Part 2: Bryan Callen + News (ACS September 20)

Transcript

The following program is a podcast 1.comproduction. From Hollywood, California by way of the Broken Skull Ranch, this is the Steve Austin Show. Give me a hell yeah. Hell yeah. Now here's Steve Austin. Have you ever thought about getting into business? This is a damn good show to get some 411 without any further ado. Welcome, Brett the Hitman Hart. Brett, how are you? I'm doing good. Real good. Life's good. You're in Calgary right now. What's the temperature? Oh, it's it's about 70 out today. Oh, man. I thought it'd be colder than the sun, b***h over here right now. No. It's it's nice. It's nice and cool. Actually, these are the days the best days of the year right now. Oh, well, I mean Perfect. So what are you doing? Are you running around? Are you riding your bike? Or you're just chilling? I'm just take taking these. I did a lot of traveling last week. I had the Bret Hart, appreciation night here last week in Calgary on Raw, and that was a big day and then they had made it actually a bright heart day here in Calgary. And other than that I've just been taking it easy. I was in Hawaii before that. I got a place down there that I try to spend the kind of May and, like, well, I don't like May up here. It's May is the worst month of the year up here. It's, like, worse than January. Hey. Let's talk about let's talk a little bit about the Bret Hart Appreciation Day. How was that for you? You go back into the locker room. How long were you actually in WWE, total time? Well, I was there 14 straight years. 14 straight years. You go down to WCW, and you retire. You've been back, you know, several times since, but you go back in for Bret Hart Appreciation Day. And how's that locker room? How's the feel, and how's the atmosphere? You know, I I have a a nothing but respect for all of them. I mean, they're all it's a different kinda group of kid I call them kids now because I guess that's what they are. And they're so much, they're smaller. They're better athletes and they're, some of them are just amazing. It's amazing with, like, some of them, like, Brian Daniel or Daniel Bryan and, and and Tonk and some of these guys. Some of the stuff that they're doing is, like it just amazes me how they take it another couple inches further all the time. There's always somebody taking wrestling another over over the boundaries and, making it good again. And there's a lot of really good talent out there. I love watching the wrestlers today. Well, you know, to your point, things kinda keep evolving just like the game of football has. How often are you able to watch Monday Night Raw these days and stay on top of the current storylines, angles, and everything they've got going? Here and there, off and on. I mean, I've found the last few months I've I've been sort of been watching it pretty closely. I try to watch it. When I find it, it starts going to too much too much backstage stuff and too many hokey story lines. I I sort of fade off. But usually, I go back and check it out again. There's certain guys, like, especially, like, second generation guys, like, my own niece and nephews, like Harry and Bulldog's kid and Natalya Neidhart and Kurt Hennig's kid and this guy's kid and Randy Orton. I know all of them. I knew a lot of them when they were kids. I kind of always root for the 2nd generation wrestlers. Just haven't been one myself or even the 3rd generation wrestlers. I I just think they understand from a whole different perspective. It's kinda like they've, you know, obviously, they've grown up in the system. Do you feel that gives being 2nd generation gives those kids an advantage? Oh, yeah. It gives them, like, you know, you know, just watching it, you know. I think I, like, I I don't know that I was ever the greatest student in school, you know. But I think that the real truth of it is is I was a student of wrestling. Like when I got out of school, I didn't really want to pay and worry about my math. But when I went to wrestling matches that night from selling programs when I was a little kid for my dad, after I finished selling all my programs, I could sit right at the timekeeper table. And I'd be watching Lou Fez wrestle on Gene Kiniskey. And, you know, I'd seen the best in the world right up close and studying it and watching it and going. Those guys are good. Like, you know, I knew the good wrestlers from the bad ones. I knew the guys that, when the the one guys came across me as fake or just didn't look very real or didn't look like they took it serious. I came across instantly in me and I think as a young kid, I understood wrestling. I don't I think when I got into it, I didn't know how exactly it worked. But I knew I had some ideas on it. I'll always, I think, as a kid. And when they finally do break in and tell you that, okay, this is how it works. Usually, they break in to to referee. You know, it's not such a big shock. You kinda go, okay. I kinda kinda knew anyway. But at the same time, my dad's territory took Kayfabe so serious that, you know Let's stop there. Let's let's go there, Brett. Kayfabe, you took it serious these days at sports entertainment. Vince McMahon, you know, kinda came out of the closet, so to speak, with the business back in the day, before all the exposes, as when you grew up, as when