Bret Hart Talks His Influence On Today's Top WWE Superstars

Legendary wrestler and WWE Hall of Famer Bret 'The Hitman' Hart recently sat down with Calgary Sun for a conversation. During their talk, Bret discussed his years of training alongside Mr. Hito and Mr. Sakurada, the men he credits for his precision in the ring.

"I think it all goes back to when (WWE commentator) Gorilla Monsoon called me the 'Excellence of Execution.' I was just a guy who did everything right. I remember when I started wrestling, I knew how everything worked. I knew how to take a turnbuckle, I knew how to body slam. When you want to watch how to do something in wrestling, you watch my matches back. You'll learn how to do a Sharpshooter. That's how you do it. Want to learn how to do a standing suplex? That's how you do it. I was always that guy.

"I was really well taught the art of wrestling by two Japanese guys (Mr. Hito and Mr. Sakurada). I was taught how to protect myself and my opponent so he doesn't get hurt. More important than that, it was all about what I represented. I have an incredible body of work with so many different wrestlers. I was so proud of those matches."

'The Hitman' sees veteran WWE stars like Natalya and Edge as two people who have been directly influenced by his style. They emphasize wrestling more than being large and dominant, similar to how Bret Hart did things.

"And all the Canadian wrestlers like Natalya or Edge were influenced by me. I think if you look back at wrestling when it was the Hulk Hogan show, he was six-foot-eight and a one-out-of-three wrestler. He didn't know a headlock from a headlamp. He didn't know very much, he knew how to do a clothesline and maybe a body slam. He was very limited. Vince McMahon took a chance with me and made me that champion. It meant so much to me that I think I tried to live up to be that champion. It was about being the best wrestler. I gave so much as that wrestler. I was a good role model in the dressing room — all that means a lot."