The story of Bret Hart and Goldberg is a tale as old as time. Colliding with ‘Da Man’ at the 1999 WCW Starrcade pay-per-view, Bret Hart took a nasty hit from a Goldberg-executed sidekick, a move that ultimately ended his in-ring career. Naturally, ‘The Hitman’ has maintained his negative perception of Goldberg ever since.
Discussing the kick during an Inside The Ropes live event, ‘The Hitman’ told Inside The Ropes’ own Kenny McIntosh that he would have gladly wrestled today in Saudi Arabia, similar to what Goldberg himself has done at WWE Crown Jewel. Hart claimed that Goldberg should be in the Hall of Shame for what he did, rather than the actual WWE Hall of Fame:
“Hell yeah [I would wrestle in Saudi Arabia]. I would have shipped those guys and wrestled in Saudi Arabia and each guy got paid $3 million each. Bill Goldberg, who kicked me in the head [and] never even thought about it eight months later, went over to Saudi Arabia, got paid $3 million for a five-minute wrestling match, and put all that money in his pocket but never once thought about costing me $16 million when he kicked me in the head.
And so I regret that I got injured by a guy that couldn’t wrestle and has no business being in a Hall of Fame. He should be in the Hall of Shame.”
Bret Hart’s Post-Injury Wrestling Career
Though he wrestled a further nine times for WCW following his injury, Bret Hart vacated the WCW World Heavyweight Championship in January 2000, owing to the severity of his injuries. He officially retired from the ring in October of that year, just six days removed from the termination of his WCW contract.
He has competed since hanging up his boots, albeit in matches where Hart was profusely protected. Beginning with his WrestleMania XXVI victory over Vince McMahon, ‘The Excellence of Execution’ officially wrestled his final match on Monday Night Raw’s September 12th, 2011 broadcast, as he and John Cena defeated Alberto Del Rio and Ricardo Rodriguez.
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