Being Canadian and a long-time wrestling fan, obviously I was going to be into this one. And yet, most of the previous WWE releases about Bret "Hit Man" Hart haven't been home runs.

 

His 2005 documentary The Best There Is, The Best There Was, The Best There Ever Will Be came off as depressing, mainly because Bret was still quite bitter about the whole "screwed me over and killed my brother" thing. In 2010, the documentary Hart and Soul - The Hart Family Anthology was enjoyable to an extent, but could have been so much more.

 

In fact, only 2011's Greatest Rivalries - Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart was a perfect in-ring and out-of-the-ring combination, in my mind.

 

So this collection was more of a vanity project for Bret; he wanted to collect some of his rarer matches and explain what they meant to him. It's similar to what WWE has done with Hulk Hogan and Mick Foley , combing through their immense video libraries to deliver something not seen before.

 

The format is fairly straightforward: Bret comments on a phase of his career, relays an amusing road story or two and then comments on his opponent for the upcoming match. A wide variety of commentators supply the soundtrack of Bret Hart's career. A few notes on each of the matches:

 

Bret Hart vs. Dynamite Kid (1978) - This is from the Calgary Stampede territory and both competitors are scrawny rookies. Lots of restholds, complemented by hard-hitting action, and a glimpse of what would make men two of the best wrestlers of their era.

 

Bret Hart vs. Buzz Sawyer (1979) - This is definitely a rarity - it's from Georgia Championship Wrestling, and announcer Gordon Solie promises us a "scientific match". Sawyer is not quite "Mad Dog" yet, and the two engage in a collegiate-style match. Note: the video quality of this match is terrible, and looks to be dubbed from someone's VHS tape.

 

Bret Hart vs. Leo Burke (1983) - Another Stampede match, with the action being called by Ed Whalen. Not a phenomenal match, by any stretch, but one of Hart's first big singles feuds.

 

Bret Hart vs. Dynamite Kid (1985) - Now these two are in the World Wrestling Federation, each as part of a tag team, and this matchup from Washington is head-and-shoulders above their previous encounter. Definitely a hidden gem. Interesting to hear how many times the term "WWF" is uttered, now that the ban on that name has seemingly been lifted from WWE DVD's.

 

The Hart Foundation vs. The Islanders (1987) - Hart and Jim Neidhart had recently won the WWF tag team titles and this was one of their first title defenses. As Hart notes, the match had a certain energy to it that could have easily carried the match to pay-per-view. And it's kind of funny to note that the commentators confuse with Haku and Tama throughout the match - it's not like the two are identical twins or anything.

 

Bret Hart vs. Andre The Giant (1989) - Talk about a rarity. Andre had requested this match during a tour of Italy because he'd always wanted to work with Hart. Unfortunately, the first half of the video quality is fuzzy (in fact, it looks as though the second half was dubbed from a different source) and the commentary is in Italian, so it's a tad difficult to get into.

 

Bret Hart vs. Mr. Perfect (1989) - If I'm not mistaken, I was in the audience for this one; their second-ever encounter, at a house show in Toronto. A great, give-and-take encounter and one of the best rivalries in wrestling for that era.

 

The Hart Foundation vs. Twin Towers (1989) - The Foundation had briefly re-united and this was a match that Bret said he "knew was going to be on a DVD someday". That may have been because it was recorded for a Coliseum Home Video at the time (on commentary: Tony F'ng Schiavone!). Still, it was a really fun matchup, and Akeem and Big Boss Man more than held their weight. Pun not intended.

 

Bret Hart vs. Tiger Mask II (1990) - This was from a WWF supershow in Japan, and.... it really wasn't as great as I thought it would be. Hart himself admits the original Tiger Mask (Satoru Sayama) was far better, but for whatever reason, these two didn't seem to click. Still, I can't say I'd seen the match before.

