When Bret Hart Turned on the USA (wrestling documentary)

When Bret Hart turned heel in 1997, WWF fans were shocked. Hart had been a hero for almost a decade. In this wrestling documentary we see how the seeds were sown in 1996 with the rise of Stone Cold Steve Austin as the WWF's new emerging babyface. But Bret Hart would be no ordinary bad guy. He would only be a heel to fans in the USA. The reformation of The Hart Foundation meant he was loved in Canada and everywhere else in the world.
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[@1joshjosh1]

As a Canadian.... he did not turn bad. He turned amazing !!!

[@TheNavyGonzo]

1997 Bret was simply incredible! He and Steve Austin got me back into wrestling...

[@ravinraven6913]

steve and undertaker got me back, I think brett was one of the reasons I didn't watch. most stuff pre 98 was garbage, like watching a circus show but with wrestling story lines

[@androtaz2621]

When people criticize Bret for his mic work, I always point to this. If he wasn't good on the mic then how come he so easily got under people's skin? And why was it whenever he went off the rails even slightly he was the scariest man in the building?

[@Kalel2.0]

Bret actually said in an interview that this heel run was the most fun he'd had in years and actually volunteered to drop the title to Austin at Survivor Series 97 instead of HBK

[@ibramblebush]

Yeah, but in hindsight Bret should have just did the job for HBK, Vince was bound to put the belt back on him for him and Austin in WM14 and then he would have came into WCW red hot and they would have had to push him from the beginning.

[@HorrorNeedle]

@@ibramblebush In the end it still wasn't worth it since Michaels only worked for around 4 months after the screwjob. Bret said he'd drop the belt just not in Montreal so this was more about McMahon publicly humiliating Bret.

[@djtrankilo231]

​@MelancholyThread I don't even think Brett minded dropping the belt in Montreal. He just didn't want to drop it to Michaels.

[@ZakynthosDiamandis]

​@@ibramblebushnone of this was possible. Bret was leaving for WCW, his contract was up weeks after Survivor Series. Also Bischoff and Hogan would never have pushed Bret regardless.

[@ivaneurope]

Here's the thing about the Montreal Screwjob - there was an idea thrown around to have end the match in a no contest (a.k.a. schmoz) by most likely having the Hart Foundation and DX come to blows and then Bret to vacate the title on RAW (which was taped). However, Triple H was against appeasing Bret by saying "If he doesn't want to do business, we need to do business for him.". Basically this was telling Vince to go ahead with the screwjob and considering that 2 years prior Alundra Blaze threw the WWF Women's title live on Nitro you could understand that Vince didn't want a repeat of that with the company's top championship which for Eric Bischoff would've been huge W.

[@user-ir5kh8vs7m]

As a British Bret Hart fan watching him since '89, me and my mates never saw this as a 'heel turn' because he wasn't wrong and his crew was effing awesome (and I legit hated HBK (MARK!!) in the 90s)

[@JHernandez]

It's funny, even as an American, I never saw this as Bret's heel turn. There were so many more gray areas when they started to approach the attitude era than black and white, I ultimately just saw Bret as the voice of reason. 😆

[@HorrorNeedle]

Bret was the good guy everywhere just not in the U.S.

[@j.rivera6402]

Some of Bret’s best mic work was when he turned heel…..”if you could give the United States an enema, you’d stick the hose right here in Pittsburgh” hahahahahaha….shit was awesome. Still WISH it would have been Hitman vs Austin at Mania 14. Would have been leagues better and would have closed out their rivalry properly.

[@LamelKendrick]

the 1997 WWF roster was the most stacked year with legends in or close to their prime.

[@sunpreetsandhu6464]

This was peak Bret hart for sure

[@darkchocolate3390]

Having just watched this run on Peacock recently, I absolutely loved it. Thank you Bret

[@brendenmcmillan8937]

Brets heel run is one of the greatest runs of all time

[@Toniobionchinito]

Brett's number 1 fan smokey the cat. Sounds like that cat had a lot of jam. 😊

[@L_E_L_0_U_P]

Bret was never a bad guy... The audience changed their minds about what is morally right and wrong.

