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Here we look at one of the highlight's of Bret Hart's career, the night he
defeated Ric Flair for the WWF World Heavyweight Title. In his book, Ric Flair
says the match is "awful" and that it never aired on television. While
the Nature Boy is certainly entitled to his opinion, the match DID air on
television. It was shown on an edition of Prime Time Wrestling, and was later
put out on a WWF Coliseum Home Video release.
Mat Classic: WWF World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair vs. Bret Hart
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada - October 12, 1992
The History
The WWF was in a period of transition. Vince McMahon was still handling the
steroid and sex scandals, and had made the decision away from muscular monsters
like Ultimate Warrior and Davey Boy Smith, and instead push smaller, more
athletic wrestlers like Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels. Ric Flair, the WWF World
Champion, had won the title from Randy Savage only six weeks earlier in Hershey,
Pennsylvania. No one was expecting this title change, as Hart was seen as an
"Intercontinental Title-level" worker at the time.
The Match
They circled each other, then locked up, with Flair backing Hart into a corner,
and Earl Hebner getting a clean break out of the two. Flair let out a pair of
"Whoo's" before moving back in to lock up. Flair grabbed a side
headlock, trapping Hart's left arm as well, and took him to the mat. Hart got to
his feet, ducked out of the hold, and and the two exchanged hammerlocks. Hart
grinded in his, pulling up on the arm, and Flair made the ropes. Hart broke, and
Flair slumped to the mat, clutching his arm. They locked up again, and Hart
stood on the bottom rope in a corner, grabbing an armtwist. Flair kept Bret in
the corner, and broke up the hold. Flair grabbed a wristlock and kicked Bret in
the leg. Flair, then whipped Hart hard in the corner. Flair went for a vertical
suplex, but Bret blocked the attempt twice, then hit his own vertical suplex for
the first two count of the match. Bret Hart hit a headbutt, and then backdropped
Flair. Bret stomped Flair in the gut, after teasing a Sharpshooter first. Flair
rolled to the floor for a breather.
Ric Flair walked around ringside, shaking things off then reentered the squared
circle. Hart placed Flair in a side headlock, but Flair turned it into a top
wristlock, bending Hart backwards towards the mat. Hart bridged back, forcing
Flair down and applying an armbar. Hart again stood on the bottom rope, gaining
more leverage on the arm, as Flair tried to maneuver them into the corner. Hart
went back to the arm after a break, using an armdrag to bring Flair down, then
went into an armbar. Hart pounded the arm, twisted it, and yanked down on it.
Flair rolled into a front facelock, but Hart reversed into a hammerlock and
drove his knee into Flair's arm.
Hart maintained the hammerlock, as flair got to his feet. Hart went into an
armbar, and Flair forced Hart into a corner for a break. Flair tried to grab an
armtwist on the break, but Hart reversed and flipped Flair to the mat with an
arm twist. Hart legdropped the arm, but Flair hit a kick to the midsection and
sent Hart over the top rope and to the floor. Hart jumped onto the apron and
shoulderblocked Flair through the ropes, then went for a slingshot sunset flip.
However, Flair got his balance and punched Hart in the head to break up the
hold. Hart rolled out of the ring and to the floor. Flair regained his
confidence and let out a "Whoo" before moving towards Hart, who was
now on the apron. Hart did the shoulderblock and sunset flip combo again, this
time pulling Flair's trunks down and taking the Nature Boy over for a two count.
Hart hit a reverse atomic drop and a pair of clotheslines to an ovation from the
Canadian crowd. Flair rolled to the floor and flopped onto his face.
Back in the ring, a headbutt sent Flair down again, but the "dirtiest
player in the game" thumbed Hart in the eyes. Flair whipped Hart into the
corner, and the challenger slammed into the buckles chest first. Flair whipped
him in again, and then backed up and kicked Hart in the left knee. Flair hit a
shinbuster, then punched Hart in the face twice in a corner before kicking at
the leg again. Flair delivered a chop, then another punch to the face. Flair
snapmared Hart, then dropped a knee, but Hart rolled out of the way. Hart went
for a spinning toe hold, but Flair kicked him off. Flair applied a side
headlock, but Bret escaped it with a shinbuster, then dropped a trio of elbows
to the right leg. He applied a leglace briefly before grabbing a Figure Four
Leglock. Flair struggled in the hold, his shoulders going down on the mat for
two counts on two occasions. Flair finally made the bottom rope to break the
hold.
Hart went for an elbowdrop, but Flair rolled out of the way. Flair went for a
beckbreaker, but Bret turned it into a backslide for two. Flair hit a punch to
the gut, then decked Hart with a right hand. Hart reversed a whip and grabbed a
sleeperhold, but Flair got out with a back suplex. As both men got up, Flair
grabbed a small package for a two count. Flair delivered a double underhook
suplex for a two count, then hooked the leg for a second two count. Flair,
limping, went for the knee drop, this time hitting it, but obviously caused
himself some pain as well. Flair whipped Hart hard into the corner, then covered
Bret twice for two counts. Flair complained to Henber about the count, allowing
Bret to roll him up from behind for a two count with a school boy.
Hart delivered a punch and grabbed a headlock, but Flair hit a shinbuster and
applied the Figure Four. Hart strained in the hold, which was applied in the
center of the ring. Bret's shoulders went down for a two count, but then he
managed to turn the hold. Flair turned it back over, and they reached the ropes.
Flair got to his feet first, put Hart in the corner and kicked at Hart's leg.
Flair threw a chop, then kicked Bret in the back of the left leg. Flair stomped
the leg twice in the corner. Flair yanked on the leg, and said "Now we go
to school" then went for the figure four, but Bret turned it into a small
package for two.
Bret and Flair traded punches in a corner. Bret started to mount a comeback with
punches, but ran into a Flair boot after a whip into the corner. Flair went to
the top rope, but Hart grabbed him and slammed Flair hard into the mat. Bret
slugged Flair, then whipped him into the corner and backdropped him. Hart drove
an elbow into Flair's chest and covered him for two, then hit a Russian legsweep
for another two. Flair begged off, and Hart hit a side backbreaker. Hart hit a
second rope elbow and hooked the leg for two, but Perfect yanked Flair's leg to
assist with the kickout.
Hart gave Flair a vertical suplex for two. Flair begged off, as Hart yelled at
him to get up and the crowd cheered Bret on. Flair chopped Hart in a corner, but
Hart pulled down his straps, daring him to to it again. Hart absorbed the second
chop and hit a series of punches, then delivered a superplex off the second
rope. Hart applied the Sharpshooter, and Perfect tried to interfere, but the
referee was standing between him and the wrestlers, and ordered him off the
apron. Perfect had no sooner gotten down from the apron than the referee turned
and Flair submitted. In twenty eight minutes, Bret Hart had won the World
Wrestling Federation Heavyweight Title from Ric Flair, Flair's first submission
loss in the WWF.
The Aftermath
Hart and Flair would have several rematches on house shows, including an
incredible Ironman match in Boston in January of 1993, right before Flair left
the company to return to WCW. They wouldn't meet up again until Hart went to WCW
in 1997. They wrestled several times in WCW, most notably at Souled Out '98.
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