My Review Of Bret Hart's DVD

Most people would consider Bret 'Hitman' Hart to be one of the greatest professional wrestlers of the last 25 years if not of all time. I know that I would. He was the perfect balance of charisma, attitude, and in-ring ability. This 3-DVD set attempts to chronicle the Hitman’s career from his childhood up until the kick that ended his career in WCW. I found this DVD thoroughly entertaining but thought that they spent too much time talking about Bret's upbringing and days in Stampede Wrestling. By no means am I suggesting that I think they should have skimmed over it, but I think that they spent more time than they needed to on it. That time could have been better spent in my opinion. That's all. I was also a little disappointed at how they didn't really explain the whole backstory leading up to the 'Montreal Screwjob' at the 1997 Survivor Series. Things such as how Vince offered Bret a 20-year contract and then backed out if it only to try to honor it again. I think that Bret's A&E documentary 'Wrestling With Shadows' did a much better job providing the events leading up to the match in Montreal.

Other than the things I mentioned, I felt that the biography protion of the DVD was very well done and was glad that Bret opted to participate. It would have been unfortunate if Bret had declined the invitation to do the set and instead the WWE released an 'unauthorized' version much like they did with the Ultimate Warrior after he decline to participate in his own WWE release. I was glad to hear Bret's thoughts on some of the most memorable parts of his career. Parts such the whole Team Canada/Hart Foundation storyline, his feud (and Wrestlemania 13 match) with Steve Austin, the events leading to his departure from WWE and entry into WCW, and his brother Owen's death. Until watching this DVD I had forgotten how hated Bret Hart was by the American fans while he was heading Team Canada/Hart Foundation and how beloved he was by the Canadian fans during that same time period. I was also very curious to hear Bret's thoughts on his run in WCW. Much like most of his fans, he felt that his days in WCW were disappointing to say the least. I was a little surprised to hear Bret's thoughts surrounding the kick that he received from Bill Goldberg that ended his career (and later caused him to suffer a stroke). While he openly states that he is convinced that his career would have continued for a long time if the kick had never taken place, Hart admits to having no hard feelings towards Goldberg. I give Bret a lot of credit for moving on with his life if he has truly forgiven Goldberg. I find that very surprising considering the fact that Bret makes it a point to mention how he has never injured an opponent at any point in his career. I'm not so sure that I would be willing to do the same if I were in his shoes.

Besides the biography portion of the set, there are tons of bonus features. The first of which includes Bret's tribute to his brothers Dean and Owen as well as other wrestlers that have passed away. This set also includes Bret talking about various aspects of his character such as the 'Dungeon', his trademark sunglasses, and how he felt being a villain. Bret also tells stories about learning the Sharpshooter and about when Owen crank-called their father Stu pretending to be Reg Park. To be honest the only segments of these extras that I found enjoyable were his tribute to his brothers and deceased wrestlers along with the story about the crank-call. I found the others a little boring..

Included as part of the extras are 18 matches chronicling the Hitman's WWE career from the beginning. While I haven't watched all 18 matches yet, the ones that I have had a chance to see have been enjoyable. Strangely, a lot of the matches that I have seen so far have ended in a draw of some sort or a loss for the Hitman (or Hart Foundation). I look forward though to seeing the rest of the matches soon - Especially the one versus Diesel at Survivor Series 1995. Unfortunately, probably due to Bret's animosity towards Shawn Michaels, neither of his two most memorable matches versus Michaels are included on the set. It would have been great to see the 'Montreal Screwjob' match from 1997 and his 60-minute Iron Man Match from Wrestlemania (or at least highlights of it). They claim that they didn't include them due to time constraints, but I know better. It would have also been nice to see the match where he defeated Ric Flair to capture the WWE Championship for the first time or the 1994 match where he defeated Bob Backlund only to have Backlund go crazy, put Hart into the Crossface-Chicken Wing (or is it called the Crosswing-Chickenface?), and refuse to release the hold. I was especially surprised about the Flair match being omitted seing as how it was Hart's first WWE World Title. However, the matches that they did are excellent.

Overall I would give the 3-DVD set an 8½ out of 10. Like I said earlier - I would have liked to hear more of the backstory leading up to Survivor Series 1997 as well as at least one of his matches versus Shawn Michaels.

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