 

Bret Hart vs. Ric Flair (1991) - No, this wasn't the match where Hart first won the WWF World Championship; he was Intercontinental Champion at the time, and Flair was relatively new to the promotion. Funny note: The ring announcer accidentally christens Curt Hennig as Ric Flair's "financial consultant" (he was the "executive consultant") - talk about a job somebody wouldn't want to have! Anyways, this was a great contest, despite Hart's opinion that Flair wrestled with "no psychology".

 

Bret Hart vs. The Undertaker (1992) - Honestly, I wasn't even aware these two had matched up this early into The Undertaker's career (well, except for Taker's debut match at Survivor Series, but I mean one-on-one). Very interesting match, as they were definitely pushing The Dead Man, and for nostalgia purposes if nothing else, it's fun to watch Paul Bearer do his schtick one last time.

 

Bret Hart vs. Bam Bam Bigelow (1993) - Another match from Italy, and again, the commentary is in Italian for some strange reason. Couldn't they have an option here where Hart and, say, Josh Matthews did an alternate commentary track? Anyways, these two guys have surprisingly-good chemistry, and this particular match may even be better than their King Of The Ring final from roughly the same time period.

 

Bret Hart vs. Diesel (1994) - This is their very first encounter (from King of the Ring 1994). Interesting to note how over Diesel is here, and also how Hart's cornerman Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart wasn't at ringside to counter interference by Shawn Michaels, but rather to make sure Hart kept the belt (later that night, he would form an alliance with Owen Hart - the kind of in-depth storytelling that isn't really done much any more).

 

Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart (1995) - This is from Monday Night Raw - a "no holds barred" match, from back when that term still meant something special. Any time you saw these brothers wrestle, it was something special, but this was a very different, very decent encounter.

 

Bret Hart vs. Jean-Pierre Lafitte (1995) - Bret was in a wide range of short-term feuds around this time, and this one with Lafitte (the pirate stole his jacket or some crap) was one of them. Wasn't a terrible match - and probably the biggest in Lafitte's career - but I didn't love it.

 

Bret Hart vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin (1996) - This is from a supercard held in South Africa's Sun City, and was billed as Hart's last possible match in the WWF (of course, he re-signed weeks later). Of note: Owen Hart is absolutely HILARIOUS as a color commentator and should have been used in this role more frequently, especially given the friction he and play-by-play man Jim Ross seemed to have. The match itself is phenomenal and worth the price of the DVD alone. I'd argue that Hart vs. Austin was one of the best matchups in WWE history, and this match serves as a reminder of why.

 

Bret Hart vs. The Patriot (1997) - I didn't remember liking this match when I first saw it on pay-per-view (In Your House: Ground Zero), but The Patriot was surprisingly up to the challenge of being in a WWF Title Match. The match serves as a perfect catalyst for Hart's Anti-American gimmick that, honestly, could have been given another couple of years before it was worn out (had you-know-who not screwed Bret out of the company). Anyways, the match was worth watching, except for the screwy ending that saw interference by Davey Boy Smith and, of all people, Vader.

 

Bret Hart vs. Booker T (1999) - Hart chose to only spotlight two of his WCW matches (feeling they didn't know how to market his character and never really got it right), and this particular match took place right after Hart suffered a groin injury. Passable match, but certainly not an all-time great or anything.

 

Bret Hart vs. Sting (1999) - I was definitely in the audience for this match (the semi-final to WCW's Mayhem tournament) and the Toronto crowd was clearly behind Hart here. Nice to see a matchup between two very evenly-matched competitors, but both guys are clearly past their prime here. Unfortunately, they couldn't show the tournament finals from the same PPV (Hart vs. Chris Benoit) because that match honestly stole the show.

 

So is this DVD collection worth your time? If you're a Bret Hart fan, I'd say absolutely. Tons of rarities here, and good matches to boot. And even if you're too young to remember Hart, this is good evidence of what a great, hard-hitting worker he was throughout his career.