Hart or Michaels?

[Anybody Thrilla]

Personally, I was such a big Bret Hart fan that I can't bring myself to be much of a Shawn Michaels fan. I mean, I can watch his matches just fine and all, but Montreal still lingers in the back of my brain. Is it just me, or does it seem like when a person is a Bret Hart fan, he's not so much a Shawn Michaels fan, and vice versa? What about you?

[Xero]

I like them both.

[Chavo Classic]

These two, at some point in their careers, have both probably saved the WWE. And you've got to respect them both for that.

[Disturbed316]

I'm such a big fan of Bret's, so him obviously. I enjoyed watching HBK's stuff from the early 90's, woudln't call myself a fan though.

[Anybody Thrilla]

These two, at some point in their careers, have both probably saved the WWE. And you've got to respect them both for that.

Saved the WWE from what?

[mike627]

I like them both.

[Anybody Thrilla]

BTW, Shawn Michaels "losing (his) smile" was the lamest shit of all time. Almost as bad as the Finger Poke of Doom.

[Chavo Classic]

Saved the WWE from what?

Ok, maybe exaggerated a little. But in terms of revenue, buy rates, merchandise sales etc, these two names have certainly helped the WWE mature and develop.

For example, one of the reasons I've been a fan for 11 years is the fact that the WWE was the company Bret wrestled for. It had a lasting impression, and Shawn keeps me tuning in now.

and god knows, i've given a fair amount of my money to Vince as a result of these two.

[Anybody Thrilla]

I respect Shawn Michaels as a performer, but I think he's just lame as shit. And don't quote me on this, but wasn't Michaels a terrible draw as a champion?

[Chavo Classic]

Yeh i think he was. But I know so many people who have consistently watched the product for Micheals, whether it was now, then or in the future.

Besides, we all know buy rates are unreliable indicators of success because of so many intervening factors. When Micheals was champion, the business was in a decline. Further more, I'm sure without him they might have fared even worse.

[Anybody Thrilla]

I wish they would have put Vader over Michaels.

[Nark Order]

Michaels is still going and Hart isn't. I respect a guy for keeping the engines running. And it's amazing the shape he's in for his age.

But I like them both.

[Anybody Thrilla]

Hart isn't "running" because of Bill Goldberg. Surely you can't fault him for that.

[LK]

Like both but prefer HBK since I didn't quite get to see Bret in his best days and I hardly ever saw WCW.

[Kane Knight]

Michaels rocks. Hart Rocks. I don't like some of what Michaels has done, but I was a pretty big fan in the day and he's still got the stuff.

Bret is awesome, period.

[Nark Order]

Hart isn't "running" because of Bill Goldberg. Surely you can't fault him for that.
No, however Michaels also had a very severe career threatening injury and he's going full force now.

[John la Rock]

I love them both

2 true legends

the 2 best in-ring workers of all time

[Disturbed316]

No, however Michaels also had a very severe career threatening injury and he's going full force now.

Yeah, but Michaels didn't have a stroke.

[Rob]

I absolutely love Bret Hart to death but I'd be a mug not to admit I think Shawn Michaels has been freakin' phenominal since his comeback.

[Hitman84]

Montréal also lingers in the back of my mind, and, being a huge Hitman fan, I have to choose Bret. Some of the matches these two have had together were absolutely amazing - WMXII anyone? But my allegiance has always been, both as a twelve year old mark, and now as an adult smark, has always been with Bret and the Hart Foundation. I'm not doubting that HBK is an amazing performer. I just can't stand his prima donna attitude. I mean, before Montréal, Bret said he would put Michaels over if it were good for the business, and then Michaels turned and said that he refused to return the favour. That kind of attitude really annoys me :rant:

[The Highlander]

I'm definately a Hart fan. Bret only once refused to put a guy over, while HBK refused to again and again, including telling Bret he refuses to put him over, which led to Bret's only refusal...

[James Steele]

Both.

[Zen v.W.o.]

I love both their matches and can easily admit to both being great talents, but you ask where my allegiances lie, and that is with Bret Hart. I can enjoy HBK's matches and he is entertaining, but I much prefer Bret.

And I've also noted this about their fans as well..you notice that many of them will root for one and put down the other. This kind of shows you how great their rivalry was, seeing as how it even drips down to the fans. It had way more realism then any other feud ever imo.

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

Yeah I like Michaels more now than I did back in the day. Back in the day, the way he worked was very immature, like even in the ring, you could tell he was a big cry baby...but now he's always very collected and he always delivers great matches. (Not that he didn't back in the day, but he's not a loose cannon like he was)

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

But obviously I like the Hitman more than Shawn, but Shawn is pretty cool nowadays.

[DaveWadding]

I LIKE both, but I much prefer Bret.

[The One]

I like them both, though to be honest I to enjoy Michaels more...

[The CyNick]

I think its hard not to respect both of them.

I mean its fine to liek one over the other, but how anyone could say Bret or Shawn isn't one of the all time greats is beyond me.

Because Bret did less evil over his career, I like hism more, but like I said, there are both awesome.

[McLegend]

I love Bret but I love HBK more.

[Pete13]

I like both of them, Michaels had a hell of a career, Hart is legendary!
i sometimes beleive those 2 were meant to be on the same level of greatness..

[The One]

Now...I love them both, and Michaels I enjoy in the ring and on the mic more...but you want to talk about the real men behind the curtain, no doubt Bret Hart is not only beter then Michaels, but I can't think of a single wrestler who is kinder and more of a gentleman then Brett Hart.

I don't know how you could compare their greatness. In the ring, on the mic, backstage, they were totally different from each other and had totally different styles.

