Agreed. It is baffling. Ric had some nice skills and was the best on the mic, but that inflates his legacy. The guy basically had the same, tired match: Chops, flops, flips, figure four or cheat. Hart was a much better wrestler and could adapt to a match.
Ric had an awesome work ethic. Sure he had a formula. So did Bret. Ric had limited skills, but he gave you every damn thing he had in him. Bret even admitted that.
Ric was a pretty good worker...although I HATED that damn stumble forward and fall flat on his face spot. He did it twice in the Royal Rumble he won, and it came off as so dumb. What I don't understand are how people go so insane over his promos. Every Flair promo I've ever heard, with the exception of the Royal Rumble ending promo, are nothing but a bunch of damn "WOOs." It starts grating on me very fast. Like every other word is WOO. I get really sick of that, and sometimes I want to smack people who go on and on about Ric's "amazing" promo abilities.
@@Goldenbane during the territory era hr had some awesome promos. While not a fan of his wrestling work past his Steamboat feud he was hysterical on the mic.
Bret is bang on about his own promos, they weren't always great. But when he had an issue he could sink his teeth into, he could bring it on the mic. I also think he had really good promos while feuding with Lawler & Owen. He was good at selling personal issue type feuds.
Exactly when Brett was pissed you felt that when he wasn't all into it you could feel that he was a genuine guy believe my opinion he does cry a lot about but who the f*** wouldn't cry about losing millions and millions over a life-changing injury I'd be pretty salty for the rest of my life I believe
I can believe what Bret is saying about Flair trying to sabotage the matches. Most people said that Flair did that when he worked with Scott Steiner back in 1993. Both Sid and Warrior said that Flair said "I don't know what to do with you". A bit of a pattern there. Flair could work with a broomstick and get it over...but he did it on his own terms.
He gives his acknowledged favorite wrestler of all time, The Dynamite Kid, a 9/10 and then himself a 10 in the ring. This would imply that Bret’s real favorite is Bret. I’d reverse those: Bret is a solid 9/10, but to this day, I’ve never seen any professional wrestling better than TDK vs. Tiger Mask (and others) over in Japan. Surreal.
Bret Hart's promos skills got better during 1997 when he had his rivalries with Stone Cold Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels. To me that was peak Bret Hart and it was the emergence of the attitude era.
Got to Ric Flair’s podcast and hear Bret and Flair squashed all theirs problems. Also on the internet you there’s a picture Bret and Flair giving each other a hug. They’re cool with each other. Tired of some people attacking Bret.
@@nanoblulovaolution4856 By November 1993, WCW decided to once again base the promotion around Ric Flair. This was seen as more or less a necessity after prospective top babyface Sid Vicious was involved in an incident with Arn Anderson (which resulted in hospitalization of both men)[43] while on tour in England eight weeks before Starrcade and was fired. Flair then placed his career on the line against Big Van Vader for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. Flair won the title at Starrcade and was once again made booker.[44] That did not stop WCW from suffering massive financial losses in 1993, however; a staggering $23 million.[41]
@@HhhHhhh-nu4lm you're missing something, that's when the scandals were big in wrestling with the roids and such. Ric wouldn't be a top draw ever again as in 93 he was already way passed his best. He was great in the territories, horrible when wrestling went national. Bret wasn't the best draw either but he had a fanbase that was loyal and worldwide too. Flair was big in the south, and that was it. It's just hard to say, wrestling was in a bad place in the early to mid 90s and nothing could really stop it from going down.
@@sleazyfellow bret was huge draw wwe was never danger going out business. they were in black by sept 1997. jim ross said it was misconception they were doign 96 and 97 when their were beating wwe in live events. bret headlined 1 and ten highest attendend even in 90s . wwe lost money in 95 but business went up when bret beat nash. bret huge in usa and bigger everywhere else. in 88 nwa went bankrupy and still lost money until hogan came in..
Bret under scored himself in my eyes. Always Frank and honest. Brilliant worker. I liked him back in the day when I was a kid (I was born in 83) but the more I learn about the business, the more I appreciate the qualities and abilities of the best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be !
