Everybody, my name is Stone Cold Steve Austin. Welcome to the Broken Skull Sessions. My guest today is the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be. My guest today is the one and only Brett the Hitman Hart. How are you, man? >> Good to see you, Steve. I'm really good. >> Good to see you. >> Yeah, it's too long. >> You've been down in Hawaii from Calgary. How was your vacation? >> It rained almost the whole time, hence the beautiful time I got. But it was still better than the minus 45 below zero in Calgary. >> I noticed a certain glow about you. I was wondering what was up. It's freezing cold in Calgary right now and I was glad to get out of there. How have you been? You're good? >> I've been really good. Still two grizzled veterans. All the years we got behind us and you got more than I do. But there's a picture of us back then. Look at that stare, look at the intensity. Two warriors about to go to battle right there. That was good times. I was looking forward to you coming on the show. I'm one of your biggest fans. You did so much for my career. I always looked up to you because you're about a half generation ahead of me and I was coming in right behind you. And hang on for a second, cheers. I'll never forget, one time I was at a house show somewhere in Canada. I believe it was Canada. I think he was running a little bit late, I'd already worked up. Probably jerked the curtain that night or I might have been mid-card. And you were in the Main Event. You were working with somebody and you come screeching up in a Lincoln Town Car and you had a flat tire and do you remember this? >> No. >> Yeah, so you went in and worked the show and worked the Main Event. While you were in there working the Main Event, I was out there jacked up your Lincoln Town Car. It was a rental car. Changed the tire for you, and by the time you came out from showering, you were ready to go down the road. >> What happened to those days? >> But we've always got along. Do you remember meeting for the first time? >> This is a true story too that people don't know, is that I was going to Vince all the time and trying to bring new guys in. And I remember talking about you. You, I think had just signed with ECW and I said, why didn't you guys grab Steve Austin? He was free, he was available. I said, you're looking for new guys all the time. I said he's one of the best guys down there and they just let him go at WCW. And I said I don't know why you didn't grab him. And I talked to Vince about it. And I remember the next week you were sitting in the dressing room. >> Yeah, and I remember you telling me. You said I saw you coming before you did. And I wanna get into this in a little bit because you were always very hands-on with your career, very hands-on with your booking and your storylines. And I've done several of these Broken Skull Sessions, and we kinda go all over the place and sometimes it's chronological. But with you, it's kinda like our WrestleMania 13 match, which I wanna talk about. But we jump-started that match. You came into the ring and I tackled you, and I've got some highlights for you. But I'd like to jump-start this session with you because I remember many, many years ago was the Montreal screw job. And I just wanna jump right into it because to me it was just a pivotal moment. Obviously, for you, it was a big moment for the entire wrestling industry. And I remember being there, I don't remember who I worked with. I just remember watching that match over and over again before I talked with you. And it just blew me away what happened that night. And I remember I fired a call down to you a night or two later when everything kinda settled down because I was still in shock. Mick Foley quit, the Locker Room was in disarray. Nobody knew what the hell was going on. But I never got a chance to sit across the table from you and talk to you about your mindset, about where you were and how that went down. How did that all line up? Why did that all happen? >> It was a lot of, a lot of dishonesty going on back then with the company. I think Vince was not gonna honor my contract that he signed with me. He was trying to find ways out of it and told me that we can't meet your contract anymore. In fact, he was gonna help me negotiate my deal with WCW. And I remember I was pretty close with Vince in a fatherly kinda way. And it was for a period there, I remember actually had my lawyer. I talked to my lawyer about it and he goes, it's not a good idea to do it that way. As I said, Vince will negotiate for me with Bischoff and he goes, let's let's not go near that. But the real story of what happened is that it was in San Jose, was you, me, and Triple H and a bunch of guys in Triple Threat matches, and Shawn was the referee. And I found out that day that we were wrestling in Montreal for the Survivor Series. And Shawn came up to shake my hand, which me and Shawn had a little fisticuff a few months before that. And he came into the dressing room to thank me for the match, which is sort of customary. And so, we shook hands. And I said, hey, Shawn, I said, I just found out today that we're wrestling in Montreal. I said, this wants you to know I'm always gonna be a professional in the ring. And you don't have to worry about me going off the rails and doing something to you or trying to hurt you or anything because we'd had some friction. I said, I have no problem putting you over. I'll have no trouble dropping the title to you, doing anything you want. And the big problem between me and Shawn started right there. And he said, well, I appreciate that, but I just want you to know that I'm not willing to do the same thing for you. And then he turned around, walked out of the dressing room. >> And that rubbed you the wrong way? >> Well, I don't know anybody that would ever say that to somebody that's offered to put him over. And to me, I reached out with a peace sign. So, then it was the very next day I saw Vince in. I think it was Tulsa, Oklahoma, for Monday Night Raw. And he tells me that they're likely gonna switch the belt and all that stuff, but they didn't know whether I was gonna stay in the company or leave the company. They also told me that I could leave any way I wanted. And plus, it was in my contract that I had creative control over the last 60 days. Cuz in WWE they tend to screw you just before you leave all the time and try to bring your value down. So, I was kind of leery of that. So, when Vince asked me about dropping the belt to Shawn, I said I can't do it. I said, I can't do that for somebody that's not willing to do the same thing for me. >> But that was a personal thing, or had you worked yourself into a shoot? Because many years ago, I refused to do a job for Brock Lesnar because it was an unadvertised match and it was no build up, no nothing. I'd be. I'd be happy to do the favors for anybody, but there was no reason behind it, and I said, no. I got an airplane, I went home. It was a bad way to handle business, but that's the way I did that. I worked myself into a shooting, is my point, from where I was. But from man to man, was it like that? You'd worked yourself into a shoot? >> It was more of an honor thing, someone not having respect for me and then someone wanting me to respect him, and that was the line. And when I talked to Vince, I told him that night in Tulsa, I said, this is what he asked me about dropping the belt. And I said, I can't do it, and I said, this is why. And I told him why and told him it just happened, maybe the night before or two nights before. And he couldn't believe it. He almost fell off his chair or pretended to, and then said, I want you to tell me the same story in front of Shawn. He went to go get Shawn, and as it turned out, he couldn't find Shawn. So, it was about two hours later, we ended up in Vince's office in the building there. And I remember sitting there, it's like, we're gonna ask Shawn about this together, and I was waiting for Vince to lead into it. And Vince started off right away with Shawn, we're gonna put the belt on you. And I was like, I didn't agree to that. I just stood up and said, look, I'm not agreeing to anything, I'll wait to see what's. What's happening with me and you in relation to my contract? From that point on, I didn't see Shawn until Montreal, and basically, Vince was gonna break my contract and basically encouraged me to sign for the WCW. I remember I called