Over the course of his career, Bret Hart was able to get a fantastic match out of nearly everyone he shared the ring with. It’s a long-held fact that The Hitman is one of, if not the best ever for this very reason. While he’s not the be-all and end-all, wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer certainly thinks so as well. Seldom is a Bret Hart match labeled a stinker.Even when he wasn't at the top of his game, those matches were still pretty good and just poor by The Hitman’s standards.Updated on March 29th, 2022 by Tevon King: The wrestling career of Bret Hart has been littered with tons of memorable matches. The Excellence of Execution is one of the all-time greats that has ever laced up a pair of boots. The Hitman is a member of the legendary Hart Family, and he is unquestionably the best wrestler from that family. The two-time WWE Hall of Famer took the ball and ran with it, and he was groomed as the undisputed face that kickstarted the New Generation Era. Wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer has picked out the best of the bunch of Bret Hart matches, and he has rated them high. It's not a surprise that Hart has consistently put on legendary matches with just about every wrestler he has worked with. Of course, Hart is not exempt from having an off day, but it is rare. Meltzer's ratings on Hart's best matches in WWE and WCW are a true reflection of how good, the Best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be, truly was.
20 * Vs. Hakushi - Raw 7/24/95 (4 Stars)
On the July 24, 1995, edition of Raw, Bret Hart and Hakushi collided in the main event. Their chemistry together was outstanding, and Hart always brought out the best in Hakushi. The action was fast-paced, and Hart launched off the apron to take down Hakushi on the outside.
Hakushi pushed Hart to the limit, and Hakushi's manager Shinja got involved in proceedings. Nevertheless, the Excellence of Execution's Sharpshooter was enough for Hart to put Hakushi away in an underrated encounter.
19 * Vs. Jean-Pierre Lafitte - In Your House: Triple Header, 1995 (4 Stars)
Bret Hart has a reputation for making anyone good, and that's what exactly he did here in his contest with Jean-Pierre Lafitte at In Your House: Triple Header. The Hitman executed a suicide dive to get the match underway. The landing looked awkward but fortunately, Hart was fine.
The match was intense, and Lafitte dominated large portions of the match. It's another hidden gem of Hart's that is certainly worth rewatching. Lafitte, the former Quebecer Pierre threw the kitchen sink at Hart, but the result was never in doubt with Hart prevailing with a Sharpshooter.
18 * Vs. Jerry Lawler - SummerSlam 1993 (4 Stars)
Bret Hart pulled double duty at SummerSlam 1993. After he disposed of Doink "The Clown", Hart collided with his rival Jerry "The King" Lawler in his second match of the night. Lawler's plans failed as he thought that he could avoid facing Bret by pretending to be injured.
Somehow, Dave Meltzer thought this match was worthy of a four-star rating. The rating certainly raises eyebrows as it was a decent match, but not a four-star quality match. Lawler's crutch was introduced and both relentlessly hit each other with it. Nonetheless, Lawler picked up the victory by disqualification as Hart refused to release the Sharpshooter.
17 * 20-Man Tag Team Survivor Series Elimination Match - Survivor Series 1987 (4 Stars)
The 20-man tag team traditional Survivor Series elimination match at Survivor Series 1987 was a who's who of legendary teams. The Hart Foundation teamed up with Demolition, the Bolsheviks, the Dream Team, and the Islanders.
The WWE Tag Team Champions Strike Force were the team captains of their team. This gargantuan match was perfectly-executed with WWE's finest tag teams getting the chance to show what tag team wrestling has to offer. Nevertheless, the Hart Foundation endured 31 minutes with Hart taking the fall to get himself and Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart removed from the equation.
16 * Vs. Booker T - Nitro 2/22/99 (4 Stars)
The February 22, 1999, edition of Nitro, featured Bret Hart going head-to-head with Booker T. This was one of the best matches in the Hitman's WCW run. Moreover, Hart took control of the match, and he led the way, but Booker was on his way to becoming one of the major stars in WCW.
