Respect for "The Hitman"

Paying attention to online discussions, in the last few years, I've noticed that there seems to be a general lack of respect for Bret "The Hitman" Hart. Obviously, a large majority of people involved in online discussions, on message boards and so on, are young and don't really know what they're talking about. It seems like revisionist thinking, or just ill-informed, to imply that Bret Hart 'wasn't that good'.

Bret Hart was one of the best technical wrestlers to ever lace up a pair of boots. More times than not, his wrestling ability is not questioned. However, it's common to see his mic skills criticized. First of all, someone like Bret Hart doesn't need to rely on humorous one-liners to get over with the fans. He had legions of fans, all over the world, and he did so without pandering to the crowd for cheap pops or rattling off a dozen catch phrases. Admittedly, some of his promos and interviews weren't perfectly smooth. Nonetheless, this did not have a detrimental effect on his performance. He always managed to convey his point and, definitely, had a personality. Not every promo needs to sound like it's been rehearsed a dozen times and not every wrestler needs to place more emphasis on his mic skills than his ring work.

"The Hitman", easily, gave many of the most memorable matches of his era. Whether wrestling Dynamite Kid, Curt Hennig, Bam Bam Bigelow, Shawn Michaels, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash or Chris Benoit, Bret Hart routinely had the best match of the night. For whatever he may lack in mic skills (which I really don't see this as being accurate) he made up for it by delivering in the ring. Name one classic match ever put on by The Rock or John Cena. It can't be done because neither man is capable of having a match that even comes close to Bret Hart's worst night. Younger wrestling fans need to show a little more respect.