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Bret Hart's WWE DVD
By Justin Ballard
 ...
It’s finally here. The longest-awaited wrestling DVD of all-time. The one we weren’t sure we’d ever see done properly. “Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart: The Best There Is, The Best There Was, The Best There Ever Will Be.” And it’s absolutely glorious. If you’re already a Bret Hart fan, I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you how essential this DVD is to your collection. Chances are you’ve already trampled several people (children and the elderly included) at your local Best Buy or WalMart, desperate to get your copy. If you’re not a Bret Hart fan, there must be something terribly wrong with you. But who am I to judge? At any rate, even if you don’t consider yourself a fan of “The Hitman,” anyone who appreciates the art of pro wrestling should give this DVD a watch. And then they should watch it again. It really is ten hours of wrestling nirvana, folks. The main program is a sprawling documentary about the life and career of one of the finest grapplers in the history of the industry. I was surprised at how complete this two-plus hour film was. Bret Hart apparently gave over seven hours of interview time for this DVD and also chose many of the clips and matches contained within. The documentary covers Bret’s entire 20 years in the ring and shows quite a few clips from his early Stampede Wrestling days. These were a treat to watch, and I’d be very interested to see some of these matches in their entirety, particularly his legendary battles against The Dynamite Kid. From there we move on to Bret’s start in the WWF, where initially one of management’s brilliant ideas was to make Bret a cowboy. Fortunately for all of us, that idea didn’t stick, and Bret joined up with Jim Neidhart and Jimmy Hart to form one of the all-time great tandems, The Hart Foundation. “The Hitman” of course went on to a legendary singles career atop the WWF, which ended in the now-infamous Montreal Screwjob and his subsequent (and sadly uneventful) stint in WCW. One refreshing aspect of the documentary is how honest and emotionally open Bret shows himself to be, but also how much he really seems to have moved past the bitterness and resentment he once harbored. Even when discussing Owen’s death in 1999, the one thing he seems to regret most is the fact that he wasn’t there to stop it from happening. This is one of several truly touching moments on this DVD. As for the 18 matches on the DVD, they make up one hell of a collection. From his classic Hart Foundation matches to his numerous singles bouts with Mr. Perfect, Davey Boy Smith, and of course his brother Owen, to the wonderful tribute match against Chris Benoit, this DVD showcases so many of Bret Hart’s - and indeed wrestling’s – greatest matches and moments. The most pleasantly surprising inclusion on the DVD is an early 1986 Boston Garden match between Bret and Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat. It’s a real gem of a match and a very welcome DVD extra. I’m very grateful as a wrestling fan and as a Bret Hart fan that Bret agreed to be a part of the production of this DVD. Had he declined to participate, we almost certainly would’ve been treated to more spiteful McMahon revisionist history, a la “The Self-Destruction of the Ultimate Warrior.” Fortunately for all of us, we are instead able to enjoy what I consider the best wrestling DVD ever made. Thank you, Bret Hart. For everything. Think you can do better? Prove it. Send your review of this or any other DVD to:
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| All content contained here Copyright 2008 by James Guttman *** World Wrestling Insanity and ClubWWI are not affiliated with any wrestling promotion. |