[@ravinraven6913]

wrong, he was never a good guy. It isn't the fans that dictate if he is a face or a heel. Just because he was a heel doesn't mean its not ok to like him. He never smiled, he did low blows, in short, he did everything HEELS do....I liked undertaker, that doesn't mean I want him to turn all goody goody. I like him AS a heel, he best not start smiling either...but that means Undertaker has always been a heel, and so has brett heart

[@Wulfman317]

Where I come from Bret never turned heel and he spat nothing but facts. 😎🇨🇦

[@Fl0xtpvnk]

Fax

[@WrestlingCompilations]

This was a great storyline that Bret and the Hart Foundation were involved in back then

[@mikelegat6959]

Bret was awesome during this era, loved his whole heel run

[@TV-Tony]

Me too. Although kinda wish Bret would've dropped the title to Undertaker, since he won it from him and then Shawn could've won it at a later time. Would've avoided the whole screwjob.

[@overkill7990]

I hated it but I was a young mark so I guess that was the point. I"m like the one dude that loved the New Generation era. We didn't have the internet back then so there was no one there to tell that it wasn't as good as before and that I shouldn't like it, business was down etc. Actually I think business being down added to the charm of those early Raws because you got to see them perform in smaller buildings which I love.

[@earlusmcdivett]

I never paid any real attention to Bret until he went heel. Bret was a fantastic heel and 1997 was his year. Incredible year of promos and matches.

[@A_YouTube_Commenter]

It was because Stone Cold was getting cheered so loud. They should have left them as is. Hart has his fans. Austin his. Face vs. face can work,even if they are edgy faces.

[@ssssssstssssssss]

Bret was a master storyteller but this was a masterpiece of a story. One of the best of all time.

[@randomramblings2325]

Honestly, Brett, turning Hill was the best move of his WWF career and the most entertaining

[@WrestlingGimmicks]

For sure the Austin 3:16 promo was the birth of the attitute era to me! Good video mate

[@davidc.8755]

That's the one I always hated. It mocks the Bible. I like "cause stone cold says so" one

[@dizzy1369]

As a Canadian, i absolutely loved this. 🤣😂

[@constablekennedy7705]

Bret Hart is still that Guy!!!….

[@bitsnbobs1107]

I never saw Hart as a villain for a single second. His 97 heel turn was entertaining but they kind of put him on ice towards the end. I didnt like that they wouldnt let him have clean wins even over the likes of the Patriot but that is par for the course with heels

[@davidgriffithsbjjcoach7207]

I didn't either but then I was from the UK. On overseas tours and in Canada he was super over. It was insane.

[@christhornycroft3686]

Also known as, When Bret Hart Got Honest. He was a heel in every other country except America. He was still hugely popular in Europe and Canada, 2 big WWF strongholds. He just told Americans the truth and ask the guy who played Muhammad Hassan how that gets over with fans in the biggest wrestling market in the world. For me, it was his best run because he never said anything that wasn't true and he had some of his best matches, particularly with Steve Austin. His heel turn was basically responsible for the Attitude Era. He'd successfully gotten over all the major players of that era for the WWF side, while Shawn Michaels had been trying to bury those same guys. It wasn't Bret Hart leaving that turned the tide. It was Shawn Michaels taking himself out of in ring action for the remainder of the Wars. He would have sunk the WWF on his own because there was no way he was putting over Austin unless he was leaving, and as mediocre as the match itself was, it had to happen for WWF to take off.

[@ninjapirate47]

Aaaaaand just look at canada now, under ken-doll trudeau... Not sure Bret would be allowed to say anything negative for fear of being cancelled! : o

[@Jitesh108]

HBK was behind Bret’s decline…HBK was jealous of him, first he outbabyfaced him and then he outheeled him.

[@Modeek6]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 you must be from Canada

[@Jitesh108]

@@Modeek6 nope

[@nicolemerrill9167]

Bret "the lonesome dove"Hart lol

[@franciscolopez1816]

1 of the greatest heel turns of All-Time

[@kangarooswild]

I think Bret Hart was a better promo talker during this heel run than his normal shtick...

[@FunkSwaggMusiK]

There were actually 2 people that turned on the United States in 1997 one was Bret Hart. The other was Goldust at Survivor Series.

[@andrewcrouch2362]

Good video upload enjoyed watching it 👍

[@Rob78169]

He never turned heel in Canada!!😆 Was a pretty cool program as Brett would get booed in the US and cheered in Canada and the reverse with Stone Cold during it.

