Bret Hart believes there may be too many cooks in the kitchen when it comes to putting together matches in WWE these days.
During a recent appearance on the “Inside The Ropes” podcast (see video below), the WWE Hall of Fame legend reflected on how matches were constructed during his own career and compared that process to what wrestlers deal with today.
According to “The Hitman,” Vince McMahon generally determined who would win and lose, but the wrestlers were largely trusted to handle everything that happened between the opening and closing bells.
“I take great pride in my matches,” Hart said. “My Iron Man match, my WrestleMania 13 match, I created every bit of those matches from start to finish.”
Hart noted that the level of collaboration varied depending on his opponent. He credited “Rowdy” Roddy Piper with taking the lead when they worked together, while matches with Mr. Perfect and The Undertaker were more collaborative efforts.
“Roddy Piper, I give him most of the credit for putting that match together,” Hart said. “Mr. Perfect and Undertaker, I would say 50-50.”
When it came to working with Owen Hart and The British Bulldog, however, Bret said he was responsible for putting the matches together himself.
“Owen Hart, British Bulldog, I did 100 percent of the match,” he said. “I take great pride in that.”
Hart also recalled the amount of freedom McMahon occasionally gave him. On one occasion, Hart offered to explain how he planned to finish a match, only for McMahon to decline because he wanted to experience it himself.
“I remember one time I said to Vince, ‘Do you want me to tell you the finish?’” Hart recalled. “And he goes, ‘No, I want to watch it.’”
Hart believes that level of trust was an important part of why many of his matches worked as well as they did.
“He trusted me,” Hart said. “And I think that’s why my matches were so good.”
When the discussion shifted to the current WWE product, Hart suggested that today’s wrestlers may not be afforded the same freedom. He argued that too many people without actual in-ring experience are now involved in instructing talent on how to wrestle.
“Maybe that’s the problem with wrestling today,” Hart said. “You’ve got all these idiots telling wrestlers how to wrestle that never wrestled.”
Hart then singled out longtime WWE executive Bruce Prichard while expanding on his criticism.
“Bruce Prichard doesn’t know anything about wrestling,” Hart said. “He goes around telling wrestlers how to wrestle.”
Hart has never been shy about offering his opinion on the current state of professional wrestling, and judging by his latest comments, “The Hitman” believes wrestlers could benefit from being given more freedom to construct their own matches.
