Bret Hart’s WWE WrestleMania matches ranked from worst to best
Let’s talk about Bret Hart’s WWE WrestleMania matches by ranking them from worst to best. Bret Hart has been a major part of WrestleMania history, especially in the early years, and most of his matches were either good or great. There were a few bad Bret Hart matches, and I’ll get those out of the way first.
Starting off with what many people feel was the worst Bret Hart match in WrestleMania history — maybe the worst match of his career, if you can even call it a match. It’s not really fair to compare it to the others, but it is what it is. It was technically a match at WrestleMania, and I’m talking about Bret Hart vs. Vince McMahon at WrestleMania 26. The fact of the matter is that Bret Hart really had no business being in a wrestling ring. He wasn’t able to do much physically. He could throw punches and knock Vince down, but he couldn’t take any bumps. The match went on way too long. If you wanted to use smoke and mirrors to have Bret Hart in a match, it would’ve been better in a multi-man situation. There had been talk about doing a Bret Hart and John Cena vs. Vince McMahon and Batista tag team match, and that would’ve been a lot better. Cena and Batista could’ve done most of the work, then Bret could make the hot tag at the end, beat up Vince, put him in the Sharpshooter, and that’s it. Instead, what we got was about 10–15 minutes of Bret just beating up Vince. It went on forever and was a disaster — a huge flop. It’s a shame because Bret Hart had made his comeback to WWE after all those years of bitterness. We finally got a conclusion to the Vince McMahon–Bret Hart story, and it was just a big letdown. It should’ve been a quick two or three-minute beatdown, but instead, we got an overly long segment with Bret, who couldn’t take any bumps, just beating up Vince. Definitely not one of Bret’s finest moments.
Moving on, the worst Bret Hart match during his active career was Bret Hart vs. Bob Backlund at WrestleMania 11. This was an “I Quit” match, and somehow, it just didn’t work. Hard to believe these two — both among the greatest wrestlers in WWE history — could have such a bad match, but it was a disaster. Without question, it’s Bret’s worst active-career WrestleMania match.
Next, several of the Hart Foundation matches — not bad, but mostly forgettable.
At WrestleMania 6, the Hart Foundation faced the Bolsheviks. Not much to say about it — basically a squash match that lasted about a minute. It was designed to make the Hart Foundation number-one contenders for the Tag Team Titles.
At WrestleMania 5, the Hart Foundation took on Greg “The Hammer” Valentine and The Honky Tonk Man. Again, nothing major — just a solid undercard tag team match.
At WrestleMania 7, they faced The Nasty Boys. This was a fairly good tag match, highlighted by The Nasty Boys winning the Tag Team Titles from the Hart Foundation. It ended up being the last tag team match for the Hart Foundation, as Bret would go on to begin his singles career.
At WrestleMania 3, the Hart Foundation and Danny Davis faced The British Bulldogs and Tito Santana. This was an interesting story at the time. The Hart Foundation had won the titles from the Bulldogs with help from referee Danny Davis, who turned heel and teamed with them. The match had some comedy with Davis involved, and while it was entertaining, it wasn’t particularly memorable.
At WrestleMania 4, Bret Hart competed in the Battle Royal. The most noteworthy part was Bret’s babyface turn. He and Bad News Brown worked together, but Bad News turned on him to win. Bret, angry, destroyed the trophy afterward — not very babyface-like, but it led to his and the Hart Foundation’s face turn.
Moving on, Bret Hart had two matches with Yokozuna in back-to-back WrestleManias.
At WrestleMania 9, Bret Hart vs. Yokozuna was a decent match. Bret played the smaller underdog trying to take down the monster Yokozuna. Thanks to powder from Mr. Fuji, Yokozuna got the win — only for Hulk Hogan to come out and win the WWF Title moments later, overshadowing Bret entirely.
At WrestleMania 10, Bret Hart got his redemption, defeating Yokozuna to win the WWF Title. Earlier that night, Bret had lost to his brother Owen Hart, which added another layer to the story. This was a great match and an excellent piece of storytelling.
From this point on, all the matches were great.
#4 – Bret Hart vs. “Rowdy” Roddy Piper (WrestleMania 8): I loved this match — one of my favorites as a kid. The promos and build-up were great, with two of the most interesting personalities in wrestling going at it for the Intercontinental Title. The story with Piper being tempted to use the ring bell but deciding against it was fantastic. That hesitation cost him, as Bret capitalized and won. Instead of turning heel, Piper put Bret over as a future main eventer. A very underrated and emotional match.
#3 – Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels (WrestleMania 12 – Iron Man Match): Not my favorite match of all time, but undeniably historic. The pacing was slow, and the match dragged in spots, but the final 15 minutes were excellent. Both men went an hour without a single fall, which made them look incredibly strong. Shawn realized his boyhood dream and won his first WWF Title in one of WrestleMania’s most iconic moments.
#2 – Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart (WrestleMania 10): An incredible match — technically perfect and emotionally charged. The brother-vs-brother storyline was one of WWE’s best, and the match delivered in every way. It opened the show, stole the show, and set up the continuation of their feud perfectly.
#1 – Bret Hart vs. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin (WrestleMania 13): My favorite Bret Hart match — and my favorite wrestling match ever. This was when the Attitude Era truly began. It featured one of the greatest double turns in history, with Bret turning heel and Austin turning face. The storytelling was flawless: Austin refusing to quit, blood pouring down his face in the Sharpshooter. This match made Steve Austin a megastar and solidified Bret as the ultimate villain. Pure brilliance.