Bret Hart is a multi-time WWE World Champion and WWE Hall of Fame inductee. His in-ring work and the way he presented himself have influenced an entire generation of current top talent. Notably, former WWE and AEW World Champion CM Punk has regularly given Hart flowers and can routinely be seen wearing his merchandise on WWE TV.
In an interview with Fox Sports, Hart commented on what it is like to be considered one of the best pro wrestlers of all time.
“And even in my case, I seem to be as revered or popular as I’ve ever been,” he began. “And it’s maybe because of the salutes I’ve been getting from guys like (CM) Punk and FTR; different wrestlers have mentioned my name or done something that I did in the ring as a nod or a salute to me, and I appreciate all that. I think CM Punk alone has done a lot to remind wrestling fans to take a look back at some of the stuff that I was doing and how good it was.
“And I think it’s starting to stand out now where it’s like – in my honest opinion, without trying to sound too boastful, they’ve pulled the curtain back on wrestling so much. So now we know the whole thing’s a show, and they’re just really good physical actors, and that is what it is.
“But you watch my wrestling, and you go, jeez, he was the best. I think I made it look more real than anybody all the time. I made your stuff look good, I made my own stuff look good, nothing looked rehearsed. There’s so much I think in today’s wrestling that’s so badly rehearsed, over and over.”
CM Punk is currently out of WWE action, recovering from a torn right tricep, but did make an appearance at yesterday’s WWE WrestleMania XL Kickoff Event, serving as a broadcaster. FTR is currently aligned with Daniel Garcia in AEW but recently was given bad news when it was revealed Florida state prosecutors were pursuing criminal charges against Cash Wheeler for his aggravated assault with a firearm charge from last year.