Bret Hart on the concept of the MITB ladder match and whether he would of liked to have participated in one:
I think I’m the guy that brought the ladder match concept to the company in the first place. I brought it from Calgary and Shawn stole the idea from me. I wouldn’t really say it’s a touchy subject but we all know what happened, Shawn too. I think if they hadn’t stole the idea from me and used it at Wrestlemania, I think I would’ve had a ladder match with Owen instead of a cage match. The concept was great, and Shawn got all the credit for having a great match with Razor Ramon, but it’s easy to take someone’s idea and do all the spots. There’s nothing but suspense in a ladder match. But you have guys like Edge and the Hardy Boys who have taken the concept much further than it was. I think it would have been interesting to see Bret Hart and the Dynamite kid in a ladder match say circa 1987-88. But a lot of wrestlers have come down the road who have improved on the match INCLUDING Shawn and Razor, I mean give them credit they deserve, they had a great ladder match. It stills stands out to people as being one of the greatest of all time. And I have no problem saying that, it was a greatmatch. The [MITB] is a different idea…its at least different and interesting and its not so easy to be different and interesting all the time.
On the recent flooding in his hometown of Calgary, AB:
Calgary’s always been a real giving town. Everybody’s gotten out and pitched in where they can, but there’s still a lot left to be done here. It’s brought the community together and everyone’s working together and people are working hard to help with the burden of something we all went through. It’s been a tough time for Calgary because it’s for sure one of the safest cities in the world, but I think they’ve really shown their backbone in the last two weeks in the way they got through the thing with the river, and the flooding. It was quite a crisis.
On whether the famous Hart dungeon was affected by the flooding:
Nah, it’s safe. It’s probably in the safest part of the city. It’s nice and high. It was a serious fortress that house, and it would take a pretty serious flood to wash THAT place away.
On the future of pro wrestling in Canada:
I think there have been a lot of great Canadian wrestlers and wrestling’s still really popular in Canada. I think you’re going to see a lot guys in the future who’ll aspire to be the next Bret Hart or Owen Hart or Chris Jericho. I think if anything, in Canada they’re held to a higher standard, and in the dressing rooms and stuff like that you’re actually respected and required to be a little more respectful than the American guys are down south and that always pays off. Guys who are in the WWE who are Canadian are always humble and are really hard workers and guys that don’t really complain a lot. It has a lot to do with why they do as well as they do it’s because they have a good attitude. Wrestlers from Canada always have good attitudes. They always have their feet on the ground, they’re not troublemakers or complainers when things don’t go right. They’re just a little more rational. American wrestlers are a little more hot under the collar, alittle more opinionated, and sometimes, just sometimes, they’re a little bit harder to deal with. The egos sometimes get out of check and other things hold them back. I find Canadian guys never forget where they came from, and remember being that kid staring up for an autograph.
You can listen to the interview in it’s entirety by going to www.smacktalkradiolive.com
Nick was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and lived there until the age of 18, when he decided to pack his flack jacket and move to New York City.
