Eric Bischoff SHOOTS On Bret Hart In WCW! 

How should Bret have been used in WCW? Let us know in the comments below!

The fact that they called a pilot of air Canada to let Bret know his brother passed lets you know that he in fact was a Canadian hero 😆 😊

Despite his rise and fall in WWF and trials and tribulations of WCW. Bret Hart, without a doubt, is one of the most important, inspiring, and gifted technical wrestlers of all time . Forever in the Best there is, Best there was, Best there ever will be 👏 🙌 🙌

i don't ever hear bischoff mock hulk hogan for thinking he was a hero and not wanting to lose

It had NOTHING to do with Canada. It all came down to what Shawn Michaels said in the locker room: “..I appreciate that Bret, but I’m not willing to do the same for you.” Bret has said that a million times! He made it really clear on their rivalries DVD.

Hi, a Canadian here. Bret is very much a Canadian hero.

I will say the only reason I ever started to watch WCW was because of Bret Hart. If he would have never went I would have never watched.

It's funny cause he mentions (and falls flat in the punchline) that Bret "thought he was a hero in Canada", but when Owen died, AIR CANADA contacts the PILOT to tell them about Owen cause they know Bret is on that flight. So yea, Bret didn't think that he was hero in Canada, he KNEW he was a hero in Canada.

The fact that Brett dropping the Belt in Montreal is still talked about till this day proves that it was a indeed big deal.

‘If WCW knew how you use Bret Hart properly we would of been in big trouble’ -Vince McMahon

"Eric Bischoff was Iike the guy in the Wizard of Oz behind the curtain doing all the noise, but didn't know anything" - Bret Hart

The thing is, you can denigrate Bret's reasons for not wanting drop the belt all you want, but at the end of the day, he had contractual creative control over his character for the last 30 days of his deal.

he is a Canadian hero, Eric... wrestling isn't like acting, you are that character all the time to fans.

5:28 bret was and is a canadian hero especially during that time and no wonder why wcw is out of business

The only thing wrong with what Eric said was that Brett thought he was a Canadian Hero. The guy was. He was up there with Wayne Gretzky. Also, Brett just didn't want to lose to Michaels specifically. He would have lost it to anyone else but him. They had so much hate and animosity that there was no Changing Bret's mind. He has been very clear on this

Bret wasn't a hero in Canada? My friends and I literally only watched WCW after Bret signed.

Lol he would never talk about hogan like that

I love Bret! I think he's an amazing performer. Not all heroes wear capes. Remember that, Eric!

“I (Vince McMahon) was concerned they (WCW) didn’t know what to do with him (Bret Hart). Fortunately, those concerns were well founded because if I were they, they could’ve built the entire franchise around Bret.” Vince McMahon back in 2006.

Glad I listened to this video. I was in the audience for the Jay Leno show that Bret was supposed to compete in that day. He was scheduled to wrestle Kevin Nash on that show. I found out that they were not going to be on the show while in line to get into the studio. The show also featured Hugh Grant. Vladi Divac was the replacement for Bret and Nash.

I moved from Jamaica to Toronto in 1993. I was 5. Brett Hart became my hero almost immediately.

I'm canadian and bret is a Canadian hero. wrestling is about more than acting. it's an art form. he's the goat and the innovator of technical chain wrestling that brought the wwe out of the stone age. he's a pioneer. and it wasn't about dropping it in canada or dropping it period. it was about dropping it to shawn after he tried to ruin his marriage with the sunny days comment. he said he wanted to drop it to Austin instead. vince said no but he did have creative control on his way out so he agreed to let bret drop the title instead after a no contest interference ending in Montreal. shawn dropped the wwe title a year prior because he refused to job to bret. Vince allowed it. bret just wanted to do to shawn what he did to him. PERIOD. learn your history eric

As a Canadian kid, Bret was my Hero at that time.