you grew up, when I grew up, wrestling was real. And although you're 2nd generation, your dad was in the business, it was very protected. What is the biggest difference in your eyes between the kayfabe era versus today's era? It I think it's it's never the same for the fans. I mean, I think all I ever tried to do is make it as real for the fans Right. As possible. I never like to go with someone that I never like to be the one that gave it away. You know, like when 2 wrestlers were drinking together after they fought each other and stuff like that. I I never wanted to be one of those guys that gave it away where it's like, oh, totally, you know. Like that's And I always wanted them to guess and think that maybe there was a little tension between me and the one guy that did have to wrestle. Even he was in the same bar or whatever it is. I never Right. I always thought to when I was a little kid, I wanted to believe it was real. And the best part about being a fan as a kid was when I thought it was real. That was when it was cool. Like, it was really I wanted to see the fight next week, and I wanted to see, you know, so I got I grew up with all that sort of, you know, again, I grew up, very defensive of wrestling, you know, in my family. I was with the family business and at the same time, it was I don't know how many fights I had as a kid. I mean, it's it's makes me laugh when I think about how many fights I had as a kid simply over the statement that my dad's tougher than your dad was was, you know, pretty usually, like, to, you know, a wrestling match on the grass where usually I put a professional wrestling move on like a Sleeper Hold OR A Boston Crab OR A, I, you know, I remember the Sheik's moves at the, it was the Sheik from Detroit this season at the, the Camel Clutch or whatever. I don't know how many guys I beat with that. I never really thought that was kid on a when you put a kid in a camel clutch on the schoolyard, you mean serious business, brother. I I I I can remember thinking, you can't do this stuff in amateur wrestling. You know? Hey. Let's talk about, when, doctor d David Schultz, and talking about Kayfabe and not Kayfabe, and back in when gas protected their business because it was their business, and, you know, everything was predicated on the fact that this was real. When John Stoussel went back to do that interview with doctor d, and doctor d I I never met the guy, David Schultz, but he was probably a little bit on the aggressive side, and he slapped John Stoussel a couple of times and really damaged his ears, but obviously, a very unwise move. Not a smart thing to do. But he was trying to protect the business in his way. What was your opinions when that was going down? Well, I think Dave was stressed out at the time. But the the real truth of it is is that he did take pride in the business. And I think that when that happened with Stassel, his attitude was that yeah. I think he did it for the boys and did it for everybody. He thought that everyone would go, you know, who is this punk to be you know? Yeah. I thought he, he was trying to give credibility to, you know and I I I agree that it was probably not the smartest thing in the world, but he that's how kinda how Dave was. Dave had a short fuse and, when he got himself worked up enough, he had a short fuse and could go off on anybody. But, in saying that, I always thought Dave was always, he was always a good guy to me. And I I always felt that you just had to sort of work through that and calm the beast in him sometimes and get him back to his back to his but he was, I, in looking back on that, I always I've seen that clip back so many times, and I have to admit that, that Stassel did deserve to get slapped. He was he definitely he really had the line by a long shot. He did. He crossed the line. He had an indignant tone. It was condescending. And if if you're gonna do that, if you're gonna take that approach, the smartest place to do that isn't where he did that. Maybe in a studio there, you know, where he had all his people around. Not that they would have done anything, but, I I think he picked the wrong person, the wrong place, and the wrong time to conduct that interview. Right. But I always thought Dave, you know, in looking back over things over the years, I've always thought he was a hero to me for that day. You know, he was always a hero. That was what he did that for a lot of the boys, saluted him on that one. Hey, man. You know, I don't know how clear I was when I started this show and talking about our conversation. It's just kind of a 2 guys talking about the the business, and we're gonna filter in some questions that I pulled off my website, that people wanted to ask you. The Steve Austin Show. The Steve Austin Show. This episode is brought to you by Magic Spoon. Growing up, cereal was one of the best parts of being a kid, but I had to give it up because I realized it was full of sugar and junk you really shouldn't eat. I've been focused on my health for quite some time now and realized there are a lot of things out there that you shouldn't eat. 