[@greywolf7583]

The Attitude Era was brewing in 1996 at King of the Ring when Stone Cold Steve Austin cut that promo Austin 3:16 just kicked your Ass the beginning of the end of the Attitude Era was when Stone Cold took his ball and went home 😭

[@Teddy42O]

Bret Hart heel turn was justified

[@ohmy4275]

It was brilliant. As a babyface he didn't look very intimidating. As a heel he looked very dangerous, as if he could break your legs

[@17thNO]

Just like Hollywood Hogan was who Hulk Hogan really was, this was really who Bret Hart was. Which is why they enjoyed doing it.

[@diesel101raw]

Apart of me Truly believes had Kurt Angle signed to WWE in 1996 it wudda been Kurt Angle in the Patriots Spot in 1997

[@hugheswhiteman1674]

This angle was great

[@CoryTheRaven]

Point of order: Bret Hart wasn't the heel. The United States was the heel.

[@PureEliteGaming101]

Bret didn't turn HEEL on the fans,THE FANS TURNED HEEL ON BRET!!!!! Bret Hart was right about everything he said lol 😂

[@rajnirvan3336]

Admittedly this was a brilliant angle

[@brand88]

The only version of Bret Hart that I’m a fan of is 1996/97 Bret

[@yadielenielbellecolon982]

Great Video 🙊🤯😃😍👍🥰🇨🇦🌟🥇🏆

[@ryant2418]

Meh plenty of examples of wrestlers working heel in one territory and faces in other. Andre worked heel in Japan while working face in the states. Dusty worked heel or face depending on the territory he was in.

[@Tezzgray]

Great video breakdown

[@reneacosta2939]

I'm Canadian to me he never turned heel

[@masterrserch3971]

Im like almost a strict heel fan, my whole life--- it might have started when my at the time favorite wrestler, at just 6 years old, quite unceremoniously lost the title to that big load Hulk Hogan, of course im talking about the legend, Iron Sheik. Then i fell in love with Roddy Piper (though i didnt like his assault on Snuka, the ONLY babyface i liked as a kid, who ironically and sadly tirned out to be a heel in real life...) Anyway, the point of this is wrestling is weird like that. Why would a born & raised NYC american love the iron sheik and hate hogan? Why is one of my all time fav heel runs IRAQI Sgt Slaughter lol?? Bob Backlund, early 80s champ? Gimme a "MEH" 😂... CRAZY, chicken winging everyone Backlund? Gimme a HELL YEAH! I always liked watching Bret, but ANOTHER "unbeatable" baby face champ, who btw, didnt drop the title to my all time favorite wrestler, Owen Hart??? "Screw you Bret!" Bret turns heel? "Oh i love Bret Hart!" So when i say that even though i just love heels, but this short liver Bret/Hart Foundation run was SPECIAL.... the fact that that POS Shawn Michaels helped usurp his position and effectively mess up his career, ia jjust a big missed opportunity! I know that what, 20 year contract at the time seemed crippling to Vince, but 1st and foremost wrestling fans are such for the PRODUCT IN THE RING (not literally, the promos and skits and such is all part of the production!) We obv will never know how Bret & Shawn woulda coexisted from 97-early 00s, but had he just waited and saw all that attitude era money funneling in, we couldve had the 5 man Hart Foundation changing wrestling by playing both sides throughout their entire comeback and victory.... Things are of course diff now with HHH and is Vince calling all the shots or not, is he still taking mire of a backseat since being back and after his surgery and new allegations, but nefore all that, the wrestling product suffered cuz unlike the attitude era, they had so many other avenues of revenue (Fox deal, Saudi deal, wwe network, etc.), that, the main initial money maker, the actual WRESTLING, was less than secondary...

[@Xamry]

Bret is the only one who’s made it to legit old age

[@saj8]

Bret turned because he was mainly bitter because Austin was on the come-up, as well as Rock.

[@mansor78]

?!?

[@LibraJohnny]

In France, WWF wasn't broadcast anymore in 1997. As a Frenchie, I woulda stood for Hart Foundation as much as before.