[Scootie Stankers]

My allegience goes to the Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels but I have been a fan of both ever since I could remember. I remember enjoying the Hart Foundation when I was younger and I continued being a fan of the Hitman throughout the years. I started to like HBK ever since he threw Marty Jannety through the Beefcake's window. It was so shocking and different that it made an impact with me. Then once it started to be HBK vs Bret, I sided with Shawn because he hadn't won yet and I just thought he was the coolest thing around. Bret and Shawn were both great athletes (Shawn still is) and I like both of their work but... Bret Screwed Bret.

[The One]

Scootie...PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE...don't ever mention "Bret Screwed Bret" don't say the word "Montreal" and for the love of god, don't under any circumstance ever talk about any screw jobs from 1997. There is a thin string which holds this place together and when you say stuff like that it more or less is like taking a cutter to the string. We have discussed it to no end here, and if there is one thing we have all concluded, it is better to live in denial then to bring it up...

Now...what were we talking about.

[loopydate]

I voted "I like them both," because as in-ring performers, they are among the two best, and I consider myself a fan of both.

However I have always been, am now, and will always be an HBK mark who thinks Bret isn't the flawless pillar of humanity that he's made out to be throughout the IWC. Both refused to put the other over at one time or another, and both held lengthy title reigns despite bad business. I hate that those facts are used as fodder for Hart supporters, when his hands are far from clean.

But, again, they were both fantastic performers, so I voted "I like them both."

[PorkSoda]

Like them both, but Hart more

[Altar of Helmsley]

I know Bret has an ego equal to the size of Vince's wallet, but i've got to say i prefer Bret just because i've never liked Shawn's attitude outside of the ring.

Love Shawn Michaels the wrestler though he's one of the TRUE greats.

[The Lone Drinker]

Bret Hart. :y:


Shawn Michaels was an ass during that time. You could make a laundry list of screwed up things he did during that era.

Great wrestler? Hell yes.

Good mic skills? No doubt about it.

Decent human being behind the curtains? Fuck no.

Is he a better person now who admits he was a Dick back then? Yes, and that is why he's all right in my book now.

[Aussie Skier]

when i first watched wrestling b'ween 1992-'95ish...Bret was always my second favourite wrestler behind (behind lex luger)...SHUT UP!, I WAS YOUNG OKAY!

The new generation of Bret, Luger, razor, Diesel and HBK was a great time in wrestling, and Shawn was lways my number 1 most hated wrestler. i remember when he was IC champ and he used to always just walk out with the belt half way through the match...geeze i hated him for that. Now, I admire him for (for generating so much hate.)

I suppose overall, i do like bret more tho. However, of late, i have really come to admire HBK's ability, and can't wait to see angle-HBK.

ps, i voted both

[HeartBreakMan2k]

I personally absolutely adore them both, however I will say if I had to choose who I'd rather watch on a day in day out basis, HBK by a long shot.

[The One]

HBK2K...watch me try and contain my shock... :p

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

Yeah I'll agree with the One, just refer to The Screw Job as "the ugly side of the business"

It's hard to say anyone was right or anyone was wrong, it was just fucked up shit.

I think Michaels nowadays was really classy about it, he pretty much begged the Hitman for forgiveness...didn't expect forgiveness, but at least he was man enough to do so.

Michaels IMO though has done his best work since his return, his matches with Benoit/HHH, Angle, Jericho, Benjamin almost top all his great shit he did back in the day. It's because he isn't so focused on looking better than everyone, he just wants to put on a good show.

[SuperSlim]

For me it's just that both of them are good in their own ways. Although I'm a bigger Bret fan than a Shawn fan I can't discount Shawn and all that he's done for the business. And what he has been doin even to this day before his knee blew out on him. Givin the best Raw match I've seen in a long long time.

[Marcyo]

Bret is awesome, period.

:y:

[The Gooch]

If we are talking Markish behaviour I'm definitely pro-Bret. I respect the hell out of Shawn for his work in the ring, but I never was a HBK fan. Same goes for Austin.

[Anybody Thrilla]

I'd almost agree there, Gooch, but when Stone Cold dropped that 3:16 speech, I marked out like a bitch. I liked Austin at first. But not so much Michaels.

I think it may have been that I outgrew Michaels. I loved the Rockers as a kid, but that's what they were...a team designed for kids. Maybe I can't shake that image of him...partially because he still portrays it well into his 30's.

[crash99]

I like them both. I like Hart more, but their both awesome.

[MVP]

Gonna go with the majority here. I am not a fan of HBK, but I respect his career, especially since he returned.

Bret will always be God, no matter what.

[The Gooch]

I'd almost agree there, Gooch, but when Stone Cold dropped that 3:16 speech, I marked out like a bitch. I liked Austin at first. But not so much Michaels.

I think it may have been that I outgrew Michaels. I loved the Rockers as a kid, but that's what they were...a team designed for kids. Maybe I can't shake that image of him...partially because he still portrays it well into his 30's.

I've always had a hard time cheering for someone that I "disliked" for a time. With Austin, I was a huge Bret fan and with the Can-Am feud between the two, I live North of the border.

I loved the Rockers. Man tagteam wrestling was the shit back then.

[Hired Hitman]

I like Michaels, but not Hart

[Anybody Thrilla]

With Austin, I was a huge Bret fan and with the Can-Am feud between the two, I live North of the border.

I'm south of the border, and I still cheered for Bret there too.

But I mean, it was an easy decision. What was that Canadian Stampede match? Bret, Owen, Bulldog, Pillman, and Neidhart vs Austin, Shamrock, Goldust, Hawk and Animal? It was clear where the awesomeness in that match was.