Vince even the night before I signed. I said, I don't wanna go. I said, I'm happy with the contract I got, I'm not asking for more money or anything else, but I just wanna know what you have in mind for me over the next year. Like, where am I going? And he basically laid out to me in short form that I was gonna do jobs for the next year for Shawn. I was gonna lose to Shawn in every conceivable kind of match you can think of. And I remember the way he laid it out to me, I remember going, well, that's pretty much telling me I should get the heck out of here and go. >> Writing's on the wall. >> Yeah, the writing is on the wall, I've obviously, somehow I'm on the other side of the line now. And so I signed with WCW, and then Vince called me the next day and gave me a very friendly call, like we're all buddy, buddy and everything. Which to me was sad, cuz I never ever wanted to go anywhere else. And I was never a troublemaker or a guy that wasn't business, I was- >> I don't think you were either. I mean, but was he trying to trade down for a younger horse? >> Yeah, probably, I think what it really was, he had to pick between me and Shawn, cuz there was so much tension between me and Shawn. And I always think that was unfortunate too, because all I wanted to do was do business. And when I came back, when I had that break after the Ironman match, I wanted him to go, that was the best investment I ever made. He delivered me these great matches and that's all I wanted to do, was deliver these matches for him and prove to him that I was worth it and earned that money that he had signed on for me. It bothers me when people suggest or try to pretend that I was not business or professional. I never refused to do a job in my whole life for anybody. >> I've read that, and you felt like this time you're standing up for yourself for really- >> I think any wrestler that has any respect for himself and his work would have done the same thing I did. Anyway, he called me up on that Sunday before the screw job and said, so we're gonna do the same thing that we're talking, Shawn's gonna, and he started to lay out how Shawn was gonna beat me. And I said, Vince, I said, I've told you, I'm not putting Shawn over. I said, give me Steve, I'll drop it to anybody in the company any way you want. I even offered to drop the belt to Shawn the next day on Monday Night Raw. >> In Ottawa, but what difference would that have made? >> It would have just proved that he had respect for me. >> Okay, I got you. >> And then I could show him >> You were still backed in that corner. It was the respect thing, he dissed you, and that was gonna be the way it was. >> Yeah, he wasn't gonna honor me, so I wasn't gonna honor him, and that's- >> Okay. >> Until he proved that that was not what it was, I told Vince, I said it, Shawn has to prove to me that he has enough respect for me to put me over before I put him over to make this work. >> Right, fast forward, when you guys decided, okay, was it gonna be a schmoz, because you all headed to the ring. >> Shawn goes out there and he's cocky as hell. >> Well, Shawn Michaels certainly not endearing himself to the fans here in the Molson Centre. >> And then you go out there and you're determined as hell, and you're in Montreal, and Montreal, as you said, was kinda like a second home for you. What were you thinking? Because as you get out there, I mean, there's four referees ringside, there's one in the ring, Vince is there, Patterson's there, Briscoe's there. When you were going to the ring, what were you thinking? >> I was thinking schmoz. I remember going, why- >> Count out? >> Why wouldn't- >> DQ. >> I wanted it to be the best match possible. Even when I went out to the ring with Shawn, Shawn was quite chummy with me in the dressing room, he didn't want any problems. He was being quite agreeable to everything. I wanted to give a really good match, a, cuz Montreal was a good town, and I wanted just to deliver that final match for the company. And I worked with Shawn all the way through it, there was no potatoes or- >> No, no, dude, it was solid, badass stuff. >> And I had seen Earl Hebner in Detroit the night before, and he had just finished refereeing our match. I don't know who I worked with, might have worked with you, for all I know. He came up to me in the shower after, and we were talking, and I said, Earl, you know they're gonna ask you tomorrow to screw me in the match. You know that. And he got tears in his eyes, and he said, I swear to God on my kids, I would never let that happen. I would never do it under, it'd never happen, cuz I would never do it. And we talked about it, and I remember he got very emotional, and I said, all right. And to me it was like, I just hope, I remember saying that myself that night. I said, I just hope Earl's the referee. And of course, when I got to the building, they go, Earl's the referee. So I'm like- >> There you're good. >> I'm safe. >> He got your back. >> Pat comes up to me, and I think, Pat, I believe now that Pat was not involved in the whole scheme of it. But Pat came up to me and he said, you know that spot with the sharpshooter where you reverse it? He goes, that's such a beautiful spot, that looks so great. And he goes, why don't you do it? So I said, okay. I knew in my head my mistake was letting anyone put any kind of a hold on me, and trusting Earl. But they got Earl just before he walked out through the curtain and kinda got him and said, you're gonna do this. >> He's really put in between a rock and a hard place. >> Yeah, I've never blamed Earl. I gave Earl a pass. If I'd been in the same shoes, I would have done probably the same thing that he did. >> All right, dude, you guys are out there. The Classic Ironman match you all had that was 60 minutes was outstanding, but this, because the stakes were so high. And you go out there, and when that bell rings, it turns into one of the best brawls in the history of the business. That brawl and that fighting in the beginning of the match was all planned out. That was all set in motion. >> But the punches, the sell, just the sense of urgency or the sense of not knowing what was gonna happen, it was a badass match. >> The Hitman again. My God, what a suplex. >> Put in the time, then all of a sudden you get in the ring, and then everything turns south. Sharpshooter, you go over, belly down. >> You're kidding me. >> Michaels- >> Are kidding me? >> He's gonna try to beat Bret Hart with a Sharpshooter? Yes, he is. Are you kidding me? >> And he starts doing that classic hand signal that he uses. >> They start ringing the bell, and Vince is there, ring a bell, ring the bell. >> Yeah. >> And the match is over. And then Shawn is the champion after taking it from you. >> Shawn says he wasn't a part of it. Clearly he was. There you are, you spit the loogie right in Vince's eye. And then there's Briscoe escorting him out of there, he goes, get the F out of here, get the F out of here. And they're walking, they're fast walking down that aisle. And then this is like, you painting WCW up in the air cuz you're going now, what are you thinking at that point? >> I was thinking, you piece of shit, I felt so betrayed. I mean, I really worked so hard for Vince and gave him so much, I never complained about anything. I worked- >> 14 years. >> 14 years, 300 days a year, and never complained about anything. >> The finish goes down, you spit in Vince's eye. You breaking monitors, you walk to the back. I think at first you pounded on his door, he wasn't opening it. You go in your dressing room, and there you guys are in the dressing room, as you, Taker, Davey, Owen, Rick Rude was there. And then finally, Taker says, let me gonna go find Vincent. I wanna find out what's going on. Because Taker was mad. >> Yeah. >> Because, I mean, he was one of the old school guys. I mean, not as old a school as you cuz you were there longer, but he was like, hey, man, I wanna find out what the fuck is going on here. He brings Vince back in there, and Vince is gonna go in there and either take his shot, settle the score, see what's up, take me through that, because that seems like a very. >> What I think honestly happened was that, I remember Taker And a few of the different wrestlers that were in the dressroom at that time. I remember Taker kicking a big garbage can over, and a lot of wrestlers were breaking stuff and throwing stuff around. And I came back