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But this this conversation is just about everything and and like if you and me were run riding down the road together and this is the kind of stuff that we would be talking about, I gotta tell you that I've probably never heard enough stories about the dungeon. And, you know, I was reading some more articles about you before we talked. And, your dad putting you in so many holes down there. And, you know, teaching you the business, teaching you respect. What was the atmosphere, the vibe like? Because the stories that were going around was just people screaming and being stretched and punished. What was the dungeon all about? You know, it was just a little tiny room. Really, it wasn't that big of a room. It was a little cement room and then they put some boards around it so you could run into the boards which were a little softer. They were sort of cushion boards. And then, there was no ropes. And it was a big mat that was as hard as a floor. There was hardly any give to it at all. In fact, I had boards going all across it. There was a little bit of padding, not very good padding, and some kind of canvas, and, it was stretched out over the mat. It was actually probably a pretty good amateur rest of the mat, but it was not necessarily a good bump. But and I had a low ceiling, had 2 windows where you could kinda peek in and which were usually broken from baseballs and stuff like that. But, then, you know, the things that happened in that then there was a whole weight room with everything. My dad mostly hand built weights, but he did order some special weights that had the heart, great had the heart engraved into the side of the weights and stuff. It's some really nice, chrome weights that were sort of new for that time period. But But you're dead when Dan had teaching chain wrestling, he was teaching wrestling holds in respect. Well, you know what it was was he he was always he loved wrestling. He was more of a his his whole thing was he loved to shoot wrestling. He'd wrestle he'd go down there and, he'd have it wherever guys were working up here, they would come up on after on weekends. When business was good in the fifties, all the wrestlers would sort of party at my dad's house and he'd have a beer and hot dogs and barbecue and stuff like that. And, they'd have a big barbecue and Stu would, make beer down in his basement. And, they'd all drink beer and and wrestle all day down while in the gym. Rest in the gym. You know, shoot with each other. Pull around, pull necks they used to call it. I can remember being about 3 or 4 years old and walking around down there with all these huge legs like weight lifters. Usually big, big, huge, heavy legs. Yeah. Guys guys squatting and stuff like that. Guys like Mike Sharp's dad. You know, I can remember a lot of the guys from those days. But anyway, there's a lot of lot of people up there, you know, wrestling around them. Matt Bulldog Brower was a guy that was around in those days. I remember him. And I would look probably about 1960. Mine is about 3 years old when I could probably start remembering them a little bit. And, you know, you just be around them. You know, it's always always comfortable being around wrestlers. They often they often drove up to my parents' house on a on, like, if they got their check on Friday. If they needed it early for something, they'd drive up and get it and pick it up. And my mom was always, always one of the funny things about, my dad's house is that the office was right upstairs. So my mom was, like, doing all the work in the office. My dad would be downstairs stretching guys in the basement. And, you could hear these belling and screaming and these groans coming from the basement all the time for for hours. And I, you know, I'd bring a friend over to the house, and we'd just, like, go upstairs to play pool or something. And, you know, you hear all these groans. It feels like a haunted house or a torture shed or something. And, you know, people be looking at you. Now there's this there was a story about my mom one time that she hurts when he she wasn't accustomed to to stretching guys in the basement. And this must have been before I was born. But she she ended up following the police because she heard all the screaming and stuff that's coming out of the basement. And, because how the basement came into being what it was was, in the, you know, in the early fifties, Stu, had good connections with, the New York territory because he worked there with Tootsmont and all that. And he was able to get a lot of the champions to come up to work up in Calgary for the Stampede and different things and bring them off to these big shows. And wrestling started to take off with television in those days, and Stu was one of the first guys to get wrestling on TV. And and my dad was sort of was ran wrestling like you like you dream it. You know, it was like this great dream for all these wrestlers. And, you know, they're all guys that'd be hired and they were running around the country. And they were wrestling was super popular and wrestling became popular. And they bought an airplane. And the guys that used to work my dad's territory in the fifties used to fly to the town. You know, it was like a whole different world. And, you know, by the time I was born, wrestling changed and wrestling, had lost some of its, glamorous, kinda getting kinda old. They could there was baseball and all kinds of stuff on TV now. You know, but when my dad, would get calls from guys, they'd, you