Ric Flair. Why did it happen like this? Why wasn't this match on TV or pay-per-view? What did Bret think of Ric Flair and having matches with him? Why did all of a sudden the pair go from having good matches while Flair was champion to sub-par matches when Bret was champion, in a matter of days?