cactuskind
06-04-2003, 04:52 AM
Well, every week now Bret Hart is doing a column in the Calgary Newspaper which I get, and this week, I found it more than interesting. Bret Hart actually complimented WWE and Vince McMahon. With WWE and Vince wanting Bret Hart to come back for a one time only deal and just tell everybody he's all right and everything, this is the best of time as ever. Hopefully it does happen, though the arcticle means nothing of it, I'm just hoping it does.
To read the arcticle yourself, here it is from brethart.com: (ignore all the weird cutoffs, that's how it copied. :o)
People ask me all the time whether or not I miss wrestling. For the
longest time my answer has been no, I don’t even watch it any more because
nobody really wrestles any more.
The reason I stopped watching wrestling has little to do with personal
differences between me and Vince McMahon. It’s no secret that I didn’t like
the direction the business was going, all shock value and little actual
wrestling. Anyway, the perspective that I’ve gained recovering from a
stroke these last nine months has lessened the priority of some of my
personal issues with Vince.
So last Sunday a friend asked me if I wanted to come over and watch
Wrestlemania XIX . At first I automatically said no but there was a voice
inside me that urged ah, c’mon ...just watch and see what they’re doing. So
I did. Here’s what I thought . . .
It’s only fair and right that since I told everyone when I didn’t like
what the WWE had become, that I be a big enough man to admit that I liked
what I saw at Wrestlemania XIX.
I thought it was an excellent show.
It seems to me that the WWE has gone back to producing great wrestling
again.
By far and away the best match of the show, and one of the best matches
I’ve seen in recent memory, was Curt Angle and Brock Lesnar. As I watched
them wrestle I could feel in my heart just how much I do miss it.
Walking up the aisle at the store or driving my truck or between
periods at a hockey game I find myself thinking about wrestling matches all
the time. It’s not hard for me to visualize, with amazing clarity, the
middle of a wrestling match - having Curt Angle clamped in a side head
lock waiting for the next big move of one more classic match.
I’m sure Lanny Macdonald must go through the same thing with hockey.
In watching Curt Angle I could do nothing but admire his athleticism
and absolute realism, especially since only weeks ago he was not expected to
work the show due to a serious neck injury and there was fear that his
career was over.
As for Brock Lesnar, who I only recently met (Feb 19) at Curt Hennig’s
funeral, all I can say is that he’s an extraordinary physical specimen the
likes of which my dad Stu would love to have gotten his hands on!
At the end of his WM XIX match Lesnar climbed up to the top turnbuckle
and did a shooting star press , a move more suited to a high flying Mexican
light weight. This 295 pound man somersaulted backwards - three quarters
of the way across the ring - Curt Angle moved out of the way at the last
second and Lesnar ended up driving his face full force into the mat! I was
most impressed with the professionalism of a groggy and determined Brock
Lesnar whose face was already swollen as he willed himself up from the mat
and somehow managed to continue the match. I thought it was a great
performance and the match itself was a brilliant piece of work.
As for the rest of the show, The Rock and Stone Cold delivered a
whirlwind, knock down drag out . For me to be able to enjoy watching two
great wrestlers who I like to think I did my best to pass the torch to, I
was nothing but proud of both of them.
I thought even Vince McMahon’s match with Hogan was more than
entertaining enough and much better than most people expected.
It’s only fair to say that both the Triple H/ Booker T and Shawn
Michaels/ Chris Jericho matches were terrific.
All in all it was an excellent show and I’m glad to say that the WWE put
back what I felt has been missing. Wrestling!
A few years ago I said it was inevitable that things would come full
circle, that they’d burn out and have to come back to the simple things that
make wrestling what it’s supposed to be. Now the ratings have plummeted and
I think back to a time when I found myself being handed the torch back in
1992, when the WWE was mired in unprecedented scandals and business was
falling fast. Vince put his faith in me because he wanted a champion who was
a realistic, solid wrestler and I’m glad to see that history is repeating
itself and they’ve gone back to basics.