know, someone like Vergagno would call up and he goes, I got this guy that's, you know, he's a football player, but he's I don't know if he's got what it takes or so I'm gonna send him up to Stu. But was it just the football players for Stu to stretch or was it accomplished guys coming in there to learn some more, stuff to put in their arsenal? Because I'm I'm thinking it's it's purely submission holds, and and how much of that, you know, are they gonna actually use in the squared circle? Well, you know, like like I said, they a lot of times, they just bowled around. You know? He he was, like, take on all everybody took on everybody. And, he had about 10 guys up there learning. You know, there'd be a couple that are football players, and there'd be a couple that are, you know, that are not you know, they're just big farm kids or, you know, there was he but generally, he looked for guys that, yeah, and got referred referenced. Like, the guys that ended up here were guys that, somebody had said, hey. Checkout's too hard in Calgary. He'll teach you how to be arrested. What kind of come to Jesus meeting was it for these football players who think they're all that in a bag of chips? And I got a lot of respect for football players. But, mister, when you take that knowledge and put it in there with a shooter, and you're in that world, tough day at the office, how do football players make out? Well, you know, a lot of guys, if you look back on those days like Wilbur Snyder and Gene Kiniskey and, Ernie Ladd, and there's quite a few guys that were football players that got into wrestling and did quite well. And I think it's easy to, you know, they're they're comparable to each other. It's a good big man sport, wrestling is for someone like that. Especially if you you had to leave football because of an injury or whatever. You used to get the, you know, the basics. Wrestling's a perfect thing for for somebody because it's a lot of the same movement as a football player. Same kind of running, the same kind of, physical contact. What kind of A lot of progress. What kind of stuff was your dad telling you? Like, if he had you in a submission hold and he was stretching you, what was he telling you while he was doing that? Well, you know, they they there's a lot of people who like to describe my dad as a guy that just always tortured guys, you know. But the the reality and honest truth of it is that he never was like that at all. And he was generally a guy that, he was so passionate about it. He really loved teaching anybody that would just want to learn. You could stop him anywhere on a bus, anywhere or airplane getting, you know, as long as you wanted to know how it worked for real, he would he would love to show you. Do you think He loved a good student. Someone that he started to show you how to, you know, bend somebody and bend them up into a pretzel when he's giving you sort of the fine points and how to get the guy's arm to sweep across this way or whatever. He all these little fine tuning little tricks that he used to have. If you took, an interest in it, you could talk he'd talk you till your ear was off. He'd talk you for days about it. And tell you, you know, he he was he was like a that was what he loved to do. That was that's where he he really loved to do more than anything in the world was teach you submission wrestling. Anyone that was interest especially big men. He loved to make a big tough guy even tougher and maybe even more, you know, just, you know, he get he wanted to get he wanna make you that much more invincible. But, obviously, that had a a lot to do, with your work style in the ring. I was, obviously, I've had a 100 matches with you, and they all were what they were. And we went out there, and the thing about when you and I worked with each other was total respect, total trust, and both guys going out there and and having a damn good match, you know, for that crowd. But in looking at your work, and I was last night on YouTube, I watched, I think I guess it was you and, Ricky Steamboat from 1986. It might have been at the Boston Garden. It was man, that was a hellacious match, And just the work itself, and going back to some of your earlier matches in Calgary with you and Dynamite when you guys are still youngsters, but just the the work itself, The tightness, the snugness, and and you guys weren't potatoes each other. I'm just talking about good solid work. If you're looking if you're on the Internet looking for some good wrestling, just look up Brett versus Steamboat in about 86. Look up anything with Brett and dynamite or anything with Brett in general, but these are some of the matches I worked last night. I watched last night and you when I watch you in the ring. You can watch that today, tomorrow, 20 years from now. That is reality. That is what professional wrestling is supposed to be. Yeah. I, I took a lot of pride in all my matches. I I've had a lot of people tell me that I have they can't find a bad match even though I do know there are a few of them out there. But most of my matches, I mean, I always you know, whether the camera was on or whether the camera's off, I I always gave a hard match. I was I never cut corners and, you know, I was always the guy that, wanted to leave it all in the leave it all in the field every