to the dressing room, Sean sitting in my dressing room, which is so strange cuz if you ever watch that Wrestling with Shadows, I seen it. I remember I come out in my bag, sitting outside the dressing room. I open up the dressing room door and Sean changing in my dressing room. He never changed in my dressing room before. Suddenly, Sean's in my room. I don't know how any of that ever happened. And right away I asked Sean. He goes, I swear to God, I had nothing to do with it. And Sean, I think, was scared for his life. Once something like that happens, you can only get so mad. Yeah, I calmed right down. I was like, almost like in a jokey kind of mood now. So it's done, there's nothing I can do about it. All I can do is get on a plane, go home tomorrow, and lick my wounds from being made a fool of in front of everybody kinda thing. And I end up in the shower. That's when Rick Rude and Davey Boy came in and said, Vince is right outside and he wants to talk to you. And I remember telling Rick, I said, just tell him to go. There's nothing he can say to me to make it nice, the safest thing for him is to leave right now before something bad happens. So just tell him to get the hell out and leave me alone. And so then I come out of the dressing room, out of the shower, into the dressing area, and Vince is right there. He's got Sergeant Slaughter, Shane. He had about five guys sort of lined up to kind of back him up, I guess. And over against the wall is Undertakers on the far side. Sean's in the corner crying. He was in tears the whole time. And Owen, Davey, Rick Rudin everywhere, all to my left, down this side. And I remember walking past Vince naked. I was so mad at Vince that a part of me was like, I should just rush him right now, naked. And I remember thinking that would look really bad in the movie someday. I remember thinking about it and it's like, nah, I'm mad, but that's not gonna happen. Me jumping on Vince naked and punching him out just didn't seem the right. >> Good call. >> So I sat down and me and Vince exchanged different things. He kept talking about this the first time he ever lied to me. And I remember, like, please stop lying to me. I believe that Vince came to that dressing room after Undertaker got him to confront me and to stand me down either in the sense that he thought that I would just do the right thing and not punch him. I ought to punch you, and then I just get my stuff and walk out and make a bit of a verbal scene or something like that. So I think it was a calculated guess that he wanted to stand up to me in front of the wrestlers that were left at the building that night. And there was still quite a few left. And that was a mistake cuz I was too mad. And I remember told him, I said, as soon as I get finished getting dressed, I said, if you're still here, I'm gonna knock you out. And I don't know why I said that. Whoever thinks they're gonna knock somebody out. And he just stayed there talking to me. And I remember when I tied my shoelaces, I had one left to tie cuz I wasn't gonna put a shirt on, I didn't have a shirt on. >> Cuz you didn't want. >> Anyone grabbing me. So I remember when I tied my shoelace, I just stood up and I was like, I guess we're gonna do this thing. And Vince and me actually walked towards each other and it was like we actually tied up. It's funny how we tied up. And I had done a thing a few months before. I just remember I grabbed Vince at the table and I grabbed him the same way you do, kind of in a tie up. And Vince grabbed me and he had my arm in a way where I couldn't throw any punches. He blocked me from being able to do anything. And it was more just a kinda a jostling thing we did. And I remember, don't fall for that, cuz I remember thinking, I'm gonna go with an overhand right punch. But everybody, Briscoe and Slaughter and all these guys, they're getting ready to pounce on us. They're gonna jump on and break this thing up right away. So it's gonna be a little pull apart, me and Vince scuffling with each other and me trying to punch him and never quite get my arm over. And I thought about it for a second, I thought, no, don't go without a right hand overhand punch, cuz they're gonna grab your arm. So I decided to drop my hand kind of low to almost to my foot. And I remember I said to myself, 14 years, 300 days a year, I said, I did it, I've given this guy everything, Christmases and everything I could ever give to a man, I gave Vince. And I uncorked like Mike Tyson. It was like a beautiful uppercut punch. I didn't hit Vince had the shiner the next day, but it wasn't from overhand punch, it was from an uppercut. And I only hit Vince one time. I hit him with an uppercut. Broke my hand right here. Broke a bone in my hand and knocked him out completely out cold. And then I remember sitting in the dress room, everyone's just sitting there, we're all looking. And I remember everyone's like stunned, including me, I'm going, I can't believe I just knocked out Vince McMahon, I would have done anything for this guy. I love this guy like a father. >> I know. >> And it was like he just called my buff that day. And I think that was a mistake. As soon as Vince was out cold, I remember because I had kicked out the documentary crew guys, I told them to get out, and they had left the room, and I thought, I hope they get some of this or something like this for the documentary. So I remember I stood up and picked up my knee brace and I threatened. I said, get him out of here. And Shane goes, let him get his bearings cuz they sat him up on, he was sitting on his ass in the dressing room, kinda like, blah, blah. He was not functioning. I said, get him out. And that's when they stood him up and they pulled him up and they walked him out and he walked out the door. But the thing about that was that Sean was in the dressing room now all by himself. And there's Owen Davey, Rick Rude, and it was like all Neidhart. It was all my guys there and just him by himself. And I remember I walked over to Sean, he was sitting there, he was like this, where he had his face in his hands and he had his face bent over, and I think he was scared for his life cuz the gig was up. Maybe I was gonna just come over with it and we were all gonna beat him up or something. But I remember I walked over and I tapped him on the shoulder and I said, Sean, I said, thanks for the match. I shook his hand and we shook hands. I remember thinking I should have just kicked him in the face and gone for like a 50 yard field goal. >> But you know what, the way you handled it and you took the high road to thank him for the match, to be in on the swerve you got, I mean, to go over and thank him for the match, I mean, that was about the manliest thing you could do. And after he didn't wanna do the favors for you to still after you got screwed, a handshake. >> I thought that was the right thing to do cuz he had swore that he never had anything to do with it. I remember saying, I'll judge that by how you behave tomorrow on Raw. And of course, he went out on Raw and buried me. >> Now, for all you people that are chanting, we want Brett, well, I got news for you. >> We want Brett, we want Brett, we want Brett. >> I listened to him squeal and say, I give up. And then I ran his ass down south with the rest of those dinosaurs. . >> And then it was like, now that momentary truce between Sean was over, which was not healthy for me, I think it was a lot of baggage to carry around for a long time. >> But all these years later and, man, I've still held onto some of the things that I got involved in, and I'm really bad about holding a grudge. Where are you with Vince now? I know it's been many, many years, but God damn, when you take the business as serious and you're second generation, you've been in it longer than I have. But I'm kind of in that same trench with you as far as the realism and everything that Goes with it, what's your relationship like with Vince now? >> We have a good relationship, I'm not sure, I can't speak for him, how it affects him, whether there's real forgiveness. I think there is, although I'll never probably ever get over what happened to me, and as far as our relationship today, there's a part of me that forgives Vince because I love what I did for the company. I'm so proud of my career, I'm proud of my matches, I couldn't have wished for more when I got in the business. >> Before the screw job happened, you