His big win over Mr. Perfect was just the beginning of one of Hart’s most action-packed rivalries in the WWE. According to 411 Mania, they would go on to face each other again in King of the Ring in 1993, and their rivalry even spilled over into the WCW. But other wrestlers in the WWE had it out for Hart, as well, and the Hitman would go on to be a part of some of the most famous rivalries in the sport’s history. One such match-up was with Japanese behemoth Yokozuna, who took Hart down at WrestleMania 9, but would lose the title to the Hitman the following year. Another of Hart’s fiercest opponents was his own brother, Owen. The fact that they were real brothers lent believability to the kayfabe aspect of their in-ring rivalry.

The Hitman had notable rivalries with other superstars like Jerry Lawler, Davey Boy Smith, and Stone Cold Steve Austin, but his truly legendary feud was with Shawn Michaels (pictured above, in an armlock). The rivalry was the most important of both wrestlers’ careers, as they vied for the spotlight as the face of the promotion. This honor would ultimately go to Steve Austin, and the rivalry between the Hitman and the Heartbreak Kid would come to an end in truly scandalous fashion.

Bret Hart’s career met its end the way so many wrestling careers do. His body just couldn’t take it any longer. According to The Columbus Dispatch, the Hitman spoke of his history of injuries at a neuroscience symposium in 2019. He recounted a pay-per-view match with Goldberg in 1999 that pretty much sealed his fate. “One of the last things I said to Bill before I walked out to the ring was, ‘Don’t hurt me,'” Hart said. “I wish he heard me a little better.” Unlike Hart, Goldberg had a penchant for injuring opponents, and in that bout Hart took several direct hits and a nasty kick to the head. Still, Hart continued to wrestle for two weeks after that fight. He said he was angry with himself after his final fight, in which Sycho Sid slammed him to the mat. “I remember when I hit the ground, I could see a million stars.”

Doctors diagnosed Hart with a severe concussion. He also had a serious muscle tear in his neck. It took him two years to fully recover. He made a couple returns to the ring in subsequent years, including an encounter with Michaels in 2010 in which the two were able to bury the hatchet, but his career was effectively over in 2000. Hart suffered a stroke in 2002, and has served as the spokesman for March of Dimes Canada’s stroke recovery program ever since.