Bret Hart was one of, if not the best overall wrestler of all time. Ric Flair and The Undertaker were up there at his side, Mr. Perfect, Curt Hening should have been WWF Champion at least once, he deserved it, superb all around wrestler.
@@rswpt Bret couldn't tie Angle's shoes as a wrestler not the personality and charisma of Flair, Hogan, Cena, Austin, Rock, etc. One of the most overrated wrestlers of all time.
For those of you that never saw Ric Flair between 1981-1991, you have no idea how great he was. I’m glad these guys buried their beef because they are both legends. It’s to bad half the country didn’t see Flair prior to 1991 and if Bret would have still been in the NWA he would have definitely had a legendary trilogy with Flair like Steamboat and Windham.
It should be noted here that Bret and Ric are now good friends with one another, and Ric even admitted that Bret's criticism about him doing the same matches over and over was fairly accurate. Both Ric and Bret regret dissing each other a lot, and Ric even said that a lot of his comments about Bret's work came out of ignorance due to not paying attention to Bret's matches in the past. Ric also attributes much of the discord to the nature of the business, saying that it "makes us all a d*ck at some time or another."
Heart was the best in the ring and Flair the most charismatic of all time .Both are just amazing and I'm very happy I got to watch these two growing up as a kid.
I can't say anything because I don't know these people personally only know them from TV growing up in the 90s Love them both and glad they're still with us.
I'll never forget one time Bret put the shades on this kid on his way to the ring in a match with Ric Flair and when Flair came to the ring,he ripped the shades off the kids face then stomped them on the ground while the child looked on and wept while his mother screamed at Flair. 😂
Flair was great, and better than Bret is giving him credit for. They had their beef, whatever. But Bret is legitimately one of the most impressive workers in history. I use to think Michaels was better, but as an adult Bret’s style has aged like a fine wine. Everything he does is just so crisp and perfect. He was incredible.
Hart is right about one thing..Him and Flair came from a different generation of in ring work. Nobody had a better character then Ric Flair, Now as far as in ring ability different times Ric was 70s -80s old schooler Hart late 80s early90s totally different more high flying stuff by this time Flair is getting on up in age and he approaches his matches totally different
Bret's peak height was a smidgen over 5'11, so if he was 235, he had remarkable agility. I'm guessing that was rounded up from like 231 or 232 with all his clothes and boots on.
Remember being in Earls Court 2 in London when WWF came on a tour in 1993. Main Event was Bret vs Flair. Bret eventually beat him with the sharpshooter because it was a dark match im sure Flair probably didnt mind as much putting Bret over....but as he walked off down the aisle back to the locker room he wasnt selling....he actually looked pissed off and unhappy about doing the job for Bret. About 2 months later he was gone and back in WCW. Dont know why he didnt want to give Bret the respect and his chance.....almost as if he didnt believe Bret had star marketability which years down the line was actually the case....he sure never hid it back then either. Sad coz they are both great differently.
Ric didnt fit into the WWF because he wasnt a cartoon character. Rics look in 86 in Nwa was perfect. He wasnt going to look like what WWF looked like. Ric was a 10 out of 10 for a promo. He could talk anyone into a building. In the right place his look was a 9 to 10. Not in the WwF but in the NWA. His wrestling was 7 to 8. Bret was good but he certainly isnt on Ric's level.
Bret is jealous of Ric..after 16,( really more 10 NWA World titles, 7 WCW World titles and 2 WWF/WWE World titles) to Bret's 7, Ric Flair will remembered forever Wooooo! For example, will Bret Hart be remembered outside Canada..I doubt it.
@@jasonhowell7170 The amount of times someone has the title doesn't mean anything. Look at the garbage HHH era and the mcmahon-helmsley era of absolute shit. All it takes is a keen knack for politics and a big brown nose and you can be champ a dozen times. The difference between Flair and Hart is when Hart held the title he was holding wrestling up as well and had great matches. Flair couldn't wrestle himself out of a paper bag. He was all promo and "whooos". Michaels was already doing the turn buckle flip better anyway. Flair even admitted in an interview he had no part in propping up either establishment during the monday-night wars. Bret did. Flair was a flabby sack of shit jiggling around in the ring.