were the first guy to ever lay hands on Vince McMahon. >> You got to be terribly frustrated, extremely frustrated over what has just happened. >> Frustrated isn't the word for it, this is bullshit, you screw me, everybody screws me, and nobody does a thing about it. Everybody in that dressing room knows that I'm the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be. >> I'll never forget the promo, and it came out of the blue, I was in the back, I didn't know what was going on, and you were out there just raising a ruckus. Just frustrated word for it, that whole promo, and when you push him on his ass in the ring, and that altercation between you and Vince, when you got physical with him. And everybody in that dressing room knows I'm the best there is, the best there was, the best there ever will be, it was a shoot. Did you realize at the time, or do you realize now, that you were basically the guy that was creating the Mr McMahon character? >> No, I didn't realize it at the time, it was just such a crazy time, it's funny that you talk about all that swearing and all that. The truth is, they told me, I think Pat was there, and they came in and said, say whatever you want. I remember they said, you just go off, don't worry cuz we're gonna beep it, we're gonna bleep it on the TV, it'll only be for the house show. The people in the building hear me swearing and all that stuff, and saying, God, and all that stuff was not acceptable even though. And so I remember, it's like, I hope they're bleeping this, I threw it all out there, and I came back and they're going, what are you doing? You were live and all that I go, well, you guys told me to do that, and it was kind of ever, they were like, yeah, we did okay, it's not your fault. That's why I never got in trouble for that, but I didn't realize any more than anyone else that I was building fence to become. >> I didn't either, but in essence you were kind of setting the table for Stone Cold versus Mr. McMahon. And you would go off to WCW, the Monday night wars would ensue, and you would go down to WCW and they didn't know what the hell to do with you. And yeah, it was the money, but you're a workers worker and you belong on top of the card and in the mix, but they weren't ready for you. >> You know who told me that before I ever went? You. >> Did I? >> Yeah, I remember you talking to me, said, they don't know what the hell they're doing down there. And guys that have been there, including Kevin Nash and different guys that have been there before, said, don't ever go there, they're the big bunch of dumbest idiots in the world. I kind of knew that before I went, but I mean, they really proved that to me that they were the stupidest people that could ever run a wrestling business. There was so much talent that I could have worked with Booker T, Hogan, I should have worked with Hogan right away. I should have had Hulk Hogan in a sharpshooter and done some big numbers with him, and then it was red hot. I went into WCW, I had more heat, I had wrestled, you'd at WrestleMania 13, I beat Undertaker at SummerSlam. I knocked Vince out, I didn't really lose to Sean, I had so much heat, and they just didn't know what the hell to do with me, Eric Bischoff didn't know. >> If you look back at the WCW days to tie it all up, I mean, disappointing, something to do, opportunity squandered. >> Yeah, opportunity squandered, it was the same thing that I could hear your voice in my head. And different wrestlers that have been there saying all their voices saying, it's the most screwed up, disorganized, it's chaos, they don't know anything. And I never had a plan, I never ever knew, sometimes they'd fly me all the way in. I'd sit in the dressing room all day, at 5 o'clock they go, you're off. You flew me down here first class, I rented a Lincoln Continental, I'm staying at a really nice hotel for nothing, and I would count as a day, it got where it was hard to care. I remember having a conversation with Goldust and he, I think, had left Vince at that time and gone to WCW. And he talked about how much he loved the business, and I can remember I was so sour after, I was like, what's the love anymore? Just go out there and take your money and sit and address him and it's not what it used to be, and I admired him cuz he was like, I remember he almost got a little teary. He was like, I still love this business and I wanna go out there and deliver every night, and it was like, that's how I used to be, but WCW can kill any spirit that you got. >> Well, when you can say that, that's tough, you're a guy who's paid his dues and learned the art form of the business. When I think about, Stone Cold Steve Austin, I think, okay, Hellraiser, BMF, don't trust anybody. When you think about who and what Bret the Hitman Hart was, describe the character to me. >> Well, I was really the Hitman from the time I was about 4 years old. >> How so? >> In my life waking up, everything was wrestling, I wrestled down in the basement, working out, wrestlers drinking beer and wrestling on the mat. Big guys sparring and friendly kind of shoot wrestling, but wrestling. All my brothers were into wrestling, and I remember I became a big fan of wrestling from about the time I was about five years old. I studied wrestling without really realizing this is what I'm gonna do someday for a living. But I studied wrestling and was like, now I know why that guy's good and why that guy's not, and that guy wasn't very good. But I had sort of a grasp of the business, I think from the earliest that you can have. As a babyface, what made people love the Hitman or as a heel, what made people hate or despise the Hitman. >> I think that what they liked about me was that I think I was just the right formula at the right time, I was such a contrast between me and Hulk Hogan. Hulk was the six foot six, whatever he is, and could do a bear hug and a body slam and a clothesline and a leg drop, and that was about it. I was always a guy that I loved to tell stories, even Stampede Wrestling, I was working with Don and my kid and different guys, I told great stories that came across as real. I remember a lot of situations and wrestling matches that people thought like, I remember Adrian street was a wrestler working for my dad in those days. And he came up to me after I had a ladder match with Dynamite Kid, and he goes, that is the greatest match I have ever seen in my life. And I've never seen, I've watched wrestling for years, he was so loved that match. But I always brought out these very dramatic, I would say, beautiful endings to my matches. I always had a believable style of wrestling, and I think the way I worked made people believe that maybe there's something real in some of these matches like it wasn't all planned out. >> I like that, to me you exemplified grit and determination and realism. And you could be in the throes of a match and just look like you're just dead dog tired, but you're completely fresh because you're a road warrior. You never blew up, but you had this ability just to look dead dog tired and then fire back, and everything was always precise, but you had that uncanny ability just to look like you were in a real fight. And that's what I always appreciated about your matches. >> I think Like going back to what I was saying a few minutes ago about the best wrestlers were wrestling fans first. I was a big fan, I loved wrestling, and I always thought my matches are, I pretend in my head that I'm sitting in the front row watching myself, and this is the kind of match I would wanna watch Bret Hart have. >> Right. >> And what would I do to make that little kid that I was pop? And that's what I always try to do, I was like entertaining, I would always perform for myself, like this is for me to watch, like I'm sitting in the front row and I'm gonna watch this match. And I always wanted to just have the best stories. People use the term classic matches all the time, this guy had a classic and that guy had a classic, and these guys had classic. You don't just declare yourself having classic matches. A classic match is one that people talk about over and over and over for years and years and years, and I do appearances and stuff like that. I have people talk to me about the Roddy Piper match, talk to me about The Bulldog match, they talk about our match, they talk about Undertaker, SummerSlam. They talk about me and Owen at WrestleMania