Eric completely missed the reason why Bret wasn’t going to drop the belt in Canada, it was because he was dropping the belt to Shawn Michaels, his real life rival. Shawn refused to put over Bret, so Bret didn’t want to put him over either. Had nothing to do with thinking he was a Canadian hero. Also, there have been plenty of instances of a film/tv actor refusing to do something in the script. Terrible analogy

Finally Eric admits he fumbled.

Bringing the entire Hart Foundation group in to battle the nWo would have been awesome, for me.

Where can I find the whole interview in one video?

At 1:10, Bischoff is contradicting something he was adamant about in his 83 weeks podcast, when he said he never made an offer to Bret in 1996.

They should have at that time made bret the number one guy. Despite what the hulkster thought at that point in time bret was a way bigger star than hulk especially in europe and canada. They totally messed it up simply because of eric and hulkster's egos. That is the facts jack.

This sounds about the most honest take on the transition I've ever heard about Bret going from WWF to WCW and how it went. I love Bret, but this perspective seems legit. And, that said, it really explains Bret's performance in WCW in a way that tracks. Bret, to me, always seemed like his heart just wasn't in it anymore when he was in WCW. He was still Bret, but there was definitely something missing. Hearing there was a lack of a plan due to Bret's timing, Bret still having some emotional stunting from the screw job, Owen dying ... this all just makes sense.

Respect Eric for admitting he was wrong in completely fumbling Bret's WCW stint. But where he is also wrong is Bret's "funk" came after they time and time again fumbled his career there. THAT is was to this day pisses Bret off. He did want to kick Vince's ass and bring his A game to WCW. But they squashed his momentum with NO plan. Eric tries to blame Bret's lack of fire. Go.back and watch his first few weeks/months. He was trying SO hard. They killed his spirit.

Bret collected on that big Loyds of London Insurance Policy after making a lot in WCW than went back to make a fortune in WWE

They give Bret shit for not wanting to drop the belt but respect Austin for walking out, cmon now pick a side 😒

It wasn’t about losing in Canada it was about respect and losing to a guy that didn’t have any for him

Should of brought back heart foundation to combat nwo, could of added new members aswell.

I’m a Bret hart fan.. and right now I’m an Eric bishoff fan as well. Much respect for saying that real shit

Bret Hart was a great athlete and a wrestling legend without a doubt. Bischoff certainly didn't use him as he should have, but throwing shit at Eric like Bret does just doesn't sit well with me. Bret came to WCW unwillingly and it showed on the show, he never tried to help improve the quality of the product and after so many years he still complains about Goldberg's kick when he was already at a dead end in his career. Ah, not to mention the fact that his brother Owen had purposely compromised Stone Cold's career and Austin, unlike him, never complained! for goodness sake in Canada he may have been a hero but at that time in Italy we were already crazy about Goldberg, Sting, Steve Austin, undertaker etc. and for us someone who showed up in a pink and black costume in the late 90s in the ring was already outdated! Bret never accepted that and we know that.

He absolutely is a Canadian Hero, damn Bishoff..

I may be in the minority here, but I wholeheartedly agree with what Eric says here in this interview. He makes a lot of sense. I especially enjoyed his soliloquy about Bret thinking he was a Canadian hero. That made, and continues to make, Bret look like a complete tool to this day. He thought he could do whatever he wanted just because he was Bret Hart. Yes, he was a great wrestler, but let's face it, he wasn't megastar, someone who you'd drop anything you're doing to go watch him.

Bischoff said he brought Bret in to headline Thunder as an “anchor”…..you know how many times Bret was on Thunder? 6 times. Bret spent the majority of time on Nitro. Then Bischoff says Bret didnt want to lose the belt in Canada because he (Bret) thought he was a national hero,. Wrong. Bischoff conveniently leaves out that Bret said to Michaels himself that he had no problems putting him over at SS '97 and it wasnt until Michaels said I just want you to know that I would not be willing to do the same and THAT (along with his creative clause) is why Bret decided he would not put Michaels over; in addition, Bret went to Vince and said he woul put over Austin, Shamrock or Taker instead. Mcmahon obviously did not agree to any of that, so we got the screwjob instead. So this was never about Bret not wanting to lose in Canada.

