Bret Hart reflects on what he considers his “least greatest match”

Bret Hart candidly reflected on what he considers his “least greatest match”—his infamous “I Quit” match against Bob Backlund at WrestleMania 11. Despite his deep respect for Backlund, Hart didn’t shy away from expressing his disappointment: “I love Bob Backlund, he’s one of my favorite guys, but the match I had with Bob Backlund, the ‘I Quit’ match I had with him at WrestleMania 11, I knew it was going to be a disaster and I always thought that was my least greatest match.”

Importantly, Hart didn’t place blame on either himself or Backlund, but rather on WWE leadership. “I don’t blame Bob, I don’t blame myself, I blame Vince, the guy who came up with the concept for the match. It was a dud before we walked out.” He admitted feeling disappointed that they couldn’t deliver a better performance, especially given their strong chemistry in the past.

Hart contrasted that underwhelming outing with a previous match they shared: “I feel bad we didn’t have a great match. In fact, I love the match I had with Bob Backlund at Survivor Series.” He emphasized how difficult Backlund was to work with stylistically and used that to underline his own in-ring abilities: “If people question my greatness, I’d like to have seen Hulk Hogan wrestle Bob Backlund. I’d like to have seen Shawn Michaels wrestle Bob Backlund or Triple H wrestle Bob Backlund the way that I did.”

Continuing to defend both himself and his Survivor Series performance, Hart made clear that Backlund was a unique opponent: “Bob was just a very old-school, a champion wrestler and great wrestler, but try to find the right balance of how to wrestle Bob Backlund. I don’t think very many guys could pull off the match I did with Bob Backlund.”

In the end, Hart remained proud of his work and the connection he had with Backlund in the right circumstances: “It was a beautiful match. I love Bob and the fact that I gave him that moment. It’s just one that I think you can name all kinds of wrestlers, throw them in against Bob Backlund, and see what they can do.” He closed by acknowledging the challenge and satisfaction of crafting a compelling story with such a unique performer: “Bob was a challenge to figure out the right ingredients and measures to tell a story and have a great match. I think we did that, and I’m very proud of that match.”

Source: The Masked Man Show