The Official Shawn Michaels or Bret Hart Thread
 

Shawn Michaels or Bret Hart. You can use whatever criteria you want; personal markishness, in ring skill, general character, real life person...WHATEVER. Just make your choice.

(For those of you too fucking stupid, you are voting for who you LIKE MORE)

Feel free to explain your choice, and could we at least TRY to maybe from now on keep all Michaels/Hart related things to THIS thread? Kliq bros? Zen? can we contain it???

I'm going to break Kayfabe here.

Bret Hart was one of the best in-ring workers of the past 20 years. I've enjoyed a lot of his matches. However, for me, that's where he ends. He was a sub-par promo and always had the Randy Orton tone about him. Without the Canada angle he would have been a shitty heel as well. That angle is the ONLY reason he got over as a heel. If he didn't have it he would have been stuck as a face because he was impossible to hate. And not in a good way, his character was too bland to get over as a heel.

Michaels, on the other hand, is great in the ring, is great on the mic, and is very charismatic. Plus, Michaels can play multiple variations of a heel and a face. Of the two, he's the complete package.

HBK is better than Bret at everything. Had Owen not died, I think a closer comparison would have been between The Rocket Slammy Award Winning BlackHart King of Harts and HBK.

I do agree, Shawn trumps Bret in every area with exception. The better comparison is Owen and Shawn, Shawn still trumps Owen, but I thought Owen was better than Bret.

Shawn>Bret

I'm even Canadian and i think that.

Bret Hart is just washed up and whiny.

HITMAN ALL THE WAY

I refuse to choose.

Shawn. Most of people's complaints about Bret are bullshit, but Shawn's still a stellar performer.

Zen and New Hampshire have nothing in common

It's simple. Shawn's legacy will be that he was a charismatic, athletic, over-achiever that ultimately conquered his demons and that was main eventing Wrestlemanias years past his prime with excellent results. Bret will be known as a great technical wrestler with little to no charisma that decided to whine for 10 years over not being able to choose when and where he wins/loses matches.

There isn't really a comparison.

Bret will be so bitter that he'll convince himself that he wants to show up for the fans, but rationalizes that he won't show up at all on a free Raw because it will draw Vince money. Nobody has the heart to tell Bret that he's not gonna draw shit.

Two words.

Show Stopper.

End of story.

It's one word, and that's Showstoppa

But yes, end of story. Bret is too bitter to show up to Raw, and Rock thinks he's too good. Fuck em. Michaels and Austin ftw.

Michaels. Reason is I didn't really get to see much of Bret, wasn't into the WWF back then really, but Michaels is still doing it at this age, and his ring work is still great.

Shawn. Hands down. No explination needed.

Also, no Loose Cannon option? :foc:

Bret Hart all the way. Bret's my favorite wrestler of all-time. He was my hero growing up watching wrestling and I never stopped cheering for him. I can rattle off lots of reasons why I liked him, but it doesn't really matter anymore.

Basically what Loose Cannon said. Don't get e wrong, I like HBK in the ring and most of the time on the mic, but I was a Hitman fan as far back as I can remember.

Santino Marella.

<font color=goldenrod>Shawn Michaels all the way for me. He's hemorrhaging charisma and in general I just found myself enjoying his matches more than I did with Bret's.</font>

Everyone can find something to like about Shawn Michaels. His look, his charisma, his non-Canadianity, his ability, any of it. If you like Bret Hart, it's probably because you like great technical wrestling, but come on, Shawn outshines Bret in most categories. Also, fucking pink? Come on.

Bret was a technical masterpiece and did a lot worth watching. He gave the business a lot and more than left his mark. But you could make a Greek tragedy out of him. His downfall was purely the result of his own pride (downfall meaning his departure from the WWF and his descent into WCW's midcard hell, not the head injuries. I'll happily blame that on Goldberg, of whom I have no good to say.)

I'm a Hit mark so Bret Hart for sure. I still like HBK tho'. I don't really get this "if you like one, you must hate the other" aspect that they have in some people's minds. Both are great legends of the business.

