10 Matches, Moments That Made Bret 'Hitman' Hart a WWE Icon

Sunday night on A&E, the legendary Bret "Hitman" Hart will take center stage as the subject of Biography, a special broadcast that will highlight the iconic career of one of the best to ever lace a pair of wrestling boots.

From his humble beginnings in Canada to his five WWE Championship victories, The Hitman is one of the most beloved Superstars in company history.

In preparation for the special presentation, relive these 10 moments and matches that helped establish Hart as the best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be, listed chronologically.

Intercontinental Championship Win over Mr. Perfect at SummerSlam 1991

Prior to SummerSlam 1991, no one doubted for a moment how talented a wrestler Bret Hart was. What was in question, though, was whether he could succeed as a singles star or if he was destined to be part of a tag team.

The Hitman answered that question emphatically with a show-stealing performance against the great Mr. Perfect for the Intercontinental Championship. An instant classic saw the champion allow his hubris to get the best of him.

Hart capitalized, absorbing everything the celebrated performer threw at him before trapping Perfect's legs in the Sharpshooter, sitting back and earning the tapout victory.

It was an announcement not only to WWE fans that Hart was a valued member of the singles roster and someone who would be relied upon to carry the mantle in the midcard as one of the best workers in the company but, moreover, a statement to the wrestling world that The Hitman was a Superstar with potential to form the foundation of any roster he was on, be it Vince McMahon's or someone else's.

As it turned out, the emperor of all things pro wrestling had many more plans for the second-generation performer.

An All-Timer in Wembley Stadium

One year removed from his star-making performance against Mr. Perfect in New York, Hart traveled to London for an Intercontinental Championship defense against his real-life brother-in-law, "British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith.

What was scheduled to be Bulldog's shining moment, though, quickly became one of Hart's defining ones.

Faced with the imposing challenge of delivering a classic match in the main event of the show at Wembley Stadium, with more than 80,000 fans watching and in the first instance of the intercontinental title headlining a pay-per-view event, Hart rose to the occasion.

He worked a beautiful, brilliant, 5-star affair with Smith that culminated with Bulldog's championship victory in front of his compatriots. History tells us, though, that Hart's performance that night had a greater effect on the long-term future of WWE than anyone could have imagined.

With the weight of the world on his shoulders, particularly after Smith forgot the plans for the match early on, The Hitman carried the action. He put together a contest that captivated the largest WWE audience since WrestleMania III and proved the IC title could sit atop any card and deliver the same engaging action the heavyweight belt did.

On that August night, he proved himself a big-match performer, and Vince McMahon took notice, leading to the next milestone moment in the Albertan's career.

WWE Champion

Prior to October 12, 1992, in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, guys who looked like Bret Hart didn't win the WWE Championship in McMahon's company. He was too small, not dynamic enough and didn't possess the enormous personality of someone like "Macho Man" Randy Savage, who used that to make up for his lack of size.

Bret was a wrestler who got over with the audience by being the best at what he did.

WWE was in a period of transition, with Hulk Hogan gone, Savage and Ultimate Warrior somewhat stale and world champion Ric Flair suffering from an ear condition. McMahon needed a new top titleholder, and on that night, he turned to the Superstar who had lived up to his word by proving he could deliver an all-time great match in the main event of SummerSlam.

He tapped Hart, and on that night, in front of a Canadian crowd, Bret submitted Flair to the Sharpshooter to become WWE champion for the first time.

It was the culmination of years of hard work and sacrifice, but for Hart, it was only the beginning of his run as a top star in wrestling's most prominent promotion.

Brother vs. Brother

Hart's first run as WWE champion was short-lived, thanks partly to backstage politics perpetrated by Hulk Hogan and also because of McMahon's antiquated determination to have a jacked-up bodybuilder at the top of his company.

After Hogan left and Lex Luger's push fizzled out, the Chairman of the Board turned back to The Hitman. Why? Because his connection with the audience was undeniable. People believed in Bret and wanted to see him succeed. He was their hero in a way the manufactured Luger never could be.

At WrestleMania X, his patience paid off in one of the greatest nights of his professional career.

Hart kicked the show off by delivering a 5-star classic with brother Owen in the culmination of a monthslong sibling rivalry. They would have many more bouts, but that one ranked among the greatest opening matches of all time and one of the best of either man's career.

Then came the main event, wherein Hart, co-winner of the 1994 Royal Rumble, challenged Yokozuna for the WWE Championship. The loss to Owen weighing on him, The Hitman flashed that in-ring awareness that allowed him to roll out of the way as his gargantuan opponent slipped off the ropes.