Booker nailed Hart with his patented Scissors Kick early on in the contest. The Hitman kicked out of it, and he continued to be the aggressor. Hart applied the Figure Four Leglock with Booker writhing in pain. The crowd was red-hot, and Booker managed to fight out of the Figure Four Leglock. This four-star quality match saw Booker prevail with a roll-up, and he became the number one contender for the WCW United States Championship.
15 * Vs. Mr. Perfect - SummerSlam 1991 (4 Stars)
At SummerSlam 1991, Bret Hart challenged Mr. Perfect for the Intercontinental Championship. Unquestionably, this was one of the greatest Intercontinental Title matches of all time. What's even remarkable about this match is that Mr. Perfect had a severe back injury. Moreover, this was a technical masterclass with Hart and Perfect hitting a home run.
Hart wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to win the Intercontinental Championship in his first singles match on a WWE pay-per-view. Perfect planted Hart with the Perfect Plex, but Hart managed to kick out of it. It was a valiant effort from Perfect, but it was Hart's time to shine as the Sharpshooter was enough for Hart to secure his first piece of singles silverware in WWE.
14 * Vs. Chris Benoit - Nitro 10/4/99 (4.25 Stars)
Bret Hart and Chris Benoit put on a clinic in an emotionally fueled match on the October 4, 1999, episode of Nitro. The Hitman was paying tribute to his brother Owen in a match, that took place in the Kemper Arena, where Owen passed away four months earlier.
This was a pay-per-view quality match for Hart and Benoit. Benoit was the reigning WCW World Television Champion, but the match was a non-title affair. Bret's WCW run wasn't the best, but this bout was certainly amongst the few highlights. A war of attrition finally came to a halt with the Excellence of Execution seeing off with Benoit with his patented Sharpshooter.
13 Vs. The British Bulldog - SummerSlam 1992 (4.25 Stars)
It’s clear right away on this list just how amazing Bret was in the ring when this match is the last one. The SummerSlam showdown between the brothers-in-law is heralded as one of the greatest Intercontinental Title matches of all time. The Hitman had put together and carried The British Bulldog to an amazing match and compelling story. Less than two months later, he was WWE Champion.
12 Vs. Mr. Perfect - King Of The Ring 1993 (4.25 Stars)
Bret Hart spent the majority of his early WWE run with Neidhart as part of The Hart Foundation. They quickly became one of the marquee tag teams of the era. When The Hitman began his singles run, Mr. Perfect took it upon himself to bring Bret Hart to the promised land.
The term “dream match” gets hurled around all the time now. But when it came time to topping their effort from SummerSlam ‘91, Bret was showcasing just how great he was during the inaugural King Of The Ring PPV. As part of his three matches, Bret and Perfect worked a technical marvel that saw The Hitman simply reverse a small package to defeat Hennig and advance.
11 Vs. Diesel - Royal Rumble 1995 (4.25 Stars)
In just eight seconds, the direction of the WWE had turned and Diesel became the WWE world champion. His first big challenge was against the former champion, Bret Hart who got robbed out of the title at Survivor Series. Throughout his career, the seven-foot monster had his best matches against Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart, and Bret Hart worked the big man three major times for a little over a year.
This first encounter, according to Meltzer is the best - which is heavy praise considering this is also a match with a non-finish thanks to constant interference from both babyfaces' enemies.
10 Vs. Shawn Michaels - WrestleMania 12 (4.25 Stars)
By today’s standards, watching an hour of technical wrestling even between two of the best wouldn’t hold a lot of interest. That just speaks to exactly why both Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart are considered the GOATs. They knew full well one of the best ways to capture a fan’s interest was to be in a dead heat tied right until the final bell. Had their animosity towards each other never bubbled over, the Iron Man match would have been just the first chapter in a long and compelling program instead of just one WrestleMania match.