X. They're all classics, these classic matches. And that's all I ever wanted to do, was give Vince a library of classics. >> A semi-classic would have been our match at a Survivor Series in 1996. You were coming back from a cleanup on your knee, and there's a stare down right before the match, and this was in Madison Square Garden. And you could have picked anybody on the card because you're breath of head man Hart and you've got a lot of say, but for some reason you picked my ass. And I'll never forget I'd come into the territory, I might have still been a ringmaster, I might have been Stone Cold. We were working down at the Houston Summit, and we had a pretty good house, and I was working with Shawn, and I worked with Shawn, and you saw my match, and we pretty much had a damn good match. And you said, hey man, that was a good match, And you said, I'll work with you anytime. And I said, thank you very much, cuz that's a hell of a compliment. >> Yeah, I remember that. >> Yeah. >> There were Texas towns, there's like four or five towns that we all, and you worked with Shawn every night. And I had a lot of respect for your work when you came in, so I was kind of in my mind I already knew I eventually I'm would like to work with you. And I was hoping they would which I couldn't see any reason why they wouldn't cuz they needed some fresh faces at that time. But I knew I could do great stuff with you. >> And we would go on to start this match. And back in the day, this is 96, and everything's kind of changed as the generations have gone on, the work styles have changed, everything's kind of sped up. All right, here we go, two gunfighters right there in the middle of ring Madison Square Garden. This is great fix to give it the double burns. It looks like I'm talking to you, but basically I'm telling you what I'm about to do, and we're kind of just joking with each other. Dude, that was heavy duty in the Garden to disrespect a guy like you. Here's a little bit of action from the match. It's been just a great bout. You're just coming back from getting your knee cleaned up. I'm on fire, Gaining a lot of traction at Stone Cold. I think I'm gonna suplex you, nah, it doesn't go so well. There I am in the middle of the ring, about to come off the elbow. >> I wasn't the most agile coming off the top. >> No, but here's the thing, you're just coming from a knee cleanup, you drop that big elbow right there, land on your knees, take the punishment. All right, here's thing, I'm about to catapult you into the table. >> Boom, there you go. I'm going try to get over here and get some punches in on you, but watch what happens. Love the sale job, you're one of the all-time sellers I love working with. And you'll watch here, I'm trying to beat you up, I'm not in a real good position to get a good blow here. And so I'll go underneath that table and sneak me a drink. Right here's the finish, watch I go back to my roots, The million Dollar Dream. >> Got it locked in, but I'm about to be outsmarted by Brett the Hitman Hart. Got you in a submission or a sleeper hold kick off a turnbuckle kick out of three and an eight, but damn it, you got the win. So watch this. >> Okay, I'm frustrated, get outsmart of it, but watch, I blew your ass up. Watch your face here. >> >> Leo, I've been off for six months. >> Hey, before shoot, I kinda had you a little bit gassed, maybe love them because you're coming off a layoff. >> I got pretty tired in the last- >> We worked our asses off. >> We worked hard, I hadn't seen that match in a long time, but I give it four stars. >> Yeah, it wasn't the best match in the world, but it was really, really solid. And we had a great conversation at your place in Calgary as we set that matchup. We'd go on to do Royal Rumble 97 when your music hits, I'm like. >> Uh-oh, yes, yes, yes. >> Things would come out of that would set a lot of other matches in place. I wanted to talk to you about a match that will go down as one of the all-time classics in the business of professional wrestling and a match that would be a double turn where the tides are starting to shift. I guess Vince got in your ear and said, hey, we'd like to turn your heel, but keep your baby in some of the foreign countries, but keep your heel in the United States, was that his concept or your concept? >> That was his concept, Vince called me kind of out of the blue and said, I'm gonna talk you into turning heel. I said, I don't want to turn heel cuz I'm a big part of my paycheck was my royalty check. >> Yeah. I was the highest seller, I believe at the time, in the company with merchandise and all that stuff, especially overseas, in England and Europe and India and all- >> Germany, you're crazy, you were David Hasselhoff in Germany. >> Yeah. >> That's a compliment, I mean, for some reason I do super over there. >> That's true, I was, I was really over in Germany and I was really over in a lot of the markets. >> Everywhere. >> India, everywhere. And I over in America too. >> Absolutely. >> But I remember when Vince talked, and he goes, give me five minutes, and I'll talk you into it. And the next day he drove up to, I think it was either Springfield, Mass or New Haven or somewhere. He drove up from Connecticut, and we met. And I remember he had a list of five guys that I could work with as a babyface, and he had a list of five guys I could work with as a heel. And as a heel, there was lots of guys who could work with you I could work with, and Shawn was a babyface, so I wouldn't work with Shawn. And I remember that'll finally separate me and Shawn, and the issues that we got there won't be any issues cuz I'll be a heel now. >> Right >> And Shawn will be a babyface if anything we can do- >> Coexist in the same locker room. >> Yeah, so I remember Vader was on the list as a babyface I would had to work with Vader. And I remember looking at that, I'm like it's like Vader, he was hurting me so bad every time he worked with me that it was like- >> Vader's no longer with us but a great power big guy, But yeah I mean work with him, take his tone. >> He always felt bad that he beat on me the way he did, t but he was like wrestling an out-of-control elephant or something like that. >> So you got the list, you get talked in and turning heel, when did you know WrestleMania 13 was gonna happen? Cuz when I found out about the match I had busted my left knee and I was sitting on the couch in San Antonio and I find out hey man. And in a submission match in a semi-main. Bret The Hitman Hart vs Stone Cold Steve Austin. I'm like, what the. I said, a submission match. I'm not even a submission wrestler. I don't even know any holes. I was mad as a hornet. I was happy to be working with you, but I was like, this catches me completely out of. This is not my forte. >> I was the same, like when we worked at Survivor Series, and even though we had stuff ongoing, I saw like our next match maybe being SummerSlam, like quite a ways away. Like the rematch between me and you and then we give us. We had lots of time to get to that. I was told in August when I met with Jim Ross, that it was me and Sean at WrestleMania 13 when Sean came up with the, he was going to retire because of his knee. And I still don't know what that was, whether it was like a legit injury. I assume it was, but it just seemed so made up at the time, I'll say that, that I didn't really buy it. And now, so now I remember Vince said, well, it's too obvious, you and Sean, so we're not gonna go with it. >> Right. >> It's gonna be Sid and Undertaker for the belt, which is the money spot. Like the spot. And so they told me it was gonna be you and me. I thought it's too soon. We just wrestled at Survivor Series, so I wasn't very enthusiastic either about working with you. Because I love working with you, I wanted to work with you, but I thought it was too premature. So when we showed up in Chicago, you were the only guy that came up to me and said, I know that you're turning heel tomorrow. And we talked about that for a little bit. And then when we worked out our match, I remember just thinking about it like a school fight. >> We went to the finish room with Vince. It was you, me and Vince. And all of a sudden Vince says, all right, are you guys gonna have the match that you lay out, whatever you do, but in the end, you're gonna pass out in the sharpshooter. And I like, okay, I'm working with a high profile guy in a hell