4 Reasons Why 3-Time WWE HOF'er Bret Hart Is Pro Wrestling's GOAT

Bret "Hitman" Hart will make history on April 18 when he becomes the first three-time inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame.

His Submission match against "Stone Cold" Steve Austin from WrestleMania 13, which catapulted The Texas Rattlesnake into the main event stratosphere and resulted in a rare double-turn, will become the first ever "Immortal Moment" to be enshrined.

It is the latest honor for a competitor who has done it all between the ropes and whose legacy is defined by the squared circle.

In an industry with far flashier, bigger, faster and stronger athletes, what makes Hart a worthy three-time inductee and the greatest professional wrestler of all time?

Here are four reasons why.

A Legacy of In-Ring Artistry

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If an artist is defined by what they leave on the canvas, then Hart is a virtuoso.

A master storyteller, he spent three decades plying the craft he learned in his father's "dungeon" in Calgary creating masterpieces that captivated audiences by taking them on emotional roller-coaster rides through the dramatic highs and lows of a wrestling match.

At SummerSlam in 1991, The Hitman outwrestled the usually flawless Mr. Perfect to win the Intercontinental Championship in front of his parents at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Fast-forward a year to Wembley Stadium in London, where he defended the same title against his brother-in-law, "British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith, in an instant classic.

Hart lost that match but became a bigger singles star as a result, his excellence apparent regardless of wins and losses.

There was the all-time great opener against his brother, Owen Hart, at WrestleMania 10, the rematch four months later at SummerSlam 1994, the Iron Man match versus Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 12, and the Hall of Fame-bound Submission bout against Austin at WrestleMania 13.

In between the most recognizable matches are the hidden gems, such as house-show contests from 1986 against Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, his Saturday Night's Main Event showdown with "Macho Man" Randy Savage in 1987, the tag team battles with partner Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart against Demolition, show-stealing matchups with Hakushi in WWE's otherwise awful 1995, and a vastly underrated classic rematch against Smith at In Your House 5.

Hart blended the artistry of wrestling—selling the idea of a fight and the physical chaos that comes with it—with emotional storytelling that convinced a worldwide audience to care about him and his work at a time when others dominated the landscape.

"No one takes and s--t-kicking like Bret Hart," he said in the 2005 WWE Home Video release Bret The Hitman Hart: The Best There Is, The Best There Was, The Best There Ever Will Be. He lived up to that statement, selling his opponent's offense better than anyone and putting them over with the audience in a way that was believable.

His excellence between the ropes forced Vince McMahon's hand and led him to his first WWE Championship in October 1992 with an extraordinary match with Ric Flair.

He painted a picture with every move and strike, and fans viewed it in a way gallery-goers do Pablo Picasso or Leonardo da Vinci.

As it turns out, the fans weren't the only ones.

Your Favorite Wrestler's Favorite Wrestler

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Wrestlers gravitate to Hart's work as much as the fans do.

There is no bigger supporter of The Hitman today than CM Punk, who has been open about his fandom and how much the second-generation wrestler has inspired him.

There are callbacks to famous Hart spots, including in his match with Darby Allin at AEW All Out in August 2021, where his opponent got the best of him and Punk stood up and applauded, acknowledging his opponent a la Hart with The 1-2-3 Kid in a Raw classic.

He utilized the sleeper reversal spot that Hart used to beat Roddy Piper at Wrestlemania VIII in the Dog Collar match against MJF. He sports gear modeled after The Hitman's most iconic looks and told Complex that Hart "invented cool."

Punk may be the most outward about his love for The Hitman, but he is far from the only recognizable fan of his.

Whether sending congratulations to the three-time Hall of Famer for his star on the Canada's Walk of Fame or halting a media day interview for his film Jungle Cruise to tell co-star Emily Blunt about how good Hart was to him early in his career, The Rock has also spoken about his admiration for a man he considered a mentor.

While discussing his No Way Out 2006 match with The Undertaker on Ad Free Shows (h/t Sportskeeda), Kurt Angle admitted to taking the steel post figure four spot with Hart's playbook.

"I have done that a couple of times," he said. "I got it out of Bret Hart's playbook. You know, you want to be the best, you have got to steal moves from the best (laughs). You know, it was a great spot in the match, and it worked out really well."

Two-time WWE champion Drew McIntyre cited Hart as his favorite growing up but appreciated him even more when he got into the pro wrestling business.

"When I started wrestling and understanding the way he structure his matches and the psychology, I was able to articulate a little bit better why I was a fan of his," the Scot told Under The Ring podcast.

FTR (Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood) have called Hart their hero, too.

Roman Reigns offered his own praise for The Hitman, telling ODE (h/t Fightful): "Bret Hart was always my guy. I enjoyed that sports-centric, athletic type of performance that he put on. He was a pro wrestler's pro wrestler. His work ethic and the amount of dedication he put in is second to none."