Additionally, Canada sucks.

Bret did that once, Shawn did it a lot. lol guys i blew mi nee out, o no wait, i didn't, wait its bak, do i keep title?

Edit: Why is this such a staple of the Shawn/Bret thing? It's not like Bret can help Goldberg kicking him in the head/hitting a pothole in the road on his bike...

I think it's just the fact that Shawn has more of a legacy. I'm sorry, but he does. I don't even know how thats arguable. Bret did have his time, Bret did have his amazing matches and his title wins and left a legacy of his own. He's a legend.

But he just can't compare with Shawn's. Shawn leaves a legacy as the best. He has more landmark matches. He was part of attitude and Austin and Tyson, he was in DX and brought along HHH. He was a part of some of the most benchmark matches of all time, including the defining ladder match, and the first hell in a cell.
He has stolen the show at Wrestlemania time after time.

Bret's biggest moments of his legacy are pretty much the Iron Man Match and The Montreal Screwjob. Guess who shares those with him?
Wrestlemania 10 was Bret's big night, but guess who stole the show and defines that event?

And even if Bret can't help it, Shawns lengthy career is a factor. He managed to return in a major way, and has had matches against Angle and Jericho and others Bret hasn't, and reached an entire new generation of fans.

Bret is certainly a legend with a solid career. But if you really run down the list of what Bret has done, as impressive as it is, anything he could do Shawn could do better.

Loose Cannon

Who cares?

If he wasnt a good heel then the Hart Foundation back in the 80's wouldnt have been the top badass tag team of the era.

ALSO, IMO, Bret Hart was a much better wrestler, and his matches speak for themselves. He owns the greatest match in North american history, or if you want, wwe history, and has carried more wrestlers to their best matches than anyone else.

His charisma and mic skills were fine, because it takes more than just being a good wrestler to get as over as he was.

Benoit was a great wrestler, but never attained that ELITE popularity status..Bret Hart did, and easily, because he had the complete package.

HBK also had the complete package, and I admire the mans work, he just wasnt as good.

Also, Bret has more worldwide appeal. Newbs today might vote HBK cuz they havent had the chance to see the best there ever will be.

Bret wore pink, but Shawn wore mirrors and gay hats. I swear he's a closet case.

Why do you think the guys liked Bret more? They preferred associating with a real man. Perhaps it'sd a bit of himophobia and all, but hey...I dont blame them.

And take a look: The main markets...the smart one's..they liked Bret better.

What the fuck are you talking about now? Who liked Bret better? Canadians? Germans? They like hockey and david hasselhoff.

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Go the world over..Bret was the bigger attraction. He was their biggest international star and draw, overall. That you DO have to admit, if you dont wanna come off totally biased.

Even in HBK's home country, it was split. Shawn was sorta bigger down south but Bret was the man up north.
Shawn cant say the same for countries like Canada or England or Germany or South Africa etc...

Bret F'N Hart

We've had this discussion before. I know I know. I'm half kidding with ya. I'm not discounting Bret. He's a legend. But to be the man you gotta beat the man, and Bret's not the best of all time. Shawn is. That's my opinion.

I just don't see how you can even compare. If you're gonna gauge it by drawing power, domestically or internationally, neither is "the best".

I know. But they were the top two guys holding that company afloat for so many years, which I think is more praise worthy than a guy like HHH who got to coast after the wave Austin started.

Hey, look...I think Bret and HBK are the best two to ever lace them up. I rank them both over anyone else, and that's to me the reason why these two get compared so often, and more than any others...because you always compare the two best at anything.

I would just put Bret at the top spot, with HBK coming up second.

I dont think Bret blows Shawn out of the water at all.

Shawn needed Bret A LOT more than Bret needed Shawn.

After Hogan and Savage and all the stripminers blew out the door, they kept the seat warm for Rock and Austin. For that they deserve a lot of credit. They single handedly kept WWF on life support until their successors saved it.

That's a ban right there.

Canada doesn't suck.

How can something that doesn't exist do anything?