Bret Hart is one of the greatest WWF Champions of all time. He is still regarded as one of the top in-ring performers of all time and was rightly inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame twice – once as a solo act and again as part of the Hart Foundation.
He wrestled his last match in 2011, facing Alberto Del Rio in the WWE. However, here we will look at Bret Hart’s first match in the WWE, which took place in his home country and alongside a long-time friend and rival of his.
Bret Hart’s First Match
Bret Hart‘s first match in WWE came on August 29 1984, when he teamed with long-time rival Dynamite Kid to take on the duo of Iron Mike Sharpe and Troy Alexander. Dynamite Kid and Bret Hart had come up together in Stampede Wrestling, training together in the Hart dungeon and wrestling multiple matches in Stu Hart’s promotion.
Their debut match in the WWE came at WWF Maple Leaf Wrestling. The show came from a promotion that was previously aligned with the WWF – Maple Leaf Wrestling – that had been taken over by Vince McMahon. In order to achieve his goal of nationwide domination, he procured the TV deals of multiple promotions across America and Canada.
The show took place in Brantford, Ontario, Canada and featured the Canadian star to help bring in the local fans. Maple Leaf Wrestling was under the WWF umbrella and was run by their president Jack Tunney. They wanted to break into the Canadian market and this seemed the best way to do it.
As two of the biggest stars in Stampede, Dynamite Kid and Bret Hart seemed obvious choices. The English Dynamite Kid had already started to make a name for himself all over the world, which included some innovative matches over in Japan. He was already one of the best wrestlers in the world and would inspire future generations of wrestlers, like Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit.
In their debut, Bret Hart was announced “Brett Hart”. He wore unfamiliar gear, trading his usual pink and black for maroon and black trunks and without his trademark sunglasses. This was before he became “The Hitman” and was one of the biggest stars of the company. However, his ability shone through as he grappled with Iron Mike Sharpe.
The team of Bret Hart and Dynamite Kid won their first match in the WWE. Bret Hart tagged in Kid as he battled with Troy Alexander, who then jumped from the top rope to his famous diving headbutt (a move invented by Harley Race). He then hit a painful looking back suplex before pinning Alexander for the victory.
Dynamite Kid had wrestled two matches for the WWF prior, including a title fight against his Japanese rival Tiger Mask. However, this was Bret Hart’s WWE debut and a good way to start of his legendary career in Vince McMahon’s promotion.