[@KAZ3EM]

For me began the attitude era when taker wore his badest taker gear in his whole career! As he flew to the ring on a cable with batwings like a cheap Dracula imitation and the tear Tattoo and other Tattoos came as well what iritated and I started to watch WCW where the real action and most successfull wrestlers were anyway! The NWO gave WWE(WWF called at that time)hard times and competition!

[@DanielDeLeon69]

When Bret Hart Turned Heel!

[@pushon10]

He should be considered the good guy for turning his back on America imo lol.

[@Buckdawg]

Vince's ploy to wreck Bret's fanbase, so he had less leverage, ala Hogan. Despite Bret fuckin nailing it regardless. Amazing how in hindsight, it's generally considered the best year of Bret's career. But at the time, everyone thought he'd just become a lame whiner. His booking was trash too... Vs the fuckin Patriot??

[@Rob_Thorsman]

Who else would he have went against? At the time, the only three big names in the company were Hart, Michaels, and Taker. Everyone else were midcarders.

[@ssssssstssssssss]

@@Rob_Thorsman Shamrock would have been much better. Bret could have helped Shamrock on Bret's way out. Or Dude Love might have been fine. Vader would have been better as well. Though I think Bret did not like working with Vader. Having him feud with the Patriot was a way for Vince to push him down on his way out. He did not want Hart going into WCW hot.

[@Rob_Thorsman]

Shamrock and Dude Love were too low on the card, and by that point Vader had been buried so badly there was no saving him. Here is how I would book it: Shawn gets a kayfabe injury and can't do the match. Taker replaces him. Hart Foundation cheats and beats down Taker during the match when the ref doesn't see it (so no DQ). Kane comes out and nobody knows why. The Hart Foundation attack Kane (this makes Kane look strong because he's fighting off and chokeslamming like three dudes) because they think he's there to help Taker. With the Hart Foundation and Kane distracted, Taker beats Bret for the title. The next night on Raw, or a week later or whatever, Shawn gets his match, Kane interferes and costs Taker the match and title. After that everything goes on as normal. Hell in a Cell with Shawn and Taker, then Shawn vs. Austin and Taker vs. Kane at WrestleMania. Three or four birds with one stone.

[@ravinraven6913]

when he turned bad? Baby faces don't do low blows, baby faces smile showing teeth...bret does low blows, he doesn't smile...by the rules of wrestling, he has always been a heel. Just because people like him, doesn't mean hes a baby face. I like a heal more than some face. That doesn't mean I want undertaker to start smiling....

[@Hillthugsta]

Bret's Canadian vs US angle was so good, it got copied at least 3 times over. Once in WCW, They tried again in WWE, and once in TNA. Lance Storm"s version in WCW was pretty great.

[@karlsylvain]

the tna crew with bobby roode was awesome also!

[@DavidYesUCan]

The American fans turned bad! 😂

[@josephgana5746]

By July- Aug of 97, THE HART FOUNDATION Was Better than the NWO, WWF Was back, it didnt show in the ratings for another 9 monthes, i mean wwf got way better but wcw was still winning, but creatures of habit, i was one, that was jus used to puttin on Nitro First, then flippin bak n fourth, but after Summer Slam 97 i was all bak with wwf, it will always b wwf 2 me, HBK 🐐

[@THEREALLORDJ]

🙄

[@dustinsonnier5602]

😂😂😂😂😂

[@DebitAdams]

Bret turned Bret bad

[@TvTv-nt8dw]

Yay first comment!

[@RoyLogan-kn9fn]

Actually it was most of the Americans that turned on the Hitman. However there were some Americans like myself who never turned on him. The Hitman has always been my favorite wrestler despite him being face or heel.

[@MrMNo13]

I liked the video when it started. Unfortunately, I had to unlike it at the end after the comment "Vince realized he couldn't afford Hart."

[@StunnedByWrestling]

From Hart's autobiography: "I had an in-depth talk with Vince. He told me that the company was in financial peril and that he was only just hanging on: The next six months would either make him or break him. He said Ted Turner was hell-bent on putting him out of business.."

[@StunnedByWrestling]

"Two days later, on September 22 at Raw in Madison Square Garden, I was summoned to Vince’s office for a private chat. He rocked me with the news that he wasn’t just thinking of breaching the terms of my contract, but was actually going to do it: In the weeks ahead, he wasn’t going to pay me my full salary because of problems he attributed to Ted Turner."