Bret Hart reveals that Konnan taught him the Sharpshooter
Bret Hart was the excellence of execution as a professional wrestler. He was destined to be a main-event player, thanks to his commitment to the craft and his ability to have a good match with almost anyone. Moreover, Bret Hart's stature as a submission wrestler was defined by his signature move, The Sharpshooter.
Other wrestlers have used the move since, save Sting, who used it in WCW, under its original name, The Scorpion Deathlock. In Confessions of The Hitman, Hart recounts that he saw the move first in Japan but wasn't sure how to replicate it.
When Bret Hart was being pushed for a singles career in WWE, Vince McMahon and the creative team wanted Bret Hart using a signature submission move, where they eventually came back to The Scorpion Deathlock. Bret Hart was unsure how to do the move until Konnan showed him how to.
Bret Hart says Konnan taught him The Sharpshooter
Bret Hart went to the dressing room, trying to ask other wrestlers if they knew how to do it until he came across Konnan. Hart said:
"I asked around and nobody knew. And finally, it was Konnan, the Mexican wrestler, that later on, I knew in WCW. He goes, 'I know how to put it on.' He showed me how it works and we went into the shower, because I needed some space to..put it on. Dressing room was full of chairs, and wrestlers, so there wasn't much room. So he showed me, pretty simple, showed it to me in the shower room and I went and told Vince, I know how to put in on. And the rest is history."
Bret Hart's story is quite revealing, and it confirmed Konnan's recollection of events on his podcast when he said that he taught Bret Hart the move. He said:
"When I was doing the Max Moon dark matches in WWE, and so, I already knew him from there and he was in the ring and he wanted to do a new finish and he had asked, 'Did anybody know Riki Choshu's finish?' And I used to like Japanese wrestling back then and I was like, 'Well, which one?' and He goes, 'The one Sting does.' And I just showed him and that was it. He then started to use it, you know what I'm saying."
Bret Hart's "version" of the move, which he named himself, become synonymous with him, and wrestlers like The Rock, Natalya, Trish Stratus have used it at some point in their careers. It's not just a mere imitation but somewhat symbolic of Hart's impact on the wrestling industry.
If you use any quotes from this article, please H/T Sportskeeda Wrestling and Chris van Vliet.