Bret Hart get candid: Talks about his WWE title reign, wrestling his brother, CM Punk and more

The Boston Herald has a great interview with WWE Hall of Famer Bret “The Hitman” Hart, who discussed his WrestleMania memories, this year’s event and more. Here are a few highlights:

His first WWE title reign being cut short:

“I was really looking forward to working with Yoko at WrestleMania IX. When I won the belt in October of ’92, it wasn’t like I had the stack of guys that Hogan had to work with when the talent roster was so deep. When I was champion, the roster had thinned out because of drug testing and a lot of the big names were gone. Jake Roberts was gone, and that was somebody I was supposed to wrestle but never happened. I was supposed to wrestle the (Ultimate) Warrior at The Royal Rumble, and that never happened either.

“Then [Hulk] Hogan came back, I was told by Vince that Hogan had nothing to do with what I was doing. You can imagine how shocked I was when Hogan ended up with the belt at WrestleMania IX. I had every intention of going over in that match with Yoko, so I had no idea that my title reign was going to be so abruptly ended. I was caught off-guard by that, to be honest. I was told when I won the belt that I was going to be champion for a long time, but at the same time, Vince is always very clear when you win the belt and tells you, ‘Anything can happen.’ I felt I didn’t have my chance to prove I was good as I thought I was.”

How this year’s WrestleMania should end:

“I hope they give Daniel Bryan his chance to win the belt at WrestleMania. He earned it a long time ago, but it wouldn’t surprise me ? like Charlie Brown with the football ? if they pull it away from him one last time. I really hope they give him his proper run, as he hasn’t had the opportunity yet to be the champion he deserves to be. Hopefully this year at WrestleMania, it will be a crowning achievement for Daniel Bryan.”

CM Punk leaving WWE:

“When you look at it closely, Punk’s burned out. He’s always given 100 percent in all his matches, and delivered some of the best pay-per-view matches in the past 10 years. And it’s not easy when there are legends who only work part-time, and guys like Punk and Bryan do all the work, and watch someone like Brock Lesnar walk in and take those big matches and big paydays without having to be on the road all the time. I think that had a lot to do with his decision, and rightfully so.

“One of Vince McMahon’s favorite sayings is, ‘Life’s not fair.’ I don’t see Punk being a factor at WrestleMania, but he still has a lot of greatness left in him. As a fan, I hope he comes back, and as a wrestler, I have a lot of respect for him, too.”

On fighting his brother at WrestleMania X:

“WrestleMania X will always be my most special one because of the memory of being with my brother Owen,” said Hart.

“There was a lot of pressure on Owen to fill those shoes as a top heel. The storyline was the bitter hatred between two brothers, but Owen was really grateful to work with me. I went to bat a lot for Owen for that chance, and he really shined that night. I thought that was one of his finest hours. There were two reverse sharpshooters in that match, which had never been done before. Those are the tiny little things that no one really remembers or notices, but made that match a real treat. And what I really love about the match is how it launched my brother’s career.”

On facing Stone Cold ‘Steve Austin’ at WrestleMania XIII:

“It’s a shame,” remarked Hart.

“If you remember, Shawn had to go home and retire to find his smile and all that. I don’t know even to this day whether he had a bad knee or not, but he bowed out of WrestleMania because I don’t think he wanted to work with me.”

“They ended up throwing me and Steve together and it was kind of an ice-cold story line,” said Hart. “That was a big disappointment, at first, for Steve and me. We’d just fought months earlier at the Survivor Series, and even though we loved working together, he was looking for someone new to work with and I was looking for Shawn.”

The 22-minute brawl between Hart and Austin turned out to be a classic. The match began with Hart as the fan favorite and Austin as the cheating heel, but by the end of the night, the two, so skilled at their craft, had swapped roles.