@@jasonhowell7170 you dumb if you think Bret is jealous of flair. Bret has better career by far and is literally a hero in his own country. Ric flair is a racist and imo not a good entertaining wrestler.
@@jasonhowell7170 the whole wwe universe if not a dumb ass knows Bret is better than ric and you sound just as dumb if you think Bret won’t be remembered. Let’s not forget the dungeon has trained some of the best wrestlers
Bret is a world champion, so his scores are definetley not infalted. If he didnt check those boxes so high he wouldnt be world champ, although you can argue about the numbers hes really spot on where is biggest strength was, his "worst" category being the promos is also a pretty spot on reflection.
Love Ric Flair he's my all time favorite, it was just something that didn't fit in the WWE no matter what they tried he just didn't belong in the WWE, maybe it was because he was stuck in the 70s and was used to do things a certain way....I think Bret was also used to during things a certain way during his era and when you put those two different philosophies you get what you get
Bret and Ric's ongoing feud is interesting to me because they really were quite different as wrestlers, as in the product they put out. Bret was a brilliant technician and athlete. His wrestling movies were miles above Flair on his best day, and he had good variety in his matches, whereas Flair really did do the same match most nights. However, Flair had such a good gimmick and personality, especially when working as a heel. Flair's imminent beating was engineered to please the crowd, and Naitch knew how to time it to perfection. Bret on the other hand had the personality of a piece of toast. No mic skills, no interesting angles: whether he won or lost didn't really matter to most fans. It's very hard to articulate, but some wrestlers like Hogan, Flair and The Rock just bring an electricity that really connects with people. Bret didn't have that, as magnificent an athlete as he was.
A bit harsh on Bret. His dry personality hurt his drawing power no doubt. But I would argue he was one of the best at getting the crowd to invest in the psychology of the match. Perhaps almost too creative (same could be said for Shawn Michaels as well) to be a top guy in the vein of a Flair, Hogan, Austin or Rock. Part of the mass appeal of those guys was that they had a well reheated routine incorporated into their acts that fans would pay to see.
Has some good points. But give Bret a storyline or feud and he definitely give his best, though not as animated and crowd drawing as Hulk, Warrior or The Rock.
Prime Flair could out wrestle Bret anytime or anyday while having 10 times the charisma and personality. Flair wrestled multiple 45min to 1 hour matches and made guys such as Sting and Luger into legends. Bret had no charisma and was one of the lowest drawing champions ever. No one cared about Bret which is why Vinve kicked his butt to the side.
With Bret Hart and Ric Flair you have two completely different... personalities. They just do not like each other. Each were very talented in their own way. Brett, says he is the best there is the best there was and the best that they ever will be. Well, Diamonds are forever and sooo is the " Nature Boy " Ric Flair. Whoooo.... I can tell you one thing for sure whether there were there 3, 000. people in the audience or 30,000 people in the audience you got the same Ric Flair. Ric, was almost killed in the plane crash. Lightning struck and killed a man standing right beside, Ric Flair. At 70 years young he is the 1.3 million dollar man. He was put in an induced coma for approximately a month in Hospital in Atlanta Georgia. He had to learn how to walk again. And Ric Flair still is the kiss stealin, Wheelin, dealin... limousine riding, jet flying...son of a gun. The Man, breathes excitement. Whooo....
Ric flair had hundreds of hour long matches . Bret had like five and everyone talks like Bret was so great. But talking about using the same moves every match . Brets were cookie cutter matches. He had about 15 move and holds. And Ric could work with anyone, Bret had problems with some people. . Not that Bret was not great performer but Ric was in the same league if not higher. So yes Ric is the G.O.A .T
Flair’s wrestling is nowhere near an 8 lol. Same cheesy shit every match. Chops, flops, eye pokes, low blows, figure four leg lock. Bret could wrestle so many different types of matches! No two Bret matches look exactly alike. Almost every Flair match is exactly the same!