I’m 37 yo from Thailand. In the 90’s there were two things I knew about Canada. 1. It’s next to USA 2. Bret Hart And Eric thought he’s not a Canadian Hero?

He is a Canadian hero 🤷‍♂️

Man I miss those WCW days. WCW was the best. Tons better than WWE.

Bret just didn’t want to drop the belt to Shawn because he felt disrespected by Shawn!! It became personal between the two he would have dropped the belt to anyone else but Shawn even in Canada!

Eric Bishoff was brilliant how he helped WCW blow up. If only he wouldn’t have put all his attention to Hulk Hogan

I'm so glad he finally talked about this topic….

Essentially he was a Canadian hero.

Eric was being honest in this interview. Everything he said matched up especially when he talks about meeting Bret at the air port aftet the accident with Owen and Bret and Eric have both told that same story throughout all tyese years not ever changing it.

Hearing Bret Hart signed for WCW before I saw the Wrestling With Shadows documentary was crazy. I couldn’t see how he would fit in, and at the time he was not as big as Hogan, Savage or Sting at that point. I’m not talking about the man and performer. To be honest I wanted to see Sting vs Hitman. Hogan didn’t figure. For me it made sense making Bret Hart a heel.

Bret had a great run in WCW. He's one of only eight WCW Triple Crown Champions and did it faster than the other seven (Flair, Sting, Luger, DDP, Goldberg, Scotty Steiner, and Booker T).

Bret was never a good fit in WCW, Vince knew he wouldn't be used right there

Honest and appreciated

Glad i stumbled on this. This gives me a little more respect for Eric. He owned his responsibility in the Hart mess, but everything he said alot Hart made sense also.

The problem with Brett's ❤ situation is that since Vince was the 1 that wanted to break the contract 📝 he had Creative Control for the last month he worked in WWE. So he didn't want to drop the belt because it was in his Legal right 👮. Eric its the same deal 🤝 you did with Hulk 😎. Hulk didn't want to drop the belt exercising his creative control or turned heel 👠 in YOUR... Movie 🎥 when you pitched him the idea as his Boss...😎??? But when Brett does it...😒???

I respect Bischoff for being more honest now a days. Cause Bret could have been used much more successfully if they could have been more wise to use him in all ways he had already been with WWE.

I lover Bret Hart but when I think of him I think of a man surrounded by tragedy. I really believe Bret an Sting are two of the greatest wrestlers that their true potential was never realized

I believe movie stars these days do have some say over how tough they are portrayed on screen because it affects the sort of roles they are offered. Also, in 1997 (as bizarre as it sounds now) wins and losses in wrestling did matter. Belts meant something. Davey Boy Smith was never the same after the One Night Only ppv and Bret was absolutely right to stand up for himself with Vince, especially as he had reasonable creative control.

Yeah, I’m a retired professional Motocross/Supercross racer & Europe is a very different animal from North America…you can take a train all over Europe…and go between countries like nothing _(or, you could before 9/11 anyways)_ and they have the 5-day Glastonbury festival which gets crowds bigger than 1969 or 1994 Woodstock, Live events in Europe attract *A LOT* of people

1:10 Eric has went back n forth so many times. Saying he never made him an offer prior to late ‘97(Montreal). Now he’s saying he did but on his pod he emphatically said he did not.

Bret was a hero. He should it have had to drop the belt in Canada. If Shawn Michaels can give up the belt because he lost “ his smile,” Brett could have dropped it the next night on Raw. Could have given him that courtesy

He was a hero in Canada. I was a teenager at the time. He was a hero.

A dream match between bret Hart vs dean malenko 2 of the most gifted technical wrestler of all time would have been a great rivalry ever.