A last-ditch pinfall followed, and three second later, Hart was a two-time world champion who was being celebrated by his peers in the closing moments of wrestling's grandest night.

Going the Distance

Hart's selflessness and ability to make others look like main event competitors on his level reared its head in 1996 at WrestleMania XII, where he defended the WWE Championship against Shawn Michaels in an Iron Man match.

Hart lost the title, but over the course of 60 minutes, he wrestled another brilliant contest that further established himself as tops between the ropes and one of the most giving performers of his (or any) generation.

That match, its outcome and the personal rivalry that developed between Hart and Michaels would go on to define both men's careers from that point on.

The Double Turn

When Hart returned from a brief sabbatical in the fall of 1996, he found a WWE he no longer recognized. Gone were the days of clear-cut good and evil. In their place were shades of grey and a fanbase that did not long for the heroes of yesteryear.

Hart became increasingly bitter, descending into frustration and rage that culminated in a historic double turn at the conclusion of an epic Submission match against "Stone Cold" Steve Austin at WrestleMania 13.

Austin earned more and more fanfare for his rebellious ways, and by the time he was trapped in Hart's famed Sharpshooter with blood rushing down his face, he had turned the Chicago audience. Hart, frustrated by his inability to get Austin to submit instead of passing out from the pain, continued his attack after referee Ken Shamrock called for the bell.

Not only did that get him taken down by Shamrock after the match, but it also earned him the scorn of the Chicago faithful who previously would have given him a hero's welcome.

The following night on Raw, Hart's rant against the fans in the United States completed a heel turn that would make him the most despised villain in wrestling for the remainder of his run with McMahon's company.

At least stateside.

Hitman's Homecoming

In Canada, Hart remained a hero to millions.

Never was this on greater display than in July 1997, when The Hitman and his Hart Foundation partners Owen, Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart, Brian Pillman, and The British Bulldog entered the historic Saddledome for a gigantic 10-man tag team match against "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Goldust, Ken Shamrock and The Legion of the Doom.

The pops from the live audience grew louder as each member of the faction entered the arena. Then, Hart stepped through the curtain and the reaction grew to mythical proportions. A thunderous ovation awaited The Hitman as he joined his family on the entrance ramp.

It was a reminder of the adulation for him outside of the interior 48.

That The Hart Foundation would go on to win the match and then join their family members in a gigantic in-ring celebration made the night that much more special.

For Hart, it was his last great moment on the WWE roster, devoid of backstage politics and petty infighting. It was a moment a star of his magnitude deserved given his devotion to the company.

Montreal

If the In Your House: Canadian Stampede pay-per-view was the summit of Hart's WWE career, Montreal—just four months later—was the lowest.

As Hart exercised the creative control element of his WWE contract, refusing to drop the heavyweight title to a Shawn Michaels amid a feud that had become more and more combative both in front of and behind the cameras, a great sense of intrigue and mystery hung over the 1997 Survivor Series pay-per-view.

Would Hart do the time-honored tradition and put over Michaels on the way out the door to World Championship Wrestling, seemingly swayed by management and McMahon, or would he win the debate and leave his home country with his title reign intact?

History tells us it was Option 3, an unforgettable on-screen screwjob that saw McMahon, Michaels and other key members of WWE management conspire to get the title off of Hart before he left for another promotion.

The Montreal Screwjob, as it has become known, ended Hart's decade-plus run with WWE and would create genuine hatred between him and the employer that helped make him an international star.

He would stay away from the company and any of its events for nine years.

Hall of Famer

In April 2006, Hart returned to WWE and entered the Hall of Fame, a well-deserved honor for one of the company’s greatest stars.

The Hitman delivered a 45-minute speech that celebrated the men and women who helped him along the way and told stories of some of his favorite matches, moments and backstage relationships.

On the surface, it was an honorable night and one well past due. It was a celebration of one of the industry's greatest technicians and a moment for Hart to share with the fans who had supported him from day one.

Beyond that, it was the first sign that the iciness between Hart and McMahon was beginning to thaw and that, perhaps, there was business to be done between two men whose love and admiration for each other had once been unbreakable.

Hart Family Revenge

Four years after his Hall of Fame induction, Hart mended fences with McMahon and Michaels, returning to WWE television and jumpstarting a WrestleMania XXVI program with the chairman.

On the industry's grandest stage, Hart and his family double-crossed the boss, beating his ass around the squared circle for 16 minutes before The Hitman applied his Sharpshooter finisher and made the boss tap out.

The post-match celebration may have been missing patriarch Stu and matriarch Helen, but it was the appropriate end to a feud that dragged on for far too long.