If my career hadn’t been ended by a serious concussion (and the
stroke didn’t help either) I’m sure I’d be wrestling now.
I’ve always loved wrestling and it feels good to be able to enjoy it
again - at least just as a fan.
To read the arcticle yourself, here it is from brethart.com: (ignore all the weird cutoffs, that's how it copied. :o)
People ask me all the time whether or not I miss wrestling. For the
longest time my answer has been no, I don’t even watch it any more because
nobody really wrestles any more.
The reason I stopped watching wrestling has little to do with personal
differences between me and Vince McMahon. It’s no secret that I didn’t like
the direction the business was going, all shock value and little actual
wrestling. Anyway, the perspective that I’ve gained recovering from a
stroke these last nine months has lessened the priority of some of my
personal issues with Vince.
So last Sunday a friend asked me if I wanted to come over and watch
Wrestlemania XIX . At first I automatically said no but there was a voice
inside me that urged ah, c’mon ...just watch and see what they’re doing. So
I did. Here’s what I thought . . .
It’s only fair and right that since I told everyone when I didn’t like
what the WWE had become, that I be a big enough man to admit that I liked
what I saw at Wrestlemania XIX.
I thought it was an excellent show.
It seems to me that the WWE has gone back to producing great wrestling
again.
By far and away the best match of the show, and one of the best matches
I’ve seen in recent memory, was Curt Angle and Brock Lesnar. As I watched
them wrestle I could feel in my heart just how much I do miss it.
Walking up the aisle at the store or driving my truck or between
periods at a hockey game I find myself thinking about wrestling matches all
the time. It’s not hard for me to visualize, with amazing clarity, the
middle of a wrestling match - having Curt Angle clamped in a side head
lock waiting for the next big move of one more classic match.
I’m sure Lanny Macdonald must go through the same thing with hockey.
In watching Curt Angle I could do nothing but admire his athleticism
and absolute realism, especially since only weeks ago he was not expected to
work the show due to a serious neck injury and there was fear that his
career was over.
As for Brock Lesnar, who I only recently met (Feb 19) at Curt Hennig’s
funeral, all I can say is that he’s an extraordinary physical specimen the
likes of which my dad Stu would love to have gotten his hands on!
At the end of his WM XIX match Lesnar climbed up to the top turnbuckle
and did a shooting star press , a move more suited to a high flying Mexican
light weight. This 295 pound man somersaulted backwards - three quarters
of the way across the ring - Curt Angle moved out of the way at the last
second and Lesnar ended up driving his face full force into the mat! I was
most impressed with the professionalism of a groggy and determined Brock
Lesnar whose face was already swollen as he willed himself up from the mat
and somehow managed to continue the match. I thought it was a great
performance and the match itself was a brilliant piece of work.
As for the rest of the show, The Rock and Stone Cold delivered a
whirlwind, knock down drag out . For me to be able to enjoy watching two
great wrestlers who I like to think I did my best to pass the torch to, I
was nothing but proud of both of them.
I thought even Vince McMahon’s match with Hogan was more than
entertaining enough and much better than most people expected.
It’s only fair to say that both the Triple H/ Booker T and Shawn
Michaels/ Chris Jericho matches were terrific.
All in all it was an excellent show and I’m glad to say that the WWE put
back what I felt has been missing. Wrestling!
A few years ago I said it was inevitable that things would come full
circle, that they’d burn out and have to come back to the simple things that
make wrestling what it’s supposed to be. Now the ratings have plummeted and
I think back to a time when I found myself being handed the torch back in
1992, when the WWE was mired in unprecedented scandals and business was
falling fast. Vince put his faith in me because he wanted a champion who was
a realistic, solid wrestler and I’m glad to see that history is repeating
itself and they’ve gone back to basics.
If my career hadn’t been ended by a serious concussion (and the
stroke didn’t help either) I’m sure I’d be wrestling now.
I’ve always loved wrestling and it feels good to be able to enjoy it
again - at least just as a fan.