This Is Bret Hart's Mt. Rushmore Of Technical Wrestlers
Bret Hart proudly donned the nickname "The Excellence of Execution" for his expertise in technical wrestling. His impressive work earned him a spot not just in the WWE Hall of Fame, but also in the Canada Walk of Fame, becoming the first pro wrestler to earn that accolade.
As a connoisseur of technical wrestling, Hart was asked to select his Mount Rushmore of technical wrestlers. "If I was going to do a Mount Rushmore with all the heads and put the best technical wrestlers of the world on that list, I'd have to put Dynamite Kid on that list," he revealed.
Apart from the late British legend, Hart revealed "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig as another addition to his Mount Rushmore of technical wrestlers. Hennig has also previously been named as an all-time favorite wrestler of "The Hitman." "Curt was one of the greatest athletes ever to put on a pair of wrestling boots," Hart told Sports Illustrated. Hart and Hennig would battle numerous times during their time in WWF and WCW.
Amongst active competitors in the wrestling game, Hart recognized three more decorated talents.
Great recognizes great
Bryan Danielson, formerly known as Daniel Bryan in WWE, has been recognized as the Best Technical Wrestler by Wrestling Observer Newsletter on 10 different occasions and is in Hart's list of best technical wrestlers. Hart told WrestleTalk that Danielson's wrestling reminds him of his late brother, Owen Hart, stating that Danielson's moves are similar to Owen's.
"The Hitman" also named former AEW World Champion CM Punk — and a former rival of Danielson — as another face on his Mount Rushmore of technical wrestlers. "He's a really good wrestler," he said. "The little things that you see in his work, like his timing, his positioning, like, he's always in the right place getting up." Hart continued on to describe Punk as an innovator in the ring and expressed his enjoyment in watching him perform. "I notice Punk is always pretty flawless, he doesn't make a lot of mistakes."
Lastly, AJ Styles secured his status as a certified technician and a great wrestler in Hart's book. "There's a lot of guys that carry the torch of my generation of wrestling into today's wrestling and AJ Styles is the most prominent," he told WWE's "The Bump" in 2020.
Apart from being exceptional technical wrestlers, Danielson, Styles, and Punk are all former WWE Champions, an accomplishment they share with Bret Hart.