Very unpopular opinion I'm assuming. However, if people will sit back for a second and think about it - maybe you will agree (if youre my age or younger). I'm 33... my entire time of watching wrestling, which started around 5 years old. Flair was never over, like the "memories" other wrestlers and fans portray him to have been, while I was watching. It was ALL before my time. Sure he got a pop in WWE as the old man, but as a legend, not because he was some great active wrestler. The entire time I watched him in WCW he was a complete dud. He didnt sell tickets, he didnt put people in the seats. The whole show, the crowd, everything was all about NWO, DDP, Goldberg, and Sting. The WCW did nothing at all for Flair nor Piper during that era (the era I grew up on). So, going off of just what I witnessed Live and at that time, I would say Flair is tremendously overrated.
Hes not over rated, he was just way past his prime. When he was great and everyone was talking about him, there was a time when he was a heal and he had a crew like the NWO. The four horsemen, they tried to do it again in WCW. It worked but just not like before. In his prime people LOVED it, because they understood him. By the time he tried 4 horseman again WCW, it was wrestlers that respected him. So thats it, he just held weight because of his legendary stories in the cities and countries hes toured. But theres not too many wrestlers at 60 on HD TV wrestling on the biggest wrestling show of the yr, come on.... Ric is the last of a DEAD breed. Its hard to compare him to anyone.
He was never a focal point during your era, he was a bit comedy & mostly on the losing end during the Nitro era. You can't eval his career unless you watch his matches in the 70's & 80's. He drew plenty of crowds during that time, he traveled the world as the NWA champ. There was a reason he ws getting paid a million per year during his prime. He's not overrated when you eval the entire body of work.
Bret ain't lying about the odd finishes with Flair after he got the strap. I know Flair missed some time due to an injury so Bret was wrestling Nailz, Papa shango and the mountie for like a month, then Flair wrestled Bret until he was let go. Those matches with Nailz must have been some barn-burners
Bret Hart's analysis are spot on and honest. Truly the best there is the best there was and the best there ever will be just for his honesty. However if you take the standard he made for analysing wrestling greats I guess one could argue that the best wrestlers would be Stone Cold or Undertaker because Taker would get a 10 on looks and another 10 on mic skills and a 9 on work. Stone Cold would get a 9 on looks, a 10 on mic and a 10 on work. Both would have a 29. Cena would also be close as he would get a 9 on mic a 10 on look and a 9 on work. The Rock would have a 10 on mic a 10 on look and a 7 on work a similiar score to Hogan. Bret would get a 8 on look a 7 on mic and a 10 or an eleven off scale on work. Flair would get a 10 on mic an 8 on look and an 8 on work. As for the current roster Brock would get a 10 on look, an 8 on work and a 7 on mic. Roman would get a 10 on look, an 8 on mic and a 9 on work. Mcintyre would get a 10 on look, an 8 on mic and an 8 on work. Lashley would get a 10 on look, a 6 on mic and a 9 on work. As for AEW wrestlers Punk would get a 6 on look, a 10 on work and a 10 on mic. Moxley would get an 8 on look, a 9 on mic and a 9 on work. Omega would get a 7 on look, a 9 on mic and a 10 on work. Danielson would get a 6 on look, an 8 on mic and a 10 on work. Page would get an 8 on look, an 8 on mic and an 8 on work.
Similar, I'd just add a 6 for promo for Bret, and I'd take 1 or 2 point away from Flair's look. The suits and gators were cold af, but after that he had an old looking body throughout his whole career.
From what I have seen on YT Flair said that towards the end of his WWF tenure he had an inner ear issue with balance and thus could hardly do anything properly in the ring and was very slow. I am surprised neither Vince nor Bret knew this.
Come on, Bret vs Davey boy, vs Owen, vs Shawn Michaels. Ricky Steamboat was on of my favourite wrestlers of all time, his match against Savage is top 5 all time, he is the reason those matches against Flair were so good, not Flair. Bret could make any wrestler look good. Flair in the 90s and on was not at Bret's level. Flair was better on the Mic but name another wrestle who was a no 1 heel and no 1 baby face at the same time. In Canada, Europe and India Bret was a huge draw.