There is a bit of Hart in every one of them, be it McIntyre's physicality, Punk's timing and selling, FTR's Hart Foundation-like tag team chemistry or the manner in which Reigns carries himself like a champion.

His influence is felt across professional wrestling today, with this generation of workers emulating his style and introducing it to young fans.

Hart even pointed it out while taking a not-so-subtle dig at Hulk Hogan, telling Ariel Helwani:

"When you watch a lot of the wrestlers today, you don't see anybody imitating Hulk Hogan or The Ultimate Warrior. You see a lot of the wrestlers of today really trying their best to capture my style or some of the guys that I worked with like Dynamite Kid or Curt Hennig and my brother, Owen. They're wrestling my style and that's the biggest compliment I can get from today's generation."

It's all part of Hart's enduring legacy. Greatness inspires greatness, and Hart has done that for an entire generation of pro wrestlers.

A Global Hero

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Not only has Hart inspired today's greats, but his style has also made him a hero around the world.

While others experienced the majority of their success in the United States because they struggled to translate to a worldwide audience, he never had that problem.

McIntyre told Under The Ring:

"That style, if you've ever seen UK/European wrestling, it was a very mat-based style and it was still in existence at the time when Bret was taking off. For me, I didn't really realize or didn't appreciate Bret as much as I do now until I started wrestling. I was like 'Oh I like watching Bret Hart."

His ring work and dedication to making it as realistic and logical as possible while still taking the audience on that all-important roller-coaster ride, set him apart from others like Hogan, whose magic and mystique wore off with some audiences across the Atlantic the moment the music stopped and his posing came to an end.

Hart was incredibly popular worldwide, with strong fanbases in Europe and the Middle East. Some of it can be attributed to his style, some to the fact that he presented himself like a champion, and some to his rockstar-like appearance.

There was no audience that loved, respected and admired him quite like his native country of Canada, though.

So much so that in 1997, when he did finally turn heel after nine years as a babyface, Hart remained a hero to his fellow Canadians. It was part of his character, hence the electric reactions anytime he stepped through the curtain.

That he was so beloved outside of the United States, where he achieved his greatest success, is a testament to his ability to connect with every audience he performed for, something even the most recognizable names in pro wrestling have not always managed to do with great consistency.

A Selfless Worker

Beyond the classic matches and generations he has inspired, Hart's greatness may boil down to the stars he helped make and legitimize along the way.

British Bulldog was already over with fans, but he was not a truly believable headliner until Wembley when Hart put him over in front of his home country fans in the best match of Smith's career.

Michaels was legitimized as a singles star, to fans and the office alike, thanks to the contests he had with Hart early in his heel run, including the first ladder match in company history, well before The Heartbreak Kid revolutionized the gimmick with Razor Ramon.

Hart elevated Jerry "The King" Lawler's star on a national stage by way of their rivalry in 1993, further established The 1-2-3 Kid during their all-time-great Raw match, was instrumental in getting Yokozuna over as a main event heel, and he catapulted his brother, Owen, to the main event level by way of their WrestleMania 10 classic and subsequent rematches.

Razor Ramon and Diesel were benefactors of Hart's graciousness, with Kevin Nash crediting The Hitman for teaching him main event style in WWE.

No example of Hart's willingness to put others over and create new stars is greater than what he did for Austin.

Hart went to Vince McMahon and voiced his desire to work with Austin. Upon his return from hiatus in 1996, he crafted a classic against The Texas Rattlesnake at the Survivor Series that opened the eyes of the WWE fans to how great a wrestler Stone Cold was.

Four months later, he changed the trajectory of Austin's career forever in a Submission match that launched his fellow future Hall of Famer into the main event stratosphere.

Austin conceded on an episode of his Broken Skull Sessions show that without that match and what Hart did for him, there is probably no Stone Cold.

The same can be said for so many other stars who worked with, learned from and had themselves legitimized by sharing the ring with The Hitman.

Few stars in his position were comfortable enough in their own abilities, not to mention their willingness, to make their opponents look as great as they did.

Hart left the business better than he found it by helping to establish a generation of stars he could work with, who could get over with audiences and help move the industry forward and that, as much as anything, is key to his legacy.

His work between the ropes transcends eras and remains as relevant today as it was when he originally battled Bulldog, Michaels, Undertaker and Austin.

His influence on the current era of professional wrestling and its stars' love and admiration for him as a worker and mentor is apparent.

As it is analysts and journalists. The B/R Wrestling team named Hart the greatest Superstar in WWE history in a 2024 countdown.

While some made more money, sold more merchandise and posed more to close out shows, one would be hard-pressed to find any one wrestler more universally spoken about with reverence and respect like Hart by peers and fans alike.

Three inductions into WWE's Hall of Fame is a tremendous honor and one that speaks well of how wrestling's top promotions views him as an iconic contributor to the industry.

However, it's ultimately how Hart's legacy lives on through those who emulate his style, tell stories of his excellence and write impassioned defenses of him as the greatest of all time that makes him the best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be.