of a spot in WrestleMania. I say, cool. You and me go out to the ring. I saunter back in, double check with Vince. I said, hey, man, you sure this is gonna work? He goes, God damn, Steve. You know how Vince is, I had a little work. I go right back out the ring. You and me are sitting on the damn apron. I said, dude, what do you wanna do? And you go, hey, man, if you're gonna pass out in a sharpshooter, you need to be busted open. And at the time, there was a no busted open policy, and you said, you need to be bust open. I said, you think? He goes, yeah, and I can help you out if you need it. And I said, all right. So we go out there. >> I remember just talking to you about it. Like, we talked. Remember how we worked that match out? We just talked it through, like, real logical. I beat you at Survivor Series, you're gonna be pretty mad. And the way everything was building, you had a ton of heat after the rumble when you screwed me out and threw me out and all that. >> Yeah. >> It was building really nicely even though I was sort of, like I said, I was not expecting to work with you at WrestleMania so quick. But I remember we sat out there and we kinda just pieced together a very logical match. The only thing I remember getting permission to do was that they said they gave me a new permission to go fight in the crowd, that Shamrock was gonna basically be the bodyguard for us and protect us if a fan jumped in or anything like that. I remember that being, like, the only thing we kinda had that would make a match a little different. And I remember you saying that submissions weren't your specialty. And I remember when all I got is the sharpshooter or maybe a figure four or a couple. Submission matches are tough because you got no false finishes. You got no one, two kick out. >> Right. >> And that's critical to a match. Submission matches. I'd had one with Bob Backlund at WrestleMania 11, I think. It was the worst match I ever had in my career. No offense to Bob Backlund, but it was just. >> Matches are hard. >> Yeah, they suck. So when they put me in, I said, you're making it. We could have a great match, by putting in a submission match is gonna make it harder for us to get reactions. And I remember I was kinda struggling with the idea of having a submission match. Like, what are we gonna do? And I think the best thing that we did do is we went to that psychology of, I said, I see this like a school fight. I'm like the old standby guy, maybe the quarterback on the football team and the girls kinda like me and stuff. And you're like the new guy at the school, and you're a badass. And it's like everyone could see the fight happening before it ever happens until all of a sudden, you're outside of the school grounds and you're like, this fight's on. And that's how I pictured the match. I remember kind of in my head, it's like, this should be like a street fight, like a school fight. And I think the match that you and I had at WrestleMania 13 to me, emulates any good UFC fight. Where you see it and you go, this is real. He just broke that guy's arm. There's things that we did in that match that were so real. The finish, the ball shot you gave me, it wasn't one of these Ric Flair ball shots. It was that. >> Dude, it was from way back, just like Jim Ross said. I was down from around Saskatoon. Speaking about that low blow from Saskatoon, I've got some footage from that match. Let's check it out. All right, here we go. Got the swagger going, heading to the ring. Already poured water on me, so I'm not all ashy. Classic glass breaks. I'm in whoop ass mode right here. This is a very important match for me. And the crowd is reacting and i hear response, but also getting a lot of baby face response. Talking a lot of trash there. A lot of Austin316 signs up there. I've already cut the promo, but I'm not a baby yet. See, when I'm standing in the ring and when you hear that guitar riff and you come to the ring, it is absolutely magic. >> I love, always love how that match, how I walk out and there's still kids cheering for me, and there's kids with signs and stuff, if you watch, I get a hell of a response going out. >> What are you thinking at this time? >> I'm thinking that this match is gonna be not as great as I want it to be. You always fear that maybe it's not gonna work. >> Facing around the ring. You gotta put the sunglasses on somebody. Shamrock over here doing his thing. Shamrock was phenomenal in this match. I thought he brought a lot of star power to it, a lot of credibility. And here you come. Watch this. Look away, look away. Fake him in. Boom. And we're off. We're flying. >> This is all school fight mentality right here. >> Yep. >> I had fights at school like this. >> It's one thing I always liked about you. You always got your in. I mean, like, I got on top and, man, you reversed it and then got back on top. All right, it's time for me to get some. Go back to the outside. Here's a security guard got in the way of my suplex trying to crouch you on that guardrail there. Here's the key part here, watch this. The clothesline here. And your arm got caught underneath me. I had to get off your arm so I didn't break it. And we about to fight out to the crowd here. I got a drink of that Coke because I needed a little liquid. And I was trying to get the plastic thing from the guy, but he wouldn't give it to me. >> This was the hardest bump of the whole match, right. >> I know. >> You ever think about, like, taking a backdrop on the cement stairs? >> Anytime I've ever tried to pile drive someone on the floor, it never worked for me. Call me stupid. That's good. You love in the staircases. And just look at it. Looks like you're just, you're dead. >> I think turnbuckles were my speciality. >> Well, that and the steering. But watch this see, I'm selling a knee because that was one of the first times I started employing the left knee brace, which I just blown out. Come off the clothesline. >> There's a nice pace to this match. >> There's a nice pace there. >> A little rushing. >> This was AD Lived here. I would say, hey, man, kick me in the gut because. Cuz they don't wanna hit you with the stairs. There's a kick in the gut. Gives me a reason to fall down. One of the things I loved about your work, when you picked a body part to work on it, you really went to town on it. It was pure focus. >> Boom, you go to it. >> Obviously, going after the injured leg, my knee. Shamrock asked me if I wanna give up. Hell, no, I don't. >> Here's that grit and determination. What we're doing right here is actually setting the table for later on in the match using something that's gonna happen later on in a match. There's the bell. Here's the padded chair. That's not good enough. I need a steel chair. >> There's a lot of realism. I think this was the way I went back and got the chair. >> Well, then you're. >> This chair is not good enough. I want a better chair. >> Gotta have a steel chair because you're gonna do to me what I did to Brian Pillman a little bit earlier. And the bell's gonna come into play a little bit later on, so nobody knows that. >> It's funny to think that you're the bad guy in this match. And they're cheering for me still. They're still cheering for me, but I get too heelish and then they turn on me. >> Yeah, but you know what, man? When you turn it on, you're a very intense individual. >> Slid out. >> Caught you. Just a little too slow off air. So capitalize. Sell a damn leg you've been torturing. You lambasted me with that chair earlier. Now, see, now I'm talking. But that comes across as being baby face, right? It's fire. >> Yeah. >> Perfect chair shot. And that's when not too many chairs are being used. >> No. >> And that was an extreme chair shot for its time in 1997. This is about time I'm gonna get busted open here. Watch the reversal. Hit my head on the barricade. Ass over tea kettle. Here you come. There's some business happening here. >> Right in front of everybody. >> But nobody saw anything. Nobody. >> Look at Vince, he's like two feet away. >> Yeah, now watch when you give me the punch. Watch the blood that flies on Lawler's arm. See Lawler's hand right there? He's got flecks of blood on it. He still has the announce papers from that match, that were soaked in blood. Now, see, when I go down to the mat there, I'm saying, man, I gotta. This is a gold mine here. Man, people start eating that up facing that damn