The fact that he has to repeat the line twice "Bret thought he was a canadian hero" to get his point across tells even everyone in the audience thinks that Bret is a canadian hero and there is no doubt in their minds.

We all knew what the score was. He wanted to stay with WWF because WCW was on the slide and couldn't develop stories/talent and that ticked Bichoff off. Initial intentions might have been good but Hogan was the creative. And it was never going to happen for WCW and that's what killed it. He even admits that he had no focus or scope on the screwjob or Bret's momentum. That's the problem. They destroyed his momentum the moment Hart got to WCW. Their creative dropped the ball for legacy characters which was status quo for WCW

I'll give Eric credit for admitting his own share of responsibility on not taking properly providing Bret with something to do, and I do think he isn't wrong that Bret was emotionally and mentally not in a good headspace after Montreal and ESPECIALLY after his brother died. But I also think that Eric is off the mark on thinking it silly that Bret didn't want to lose the championship in Canada. He remarks that Hollywood actors don't complain about dying in a film or try to override such things, because they are actors, except several Hollywood actors do have those sorts of things as part of their contracts. Not all of them, but a some action movie stars will specifically have in their contracts that they can only be losing a fight during a certain percentage of any fight, or similar things. This is because their entire business is based around their persona. Bret Hart literally sold himself on his persona and his image and how he was seen as a Canadian patriot and hero. While I think that patriotism is genuine to a degree, he has a career interest in making sure he doesn't seem to be allowing himself let down Canada. It wasn't the only factor at play though, of course, there was a LOT of things going on. The behind the scenes politics in WWF at the time were toxic as hell, and Bret was having to make a lot of decisions that he did not want to make due to his own personal code of ethics. Bret took the business and craft of wrestling seriously. I mean, given how he was raised, it was inevitable he would. Had he been willing to be the jackass, dropped the belt, flipped everyone off and said "screw you guys I'm gone to get PAID!", it probably would have worked out better for everyone, but that wasn't who he was, for better and for worse.

Bret didnt fit in with the attitude era, he didnt wanna act outside the ring and wasnt very good on the mic and those things were becoming more and more important. All Bret wanted to do was be the champ and do 20 minute matches with 15 different arm bars and the fans just didnt want that. His only gimmick was being Canadian and liking Canada and saying Canada is better than the USA and hes from Canada and he never became the star he thinks he should be.

That's like saying Hogan can't lose to Ultimate Warrior at Wrestlemania because he's an 'American hero'....even Hogan, who was notoriously political, was willing to drop the belt when asked. Bret sounds like his ego was inflated.

Bret gave his heart and soul to Vince McMahon. It was so much more than just losing in Canada. Shawna proved to be such a heartless tool that he openly told Bret he wouldn’t drop a match to Bret. Vince has Triple K and Shawna so far up his a$$ that he was no longer calling the shots. Bret was no longer against WWE. It was about him vs Vince, Shawna, Triple K and whomever else was involved in the screw job. To give so much to a company and just have the “pshaw” to you probably cut his soul in half.

How did Bischoff blow that one? I mean he brings Brett in and has him go into the nWo right away. That was stupid! Brett should have been with Sting fighting back against the invasion. Brett was brought in to help clean house, sort of angle. He hated Hogan. It should have been so simple.

If it was the other way around & Brett would have gone from WCW 🏆 to WWF 🤼 with the same exit? Vince would have capitalize on it & Succeed in it by using that angle on the Monday night Wars to Win 🏆🌍

Fair play to bischoff for taking some responsibility for why they didn’t capitalise on the European market

If they would’ve stuck to dat plan they probably would’ve beat wwf dat year in ratings they was ahead of its time. It’s like they doing a brand split like wwe but Wcw style

I wish he worked more with Benoit, Malenko, Jericho, Stiener, and all the technical future stars.

The fact the WWE went on with the show when Owen died is what hurt Brett. When Owens funeral was coming Vince was so afraid because he knew he was wrong sent Hogan to see how angry Brett was

He was a hero in Canada back then. The harts are royalty in Canada.