Its the big question, when it comes to the "best technical wrestler" in American pro wrestling, it would either be Brett Hart or Ric Flair... if they both didnt shoot on each other so much, so therefore Mark "Rollerball" Rocco is the greatest "technical wrestler" because nobody ever heard him ever shoot shit on his colleagues
Ric Flair, Bret Hart and The Undertaker are for me the best wrestlers of all time. Mr. Perfect deserves a honorable mention here, he was amazing. Too bad Sgawn Michaels was such a maggot backstabber, he had the skill, but not the integrity to be included in that strict list of the very greats.
Totally agree,Bret explains it all well!He doesn't up himself either compared to the some ego wrestlersl🤔But yeah Rick had the glitter ect but he in my opinion looked a bit slow and the same routine nothing really e xcited me to watchIng the match. He did do comical moves such made me laugh though!
One thing about Bret is that he cant stop taking shots at Hulk Hogan. Bret let it the hell go because the schtick on hating Hulk is getting old. You dont like him fine, you "think" he screwed you fine. But do we have to hear it in EVERY SINGLE INTERVIEW??? I do agree with Bret about Flair being called the Greatest Wrester Ever. I will agree with him that Flair wasnt, not even close. But the Hogan hate thing he needs to bury it and let it go.
Well... The thing with Ric's "same old match" is that you can easily remember most of his best. Flair/Steamboat Flair/Sting Flair/Hogan Flair/Perfect Flair/Foley Flair/Michaels Etc etc etc. Bret? As good he was, the only matches I can clearly remember of his were the ones with Austin, and that was more about Austin than Bret. That's not a ding on Bret, he WAS good, simply saying that there's something to be said about consistency, too.
Love bret hart interviews. He is brutally honest. his opinion on Rick Flair is spot on too, flair was always overrated and i never understood what the big deal was about him.
@@bigolebot What do you rate Bret Hart then?Bret Hart is an excellent wrestler.His promos is not as good as Rick Flairs, Rowdy Roddy Pipers, Hulk Hogan, The American Dream Dusty Rhodes,The Macho Man Randy Salvage, or The Million Dollar Man promo's.I give his looks a 9 because it never changed and I'm talking about his costume not his man hood. No homo.
Flair has bones of steel. I dont know how he withstood such punishment to his back, to his hip, to his arms. I have seen wrestlers out because of injuries. When he was younger listening to him was incredible. So for resilience he is the best. For show Goldberg drove fans crazy, more than the ultimate warrior. Overall Hulk Hugan was a very fine wrestler. Good body like Lesnar but Lesnar lack Charisma of Warrior and Goldberg. His talking is just inferior. Undertaker was an impresive wrestler with that dark character. All them worked very hard in the gym.
Bret Hart is , was and will always be the greatest wrestler of all time!! Just a true technician in the ring !! Every move was just perfectly accurate !! Shawn Michaels was the greatest performer of all time!! Just my opinion.
Not even close to being the best wrestler ever. Marty Jones. Rollerball rocco. Beniot. Guerro. Dynamite kid. Check out. Marty Jones v Marc rocco. That's wrestling. Don't get better
@@johnmclaren1756 i just watched them. Found it quite boring. Very good athletes but they're what, welterweights, doing well rehearsed holds and flips. Bret could do all that stuff. He actually had a decent background in British wrestling style. What Bret was great at, what he never even mentioned in his 3 categories, was telling a great story through the action. He was as good a wrestler as anyone you mention and better than anyone at telling a great story.
It seems like wrestling ,all around, is a dirty and self-serving business. I watched it as a kid until I saw that it was all scripted and these men, good or bad, were subjected to all sorts of danger. Flair said that someone brought a rattlesnake to a match in Asheville N.C. one time and many have been injured permanently by honest mistakes in attempting crazy high flying moves just to help sell tickets. Rowdy Roddy Piper was stabbed and he surely wasn't the only one over the years. Even if they got well paid, and many of them did, the promoters got filthy rich while night after night, these men literally put their future and their health on the line. It's no wonder that some of them are ticked off at the business and each other ! I hope for all of them that they, like regular folks, leave the dope alone and prepare their souls for the next life...hopefully in heaven. Tough guys but somewhat overwhelmed even after their time in the ring was long since over. Like the old adage says...be careful what you wish for. Even millionaires have to meet our maker after we are n longer on Earth. They are in my prayers, too !