blood. >> I've put this match on for many people that never watched wrestling before or never watched me wrestle. And I said, well, if you wanna watch one match in a capsule, if I can tell you what I did for a living, watch this one. >> Here's where you're gonna start wearing my ass out with these big right hands, and I'm gonna take a few of them. Great sales job, great punches. I'm not feeling anything. Fixed to be a low one from around Saskatoon here. Bam. >> You're right. That was down there around Saskatoon. >> Classic cell job. Man, I've just had my ass wore out. You've just been beating the hell out of me. You're in total cell mode. This is a true artist. Watch me struggling, trying to use the ropes to get up. Can't reach it now. This is on purpose. Finally, use the ropes to get some leverage. Come up to my feet. Great canvas. Look at that blood. >> No animals were harmed in the making of this movie. >> Okay, here we go. This is the front turnbuckle. Boom. That's the trademark that you invented way back in the day. >> I think it's. It was always my way of giving back to the guy I worked with by giving him something that made him look really good. >> Total ad lib here. Now watch the speed up in the cadence here. Wham, wham, wham, wham, wham. You, bam. I apologize for that little snug. >> There were a few of those in there on both sides. >> I apologize. You take great pride and never hurting anybody. I cannot make the same claim. We're just gonna go off a second here. >> I remember, yeah. We'd never done this before. Like you had never done a suplex off the top. And you said, I'd rather do it for the second. >> Yeah, I was more of a ground game guy. That rocked both of us. I'm selling the cranium there. >> You know the part where the bell. Where we have the bell here? >> Yeah, I got thrown out on the wrong side of the apron. >> I know. >> And I had to find myself while you went out to get the cord. I had to go and find myself and get back to where we needed to be. >> Yeah. >> And you know, I never touched you with that. >> No, no. Right in the back of the head. >> I remember it went right over your head. It missed your head by about that much. I remember I didn't make contact, but I watch this. I hope it looks good on tv. >> I can always tell. And this is from My scouting report, when Bret Hart is really gonna apply that thing, because you sink that leg in deep with the bend, stretch the other one over, and there it goes. But I know when you're really gonna sink it in, you really go for it. That's just one of my tales. >> You know, it's not easy move to put on. You can only put on a guy that's cooperating with you. >> Well, I know because the legs are so stiff, especially me with that leg brace on. And we didn't talk about this. We didn't talk about how long this sharpshooter was gonna last. Man, that blood started going. I would see this later and realize how much of an impact it would make on the business. >> >> Come on, say what? Give up. >> Here's Shamrock asking me. And here's a little bit of baby action cuz I'm about to fade. I'm about to fade and we never talked about how long we were gonna sell this. And I didn't want to disrespect your hold and I'm selling this out of it, but. And I wasn't even thinking about this at the time, Brett, because I was very uncomfortable with turning baby. But watch that digging in. Dig the other arm in. Classic push up. I mean, that's pure babyface stuff. And this would become one of the most iconic images in the history of pro wrestling, thanks to you. And that is great determination. That is reality, I'm fucked. I am in the sharpshooter and I cannot escape. I almost did, but I didn't. And here's the point where I go out. I'm done. Look at that pile of blood there. I was so satisfied laying here waiting for Shamrock to pull you off of me. My job is done here. We have just accomplished what we set out to accomplish. Man, here I am laying here in the pool of blood. No, you haven't. Yeah, you gotta come after the leg again. What a pile of trash. I've already passed out. You've already beat me, but no, you gotta have more. I'm gonna go back more. Here's the lock bellied back. Now come on. Okay, now here's the beauty here because you back off of his challenge, which is a cowardly thing to do, people are giving me the finger. >> >> People are telling me, spitting on me, throwing drinks at me. And it's like all I did was give you what you deserve after all the things you've done to me over the last four months. >> A whole different attitude walking out here's a couple of use. Yeah, it's a real interesting dynamic because some people still love you. But hey, man, obviously there was a shift in what was going on before the match. And there I'm laying there and I called an audible on this. I told. I told Vince, I said, hey, man, if we're gonna do this, I have to stun somebody at the end of the match because I still don't trust anybody being true to my character. Wham, Stunner on Kyoto. Not the best stunner in the world, but I'm not selling out now. There's work to be done on the back end. I lost to you at Survivor Series. I got over in that match, cuz you were already over and you got over from winning. I lose this match to you, but I also get over in this match in losing to you. And I've always told people it's one thing to win a match and this match did great things for you, but it's also a telling thing to know how or learn how to lose in a match and still get over. Would you agree with me? >> I agree. Sometimes losing is the most. I always thought the match I had with Bulldog at Wembley, I remember Davey thought, okay, I'm the intercontinental champion, I'm over now. >> Right. >> The guy that got made that night was me by putting him over. You know the thing about that submission ending to that match, I remember describing it to you. I said, it's, you ever see Cuckoo's Nest and when Jack Nicholson tries to pick that big sink up and he tries in front of everybody and he can't do it, that's when your heart goes to Jack Nicholson and you go, okay, I'm with him. And I thought trying to get out of the sharpshooter and almost getting out of it and then not quite getting out of it. Me cinching back up and then beating you with it was very, very powerful and very dramatic. And it was just like that scene in Cuckoo's Nest. It was a defining moment, and I think that is what turned it. >> And the thing about it was, like I said, I went down to Survivor Series, I went down there, lost both matches, but got over and passed down that pool of blood. It was one of the most satisfying feelings I've ever had in my entire career. Just laying there and knowing that we accomplished the task at hand. You on your way to being a heel? Not fully heel yet. Me not fully baby yet. But then on that journey, with work to do for both of us on the backside. >> It was a beautiful transition. I think it was- >> It was perfect. >> I wouldn't have wanted to do anything any different than that. The way it was done was. And this was one of the easiest matches I ever had. It was more fun for me woke up the next day feeling pretty good. It wasn't like I got run over by a train like I usually feel after a pay per view. It was two guys working to make each other and- >> Absolutely working for the company. >> We never had any issues that way, working together. We were always trying to make each other well. >> That was one of the things that I always loved about working with you. I knew we were always gonna try to have the best match on the card, and I knew that. Hey, man, trust and respect the whole way. And you beating me every time. I don't think I've ever beat you, Brett. >> No, you didn't. >> I've never beat you. And so on these two. I ain't complaining about it. >> Me too, I remember saying, I've been happy with you. >> But you help get me over and give me the career that I had. Owen, your brother, tragically, he's no longer with us, but I was working a match with him, and we were in Meadowlands, New Jersey, and I watched this match over just the other day, and, dude, we were having a hell of an athletic contest. It was a badass match. Slight miscalculation. Wham. I go down. I'm having a hard time here. I'm telling him, don't touch me I can't move, and I can't feel, and I'm not really scared. I'm just maintaining my composure. He's buying time. >> Now he's gonna kiss my ass. >> See, stipulation is this is a kiss my