Bischoff can say what he wants but the fact is Bret will always be a legend and Bischoff will be remembered as an idiot who had no idea how to use Bret (which he pretty much admits) and the guy who ended up killing WCW and TNA

Because he is a Canadian hero, was and forever will be a Canadian hero. The reason WCW failed is because too many people had a say, Hulk stalled so many careers and killed WCW. The hero doesn't die in the movies, the hero wins

Now your really telling some B.S.! He was top five at that time most famous. If you did what the people wanted.-- STING, BRETT, and PIPER he would have killed in the ratings. But you did what we all saw.

Bret's most memorable moments in WCW are very very few and far between.. probably when he wore a steel chest plate and knocked Goldberg out when he took a spear.. They simply didn't quite know how to best utilize the Hitman and their main focus was nWo this and nWo that. They had Hart as a Hogan cheerleader basically, ffs.

The fact that Air Canada crew told him that Owen died, it means he was a Canadian Hero. He meant something to us. The Montréal screwjob hurt us all because he was our hero as a Canadian. Dropping the belt to an American on Canadian was disrespectful. Look at the match in the Uk with British Bulldog and Bret Hart. Bret Hart lost the Intercontinental belt to British Bulldog because that was his home soil. Bret is always be the best there was, the best there is and the best that will ever be. He carried WWF when Hogan left.

I get that Americans didn’t understand that Bret was a Canadian Hero at the time but he damn sure was! If Eric didn’t think he was well….Air Canada within hours reached out to a Pilot in the air to let them know to tell Bret his brother had passed in the ring during a Pay per view. This was a time before the internet, most people did not have cell phones let alone pagers. On top of that pay per views at the time we’re not watched heavily as they cost a lot of money. The fact that Air Canada tracked Bret down to tell him about his brothers death lets you know just a little bit of how much Bret means to Canadians❤

Bret Hart should have been the culprit for nWo Nitro vs WCW Thunder. Bret confronts Hogan on Nitro; Bret confronts Sting on Thunder. Hitman is a force beyond both brands. On no side. Eventually Bret mocks nWo; nWo Hart Attack (pink & black) Eric Bischoff didnt have the perspective to fully plot and detail nWo Monday Nitro vs WCW Thunder. Could have been one hell of a story FINALLY ending with Jeff Jarrett "screwing" Bret Hart on the final nWo Souled Out. The final nWo Monday Nitro; Jeff Jarrett trashes the nWorld Heavyweight Championship only to praise and poise WCW as the brand of sports entertainment ("THE BRAND" Jeff Jarrett) and further glorify the World Heavyweight Championship. nWo 4 Life pay per view; Bret Hart and Eric Bischoff appear on ppv. nWo debatablely ends but Hogan and Bischoff continue on and Outsiders continue their vibe

Brett Hart Loves Bret Hart Never got Over in WCW

Funny hearing Eric say all this - meanwhile on Peacock every night - I’m watching him having great matches with Booker T, DDP, Sting, etc. And Bret has been on record saying he wanted to work more with Booker & Benoit and that he should have worked with Hogan right away. Yet, here’s Eric with the same BS. But he loved the cat angle… gimme a break.

First! Thank you for the insight

That's not why Bret refused to lose at Survivor Series. It was because of the beef he had with Shawn and his attitude, which he viewed as an affront to the wrestling business and everything he thought it stood for. Unless you're viewing it from a puritan lens you won't understand. Whether he was right or should have swallowed his pride, that's up for debate but it wasn't because he viewed himself as a "Canadian hero". He was willing to drop the belt to anyone else in Montreal except Shawn. Ultimately the tragedy here is that we missed out on some amazing wrestling matches; Hart vs. Guerrero, Angle, Lesnar, the list goes on. In an alternate universe Vince finds a way to keep Bret, Owen doesn't die and we're treated to some absolutely legendary feuds from 2000-2005.