Bret was the Greatest of all time. Ric stole and plagiarised everything from Buddy Rogers. He copied the strut, the figure four and the name “nature boy” from Buddy Rogers.
Brett Hart had ZERO charisma. He was TERRIBLE on the mic. Sure, Hart could wrestle. In the ring he was unbelievable. Hart was a hell of an athlete. Flair wasn't the greatest in the ring but he could entertain and draw money. Flair was on top for about 20 years. Hart was not. Flair knew how to promote the business better than anyone that ever lived.
@@DixiePokerAce I will agree to disagree here. Bret was great on the mic when he tuned heel, but yes he wasn't great on the mic as a baby face. People tend to forget how Bret was not only the best technical wrestler of all time (according to Kurt Angle on his new podcast), but an innovator. He brought the ladder match to the WWE. Was the first to go through a table on WWE PPV. He invented the figure four around the ring post. Bret could not only wrestle technically well, but could help get others over because he was a master at story telling and in ring psychology. About charisma, this is very subjective because I think he was while you clearly think he had ZERO charisma. Flair had the exact same match over and over again. Finally, who else could pull off wearing pink, other than the greatest of all time Bret Hart ;).
I agree with Bret i never understand that Ric Flair gets all this praise..i like a few things he did in the ring but i think his character took him farther than his in ring work
always always always. cry baby Bret cryin again. everyone else sucked so much, and my matches are so great and stand the test of time, blah blah, annoying and a total whiney old grouch
To his credit, he does give the nature boy his props. They just didnt mesh well due to their different styles of work. He's buried people far deeper than this (HHH, Ultimate warrior). Flair was far less even keeled about his assessment of Bret Hart.
@@delroymckoy5470 so promos aren't important? 🤣 yeah it's not like that's what made guys like Stone Cold, Rock, Cena, Punk all greats Bret was a phenomenal wrestler, only an idiot would argue that. My point is he said he was a 7 or 8 promo....he's dreaming. On his best day his promo was a 2.
Bret was GARBAGE on the mic. All he could do was wrestle. He couldn't entertain and promote the business. Flair knew how to sell the business and sell out arenas. He was an entertainer.
Bret seems to always have wanted things to go his way but if we're honest he never earned that level of starpower to demand it. Hearing him talk in this clips, it's not hard to see how Montreal ended up happening to him. Bret's perception of himself never aligned with how the promoters saw him. I think Bret wanted Hogan treatment
He lost respect from me. He talks about Flair having the same matches, ie, repeat moves in all his matches, but he fails to mention that his move set was the same as well. He used all his moves in every match as well. He's bitter from his career ending on the terms it was under. I don't recall hart carrying a match for an hour or more, keeping the audience attracted to what's going on as Flair did. Flair had numerous matches that went thirty minutes plus.
@@daviduribe6534 I think 🤔 the key 🔑 word is Numerous.... Ric Flair would sometimes do 30-60 minute matches on a regular basis in the 80's outdoors during the Great American Bash Tour.... as I recall reading 📚 the nights were often brutally hot and humid....
Flair was great to work with most guys, he'd make an awefully green wrestler look great but with a next level guy like Bret Hart, who might literally be the best of the next generation, it's hard to do the fancy shit he could bring. Being the younger great wrestler Bret was super conscious of what made him next level. Bret pushed himself to be the greatest and he can't help but see few other people could do what he did. Sometimes he comes of as a bit of a douche for speaking on it but you know... the greats can act like this sometimes. Flair did too, he talked a lot of shit. When you're great, you realize the difference between you and others... if you didn't think like that you probably wouldn't be that great. This being the case, I rather Bret and others be honest with their thoughts than just being nice. Everybody can be nice, a great criticizing an other, that's interesting.
Scott Hall was a fan of Bret until he was invited to his house for a party and saw a bunch of Bret hart memorabilia all over the place and saw how big of a mark he was for himself.