9 Vs. Austin Vs. Vader Vs. Undertaker - In Your House: Final Four, 1997 (4.25 Stars)
Putting a Fatal 4 Way together let alone a good one is oftentimes a fool’s errand. But the main event star power of Vader, Undertaker, Bret, along with the capable rising star of a certain Texas Rattlesnake made this Fatal 4 Way match an awesome main event. The four superstars brawled all over the building and Vader inadvertently bled a gusher for most of the match. Despite fighting all over the arena, you still had to heave your opponents over the top to win. Bret was able to dump Stone Cold (which the ref saw this time!) on his way to victory.
8 W/ The Hart Foundation Vs. Steve Austin, Ken Shamrock, Goldust, And The Road Warriors - In Your House: Canadian Stampede, 1997 (4.25 Stars)
In a lot of ways, The Hart Foundation standing tall at In Your House: Canadian Stampede has to be the proudest moment of the entire family’s wrestling history. The Calgary crowd came alive the moment Brian Pillman entered the arena, the ovation reached earth-shattering by the time
The Hitman entered the arena and the fans were wild all night. Even as Owen won the match by cheating, the Calgary crowd just loved their hometown heroes.
7 Vs. Shawn Michaels - Survivor Series 1992 (4.5 Stars)
It’s interesting to think that Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart’s first big singles match against each other took place at the very event where five years later, they’d have their historic last match. But in 1992, The Hitman was riding high during his first WWE title reign. Shawn Michaels had defeated Bret’s brother-in-law to claim the IC title.
But that belt wasn’t on the line at their 1992 Survivor Series match. Bret was able to retain his WWE Championship after a hard-fought back and forth battle between two hungry superstars in the post-Hogan era.
6 Vs. The 1-2-3 Kid - Raw 7/11/94 (4.5 Stars)
As the first “smaller” WWE champion post-Hogan and Warrior, Bret Hart was also hellbent on defending the belt against anyone and everyone. That also meant a young rookie named the 1-2-3 Kid on Monday Night Raw. The match is still considered one of the best matches in Raw history. So much so that over 25 years later during CM Punk’s return match at All Out against Darby Allin, the two recreated several stories beats from this match.
5 Vs. The British Bulldog - In Your House: Seasons Beatings, 1995 (4.5 Stars)
While Bret Vs. Davey Boy at SummerSlam is a family feud for the ages, their match for the WWE title at In Your House Seasons Beatings was actually even better, thanks to perhaps a clearly defined heel vs. babyface on top of the familial relationship.
Bret even bladed during the match to add to the drama. But just like Davey Boy defeated Bret with a simple trap pin two years earlier, the Hitman was able to retain in a similar fashion.
4 Vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin - Survivor Series 1996 (4.5 Stars)
When Bret Hart returned to the company he was once a stalwart hero of, he found it a much different place just a few months later. The WWE fans were starting to get behind the heel tactics of Stone Cold Steve Austin, who coincidentally was calling Bret out. But when Bret did return he was able to take down The Rattlesnake in their first match together using the same maneuver he was able to topple Roddy Piper with at WrestleMania 8.
3 Vs. Owen Hart - WrestleMania 10 (4.75 Stars)
How do you open up WrestleMania? You have the kind of match that Bret and Owen Hart had. The two went back and forth and were able to tell a nice story of “anything you can do, I can do better.” It also was a big coming-out party for Owen Hart, who was finally being allowed to show that he was every bit as good as his older brother.
2 Vs. Owen Hart - SummerSlam 1994 (5 Stars)
Leave it to the technically trained Hart brothers to change how a steel cage match is done. Bret defended the WWE title against Owen at SummerSlam 1994 in a steel cage to keep all of their relatives out.
When Owen wasn’t trying to be a snake and sneak his way out of the cage, the two brothers worked an amazing technical marvel that featured a massive top of the steel cage suplex.
1 Vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin - WrestleMania 13 (5 Stars)
It was a perfect storm of two superstars right on the cusp of superstardom - Bret was already there, but he was about to embark on one of the best heel runs WWE had ever seen. Of course, Stone Cold was about to go on a tear on his way to becoming the greatest WWE superstar of all time. It all started with this now mythical match that both men cite as a huge moment in their careers.
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