This is a good video to watch for anyone that wonders if the Montreal Screwjob was a work or real. Eric talks about the phone call he had with Brett that mentions it.

Well...I guess Bret was right when he said that Bischoff has no clue of wrestling...

Bischoff happened to be the guy in charge when WCW was flooded by WWF superstars, and he tells tales after the fact that are almost always contradicted by the talent

I think Eric candidly and fully covered the entire reasons of what went wrong with Bret. It is too bad what happened but it's a combination of circumstances.

Oh stop it "i dont know" "its a hypothetical" about hiring Owen. This is the guy who hired just about everyone from WWF. He hired Anvil for christ sake. Davey. Lanny. Freaking Party Marty.

Damn Bischof got old. Insane

I appreciate Bischoffs realistic takes..but man saying “we didn’t need Bret” is wild. Just needed to know how to use him…they failed miserably in that regard. What could’ve been.

Bret's cat..Eric Biscoff: "I love it"😂 . One good thing I can say about Eric is that he treated Bret very well when it came to Owen's Death and as far as paying Bret very well. It does perplex me on why Eric didn't use Bret more.

According to brets video , bret wouldn't mind dropping the belt, and spoke toshawn about, but michaels was a prick about it. Which made bret not want to lose it to shawn.

I’ve seen a variation of this video about a million times whether it’s Bret talking or Eric talking. Here’s the thing, no one is completely, unequivocally 100% right. The truth is somewhere in the middle. Both men are to blame for Bret’s failed WCW run. Bret was a mark for himself who was professionally and personally shattered from the events of the Montreal screw job. He never recovered from that moment and spent the majority of his WCW run miserable and in denial. He even says in the Hitman Hart: Wrestling With Shadows documentary that he never wanted to go to WCW. Bret was a ghost of his former self after WWF and Montreal. All of that being said, Bischoff at the end of 1997 going into 1998 wasn’t the same he had been in years prior. He was getting burned out due to Turner corporate management getting into WCW affairs along with letting inmates run the asylum within WCW. Look at WCW in 1995 and 96 then compare that to 1998. It wasn’t the same creatively speaking and Eric was losing his grip on creative direction. The NWO was becoming boringly flat and it was watered down. Performers were starting to look at leaving WCW because of no opportunity due to the NWO having creative control. That brings us to the clusterf*ck of Starrcade 1997. The show itself was decent up until the main event. Hogan pulled his typical crap of sabotaging an opponent to keep his spot at the top and we got a botched ending that left 2 years of story ending in the worst possible way. WCW screwed up Bret’s arrival immediately by making him the referee on an ending that made both Bret and the company look weak. Bret Hart was the biggest story in pro wrestling in 1997 and immediately, Bischoff squandered his debut. Eric followed that up with making Hart a heel who was indecisive and kept looming back and forth between NWO and WCW. Again, Hogan’s creative control fingerprints are all over this crime scene that was Bret’s WCW career. Bottom line is that Bret could’ve taken more responsibility for his failure in WCW just like Eric could’ve stood up to Hogan and insisted on communicating with Bret Hart. If you bring in a top free agent, you use them to make an impact right away. Bret lost momentum upon his Starrcade arrival and unfortunately his career never got started.

Bischoff sounding sincere ..waw

I don't agree with a lot of what Bischoff says, but prop and respect him admitting his fault. Total Respect...

If you know who Brett had worked with guys like Pat Patterson and Brisco and family members who remained in the WWF. He was an outsider in WCW. He also had to realize he was going to work opposite guys who were still friends with Shaun Michaels. He was alone going into WCW with serious baggage. I can believe Eric's side of the story almost as I believe Brett's version.

6:25 The whole idea about wrestling is that many (especially younger) people and do NOT know "it's a movie", it's supposed to be as real as possible - especially back in that time. So yes, Bret WAS/is a Canadian hero and Bishop is talking out of his butt here.