Opinions That Changed

[cabbageboy 0]

The thing is, guys like HTM or Akeem were never pushed THAT hard. As in nowhere near the insufferable level of Michaels in the mid 1990s. Akeem was just the random jobber that Bossman was teaming with as the Twin Towers...I dunno of anyone else they could put in that spot. If it was One Man Gang it would have worked better, but then you have the prison guard teaming with a guy who looks like a biker ex con...doesn't work so well. But then again they ended up with a prison guard teaming with a nutso white guy who thought he was black.

 

As far as HTM goes, he won the IC on a fluke and then got DQed and counted out for a year. And Warrior killed him dead in 30 seconds to win the belt.

 

Bear in mind Michaels earlier in his career was jobbing to Akeem. Hell I remember being so sickened when he beat the Bulldog for the IC title. I hated him for that for about 10 years. Once Davey Boy died and HBK came back to the ring from retirement, I sorta let it go.

[TheDevilAndGodAreRagingInsideMe 0]

I think the first time I first considered the notion of backstage politics was during the initial Michaels solo push. The idea of it just seemed so absurd to me at the time. It was the first time I felt like they took a guy that I frankly couldn't buy at that top level and tried to put him on that level whether I liked it or not. I never felt that way about Bret Hart though, I guess due to him actually being a champion in the tag division instead of a glorified jobber (which is what the Rockers essentially were). Add to it Shawn's highly gay ring attire and it was the first time I pondered why a guy was being pushed. I'd never felt that way before about another wrestler, not even about Diesel really. At least with him I instinctively knew "Hey the guy is 7 ft. and 300 lbs. so he'll get pushed."

 

But Bret wore a pink singlet....

[Red Baron 0]

Bret didn't need eye candy to get over.

[cabbageboy 0]

The Harts also worse that neon blue attire from time to time before settling on the pink look. Besides, I hardly think wearing a pink singlet is on the same level of gayness as wearing white leather, chain mail, and a biker hat. Michaels looked like he stepped out of the Blue Oyster Bar for crying out loud.

[Vern Gagne 0]

While the attire was very queer. I think it worked getting Michael's over as the "pretty boy" who can take a beating, and can return the favor.

[Steve J. Rogers 0]

Bret didn't need eye candy to get over.

 

Also Bret didn't make his colors the main part of the gimmick. Kind of made the color "cool" with the overal look he had going. Shawn made his glam rocker look the main part of his Sexy Boy gimmick.

[Hasbeen1 0]

Some of the thing just reinforced what I already knew or had heard, but over time I had less sympathy for some regional promoters who went out when McMahon got huge. At the very least, some of them could have lasted longer and still made a profit for a while, with better decisions and more imagination.

[PLAGIARISM! 0]

One of the things I tend to wonder is how Bret did get over with marks. Even working as a face, he acted like a complete prick.

[humanoid92 0]

When did Bret act like a prick as a face before, say, 1996?

 

Unless you consider sticking up for your parents or refusing to fight your own brother as acting like a prick, I'm not seeing it.

[PLAGIARISM! 0]

His ring style was always nearer that of a heel, and he didn't seem particularly interested in winning people over in interviews, used to say how good he thought he was.

[Black Lushus 0]

well Hogan was a huge egomaniac as well during his promos...

[Guest BlueStang302]

I think Bret got over back then because he was different and identifiable.

 

He was different because he was a new face on top of the mountain. And when he first started the title run, he did the "Fighting Champion" thing, and was wrestling almost every week on TV. This was in contrast to Hogan, back then it was rare if you saw him wrestle on tv once or twice a YEAR. Seemed that way at least.

 

He was easy to identify with. He wasn't 6 foot 8 and 300 pounds like Hogan, he didn't have the style and profile of Flair, he wasn't a raving loon like Warrior, he didn't have the over the top attire and the manic behaviorisms of Savage. He was a smaller guy. He was calm and laid-back. Had an icy cool demeanor to him that gave him a fanbase even way back when the Hart Foundation first came in. He was put over by the announcers as the BEST wrestler in the world. Not only that, he was a fighter and persistant and never gave up.

 

I can understand someone saying he came off arrogant in interviews. But, its hard to find out someone that doesn't in some way. I liked him well enough, was never a HUGE fan. But there are a few reasons why I think he got over.

[PLAGIARISM! 0]

I think that's probably it. I liked him as a lad, but ended up watching old tapes of his early 90s singles stuff and couldn't believe how he won me over when I was a complete mark for the other heel acts. I never loved Hogan though. Until his 2002 run, but nevermind.

[iggymcfly 0]

I don't think the internet changed my opinions as much as it did for a lot of other people. For instance, I always liked and defended HHH, even when the whole internet hated him and I still don't believe that he really held anyone down. And even when I first started watching, I always liked cheering for the heels. About the only wrestler I can think of that I really did a 180 on due to the internet was Ric Flair. When I first started watching in 1998, I thought "what's this crazy old man doing as a main eventer" and thought the fact that WCW treated him as a main eventer was just one of the many reasons they were inferior to the WWF.

 

After becoming more of an internet fan and hearing more about his legacy and how he carried the NWA for years though, I grew to respect him, and actually started to enjoy his matches a lot more. It got to the point that 5 or 10 years later, when he was wrestling for the WWE, he became someone who's matches I would forward to, rather than someone who would make me flip the channel.