“I was a performance artist”: Bret Hart talks AEW, UFC and WWE with Ariel Helwani
WWE Hall of Famer and Canadian hero grappler, Bret Hart joined Ariel Helwani on the MMA Show on Monday to promote WWE’s King of the Ring tournament.
While WWE‘s King of the Ring tournament was the main purpose for Brett Hart to join Ariel Helwani on Helwani’s MMA Show, Hart went over a number of non-WWE topics in their 30-minute interview. Helwani wasn’t shy about his enthusiasm for his national hero, and Helwani admitted to being a huge fan of Hart’s as a kid before their discussion began.
On the WWE Hall of Fame attack:
The two first went over when Hart was ambushed by a fan during his WWE Hall of Fame Speech at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY earlier this year. Hart heard that the fan either was a heavily pro-Vince McMahon fan or possibly an anti-Vince fan, but he wasn’t told an actual reason for the man’s motives. Hart also claimed the attacker himself didn’t do much physical damage, though he did get hurt a bit when wrestlers started piling atop him and the attacker; his overall condition is fine now.
The modern backstage environment
The backstage environment is nicer these days, according to Hart, and said it feels more like a close-knit family, and he enjoys going and meeting up with old friends. He mentioned the old politics between he and Vince never affected his personal relationships with people in the business. Hart says he has a good relationship with Vince (McMahon), Paul (Levesque, a/k/a Triple H), and Stephanie (McMahon), and that things now are a “win-win for everybody.”
1992: Best performance artist in the world
Hart said he really felt he was legitimately the best wrestler in the world in 1992, which happens to be the year he had what some call the greatest match ever in the main event of SummerSlam at Wembley Stadium in a losing effort to “British Bulldog” Davey Boy Smith. What’s notable here is that Hart referred to himself as a ”performance artist,” which is relevant based on the recent public discourse had among talent on social media, the perpetual “well, what is wrestling?” debate.
On AEW
There sounds to be an ambiguous open-door relationship he has with AEW. There’s nothing official between parties but Hart mentioned that he has a fondness for the company and a lot of the wrestlers. He said the Double or Nothing gig was more out of convenience than anything else, and finally stated that he wants AEW to be “really successful” because he likes what they’re doing.
Hookin’ and shootin’
Hart is an avid fan of UFC, and said he tried to emulate UFC fighters throughout his career. He even mentioned how into the matches he gets and how he essentially shadowboxes while watching. Hart went on to say his WrestleMania 13 match with Steve Austin is as good as any UFC match, with the only difference being, as he put it: “No animals were harmed in the filming of this production.” He called wrestling a “ballet of violence” and a “solid life-builder” for kids, using Helwani’s fandom as a kid as an example. Hart was a big Chris Weidman and Jon Jones fan, and loves Khabib, too, and was vocal about his admiration of Khabib’s “unorthodox” fighting style.
A story for Conor
Before they finished, Helwani asked a question about the Montreal Screwjob and how he handled being one of the biggest stars in Canada and how it compares with Conor MacGregor’s situation now as the biggest sports star in Ireland. He told a story of when he gave Ken Shamrock some advice back in the day, when Shamrock was racking up a lot of assault charges. Bret told him to think about how much money he’d save on lawsuits and fees and with that money he could buy his kids extra Christmas presents instead of going to jail. Hart said the next week Shamrock told him that was the best advice he’d ever received.
Next. Does Vince McMahon play favorites?. dark
Hart will be appearing at the Rio Theatre in Vancouver, BC on September 12 and September 15, both for “Another Evening with Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart.”