It's no secret that Bret Hart has little love for his fellow WWE Hall of Famer, Bill Goldberg. After leaving WWE, the Hitman squared off with the WCW icon at the Starrcade PPV in 1999 in what ended up being one of his final matches.
It was an errant kick from Goldberg that concussed the technician, later resulting in him having a stroke.
In a recent interview with Fox Sports Australia, Hart talked candidly about Goldberg's style of wrestling and made it clear that's not how it should be done. He'd even compare him to today's competitors, explaining how risky moves can cause injuries, why dives over the top ropes don't have the same impact, and his disdain for an overabundance of chops (don't tell Gunther he said that).
"There’s a lot of great wrestlers out there that can deliver great matches. But there’s so many wrestlers out there that are subpar in my opinion, that don’t know what they’re doing out there. And they allow themselves to rely on things like chops, which I think is sort of like cheap heat - you get a reaction, but what’s your reaction?"
"You’re whipping a guy across the chest with your hand? Okay, so you’re hurting some guy for real, for some stupid reason. And the crowd sort of reacts to it."
"In my understanding of pro wrestling, anytime anyone does anything to you that hurts, for real - chopping, putting blisters on your chest when you go to your room or bed, anytime anyone does things to you for real, they’re in the wrong business."
"They’re doing it wrong. Because you’re not supposed to get hurt. You’re not supposed to come back to your dressing room that night, or to your hotel room and have a big lump on your head and a black eye and your teeth are knocked out. That’s Bill Goldberg wrestling. That’s not how it’s done."
It's easy enough to understand why Hart feels so strongly about this because that kick to the head resulted in a severe concussion which ended his wrestling career and significantly impacted his health outside the ring. As a result, he holds a great deal of resentment towards Goldberg.
Hart would go on to only wrestle 9 more matches after that Starrcade bout and had his stroke in 2002. Later, he competed for WWE in 2010 and 2011 but never at the same level as when he was in his prime.
What are your thoughts on Hart's comments about pro wrestling?