ass match. I'm not gonna kiss anybody's ass. So I'm making a call to the referee. Hey, roll up for the win. Problem with this is I make the call. Earl gives the call to Owen, but physically, I can't execute the roll up because my hands don't work, my arms don't work. Finally, it ended up being the worst rollup in history of the business. But I had to get out of the match. I thought this was the end for me. And when I can't get up, watch these three referees pull me up. But this was part of the shift in stylistically for me after this injury. It was an accident, Bad day at the office. But due to this injury, I would go from being a scientific wrestler cuz if you watch the beginning of that match, we were having a hell of an athletic contest. But after that, I turned more into a brawler. And when I did, that's when the Stone Cold character meshed with the style that I was presenting in the ring. And that's what helped propel me. Along with being the guy that was tough enough to come back from something that damn near paralyzed him into people's eyes, it made me the toughest SOB in the history of the WWE and was a trademark in changing my work. >> What I always love about that match is that when Owen realized that you were hurt, what did he do? He got off you, backed up, played to the crowd, walked around, gave you lots of time to kind of see what can you do, let you figure it out. And then was it the greatest finish there? >> Well, the thing about it, I called an audible. I told Earl, I said, tell him, roll it for the win. Here was the problem. I called the roll up for the win, I suppose done. I couldn't do the roll up for the win. So after I called, it was like, my hands don't work, my arms don't work. And then, it was a- >> It was the right thing to do as far as an injury goes. If another wrestler ever hurts another wrestler in the ring, a similar type of thing. >> Stay off. >> Do exactly what Owen did. Stop, let him figure out. Take your time, don't rush. Don't do anything that can mess up that guy's neck, and that's what happened there. >> Speaking of Owen. Owen was a guy who was universally loved by all the boys. And of course you love him. He's your baby brother. What do you want his legacy to be? Because, he could have lasted another eight, nine, ten years. And he was a guy that, when he was on the road for three weeks, kept a smile on everybody's face because he's always ribbing somebody. Every time the Hall of Fame comes around, everybody wants Owen to go in. >> The reality is you really love the business. You wouldn't be doing it. You love all the guys that are in it. Owen loved the business, and I think he would wanna be honored. >> On a closing note, I really wanted to get into the Calgary Stampede because we had one hell of a 10 man tag. And what was happening, I was kind of starting to really turn, baby, and you were kind of starting to go heel. But when we went into your territory, it flipped. And it was one of the most fun matches I've ever had in my entire life. There's us. We're about to square off. Look at that. And so we have this badass, wonderful match. >> You got a hell of an ovation. >> >> Owen pins me with a roll up for the win. >> One, two, one. >> After this match, all of the Hart family would come into the ring. Your mother was there, Helen. And then Stu comes up those steps. >> Stu Hart, 82 years old, the patriarch of the Hart family. >> Brian's over there because he loves your dad and he helped break him into business so he helped Stu in the ring and it's a heart family reunion. >> When you asked me like how was my relationship with Vince, Vince gave me that moment, he gave me when I won the title the first time. He gave me so many great moments that after the screw job it's like I'm not gonna let him ruin all those great moments that he gave me. It's unfortunate the way things happen with me and Vince, but I have so many great memories, like even this one of these guys. Guys, the way they carried me around the ring, Macho man and Roddy and all that was like. It was very important to me. And it meant a lot to me that guys had that kind of respect for me. And the Stampede match with all those guys and all the stuff that can happen, all the things that can go wrong in a match like that. It was a beautiful match. And I love what Vince did give me and the great moments that I had, I cherish them. I still believe that when it came to delivering the great matches, I think the 90s were the best matches. I take 90s wrestling over any other time period. >> What do you wanna be remembered for the most? >> I wanna be remembered for just one thing. I wanna be remembered for being the best there is. Best there was, and the best there ever will be. I still think when it came to storytelling and actually putting a match together, I really do pride myself on the fact that I wrestled 23 years. I never injured one wrestler, ever. I was stiff. I could be pretty stiff. I could be a solid wrestler. Like when I hit you across the back, you knew you got hit on the back. I wasn't like honky tonk or somebody. They give you these little powder puff punches and stuff. I was a very solid, believable wrestler. But at the same time, I never hurt you. And when you came back to the dressing room, it wasn't like, geez, my shoulders killed me from the. I was always really respectful of the guys I worked with and always wanted to know that. I look like I'm really hurting you, but I'm a total pro. I will never hurt you. And that was the way I got taught. I got taught by those two Japanese guys. One of them is Sakurada, who's just passed away, too. But they taught me so well how to execute, how to do moves and how to do those snap bumps. And one of the guys that I worked with always go, that guy's a total pro. If Bret Hart's climbing up on the top rope to jump on you, you don't gotta worry about losing all your teeth or something, cuz I don't know what I'm doing. I always knew what I was doing, and I would hurt myself before I ever hurt another wrestler. And how I wish some of the wrestlers that I worked with, especially at the end, like Goldberg, Goldberg to me, was one of the most unprofessional wrestlers there ever was in the business. I mean, for Bill Goldberg to be in the hall of fame. He hurt everybody he worked with. He might as well wrestle a real gorilla. He was the most dangerous guy to work with. He hurt everybody he worked with. I remember Kurt Henning being in pain all the time from the matches they had. And even when I worked with Bill, I always think the last words I said to Bill before we went out and had that match where he injured and ended my career, I said, Bill, whatever you do out there, don't hurt me. We'll do whatever you want. We can do anything. Just don't go nuts. >> >> Standing sidekick. It's been Goldberg's best offensive maneuver in about seven or eight minutes. We don't have a referee, Tony. >> Watch Goldberg, though. He's setting. >> Man, that's hard to watch. And I know you're proud of the fact that you never hurt anybody. I wish I could say the same. That's not true. But at the end of the day, we as two grizzled veterans, know how tough this business is, and sometimes things happen. On the plus side, we were both fortunate enough to have outstanding careers, and I'm thankful for how much you impacted and helped my career. From the bottom of my heart, I wanna thank you for everything that you've done for me in my career, and I've always looked up to you, admired your work, and it was always a pleasure to be in the ring with you. And anytime we went in there, I knew I was in safe hands and there was no egos or no politicking going on. And every time was a pleasure, especially some of that bullshit in Kuwait and South Africa when I was trying to pop you with the chicken wings and getting you to break character. >> >> I appreciate you coming to the Broken Skull Sessions, and I've got a chance to drink beer with a lot of people in the ring, and I don't think I've ever drank beer with you in the ring, have I? >> No. >> We ain't in the ring. >> I have that luxury. >> Yeah, we didn't have that luxury, but we do have that luxury right now. And I would at least like to propose a toast to the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be. Brett the Hitman Hart, thank you for coming down to the Broken Skull Sessions. And that's the bottom line, because Stone Cold said so. Cheers. >> Cheers.