WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart joined Cheap Heat with Peter Rosenberg to reflect on his career, the state of modern wrestling, and CM Punk’s latest return. In a wide-ranging discussion, Hart expressed frustration over how WWE remembers his legacy and highlighted concerns with the industry’s current storytelling approach.
“I think they kind of try to erase a lot of what I contributed,” Hart said. “They talk about WrestleMania 13, but they never really give me credit for what that match with Steve Austin did. It changed wrestling.”
Bret Hart vs Steve Austin at WrestleMania 13
Bret Hart and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin’s iconic submission match from WrestleMania 13 in 1997 will make history as the first match ever inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. It will receive the inaugural “WWE Immortal Moment” award at the 2025 ceremony on April 18 at Fontainebleau Las Vegas.
Hart points to that 1997 match as a turning point in wrestling history, emphasizing how it helped redefine characters and storytelling in the industry.
“That match flipped the whole script. It was about storytelling, character shift — and people still talk about it because it was real… When I watch that match back, I can tell you that I think there’s not one move that’s out of place. You know, everything fits where it is… you can’t take anything out of it. Everything is perfect the way it is.”
Hart and Austin are two of the greatest to ever step foot in the ring, and brought out the best in one another.
“Wrestling is all about kind of give and take, and Steve and I just had this beautiful balance of him giving to me and me giving back to him. It’s just kind of like a tennis game, like we’re just keep batting the ball back and forth, and at the same time just this flow that started to build throughout the match..
Steve Austin credits his Bret Hart feud with ‘making’ his Stone Cold persona, and firmly establishing him as a WWE main event star. The “Hitman” has fond memories of helping Austin refine his act.
“I think I did a lot in the matches that I had with Steve, like in the first six months before WrestleMania 13 and even the Survivor Series, I think I steadied him and calmed him down and kind of got him to focus more.
I really do think I helped him a lot, and by the time I fought him even at Survivor Series, he was becoming a different worker and a better worker.”
Today’s Wrestling
Shifting to today’s WWE product, Hart critiqued the lack of emotional investment in modern matches.
“The matches now are too choreographed. They don’t grab you anymore. You don’t care who wins or loses, and that’s the problem,” he said.
“You can do a moonsault off the top rope, but if the story’s not there, it means nothing.”
He added, “I don’t watch it much — just highlights now and then.”
Praise for CM Punk and Roman Reigns
When asked about CM Punk, Hart spoke highly of the star’s in-ring skill and ability to connect with fans.
“I like Punk. I think he’s a good wrestler, and I think he brings a lot to the table,” he said.
He also strongly endorsed Roman Reigns. Without explicitly saying it, it sounds like he sees a bit of himself in the Tribal Chief.
“When I see Roman Reigns wrestle, he’s always in control, he’s always very calm, he’s always kind of already got it figured out what the next sequence of moves are going to be and how he’s going to do them and how he’s going to execute them. He just never seems to panic.”
Peak Wrestling
Hart closed by reiterating his belief that wrestling works best when it’s grounded in realism and emotional stakes.
“That’s what made guys like me, Steve Austin, and Shawn Michaels great. We made people believe. That’s what wrestling’s supposed to be.”