night, you know. Just that was the way I my dad, that's the way he ran his wrestling. And that's the way, as a fan, I watched wrestling. And, you know, I I enjoyed, you know, being Bret the Hitman Hart. It was a good, I I just grew into that persona or that character. And, Well, who was Bret the Hitman Hart? The character or or or the personality in the ring? Who and what was Brett the Hitman? What what was that all about? Some a whole bunch of different things that and I and I think it's the same for you. You you sort of transform over a period of time. You become this thing. But you know what? You put so much invest so much of your own magic into this thing that you create. And it's the television and everything else. And that look that you have at the certain time. And it's like you you peak at a certain time. And, you know, I look back on my time when I peaked, you know, I didn't peak in, you know, in 1984 and Hogan days and, you know, Warrior and, you know, a lot of ways I kinda floated around the mid card and, you know, I had the tag belts and stuff. There was never, you know, I kinda in a lot of ways I kinda missed it, kept this in the train or kept thinking I was. But in reality, I was, you know, when I did get my break, you know, I, I was still, I had paid a lot of dues. But still, you know, I think the timing was perfect. I really was. You know, I think I felt in 92 and maybe you you would be a good person to sort of talk about all this. But I mean, I I think if you look at wrestling today and you see these the way they wrestle today, the way the whole show works, the way the the, sort of bending the reality in the backstage and making it, a live, sort of soap opera and all. Like, all of that has all come from Raw in the days of, you know, my generation. But, I think that if you really, really watch wrestling today and you're a fan of it or at least part you know, you still love a good wrestling match depending on what the what who's working. I think you'll find that most of the wrestlers today are not they didn't get their, wrestling skills watching a lot of them, the guys before me. Like, you know, I'm not trying to put anyone down, but, like, sort of the muscle man era and the body builder era, like the Warrior or Hogan. The days of wrestling being one tackle, drop down, get it again. Like, the slow guys that weren't creating. Like, when I got into the business, there was a lot of guys that were had stopped, stopped creating and, wrestling was becoming a routine. Everybody had a routine and that's all you did. You just stayed in the routine. And that's how I think when Dynamite came along in Calgary, we we changed that up a lot. It became like no more routines. We're gonna just add them in and do stuff and we're gonna and I think I brought a lot of and I think Dynamite also did. But The hearts of the stampede guys brought a lot of that to WWE when we came there. We started making everyone pick up the pace a little bit. We, you know, wrestling was supposed to be bang bang bang and Yeah. But you guys what I noticed when I was watching, I watched about 3 matches with you and Dynamite last night. You guys had a hell of a pace going, but Yeah. Between between the bumps, between the holes, stuff in transition. I mean, when once you knocked the guy down, whether it was you or dynamite and both of you guys were selling your asses off. I mean, it was, you know, Picasso and Rembrandt on the salesman, aspect of that match and, great offensive moves, but you guys weren't rushing through the process. You were taking your time, and I wanna, talk a little bit more about your rivalry, your matches in the early days of Calgary with Dynamite. And I wanna talk more about your, early matches in Calgary, the stampede wrestling, with Dynamite when we come back from this break. We're talking with Brett Hart. I'll be right back. Hey. It's Adam Carolla from the Adam Carolla Show. BetOnline is the world's most trusted betting platform and your number one source for everything sports betting. BetOnline has every stat, every match up, and even live odds and spreads to bet on during the games for pro and college games. With the largest catalog of odds on everything from football, MLB, playoff, NHL, NBA, and even political prop bets, BetOnline has it all. And as if that's not enough, BetOnline also has the best odds and info on MMA professional boxing too. When the game's over, head on over to BetOnline's online casino and get in on a game of blackjack or poker or unwind with, one of their 150 plus slot games. Head to the website today to get in on the action with America's most trusted site for online wagering. BetOnline. BetOnline. The game starts here. Welcome to the Steve Austin Show. Alright. Like I said, you wanted the best. I got the best. I'm talking with Britney Hitman hard today. Just an off the cuff conversation between 2 cats who come from the world of pro wrestling. And, yeah, I know it's sports entertainment today, but when you're talking about Steve Austin and Bret The Hitman Hart talking, it's pro wrestling. When we left off, we were talking about Dynamite Kid. We were talking about your matches in the ring. How you guys had a quick work rate, but were taking your time and telling the stories. I've always wanted to know a little bit more about Dynamite. Unfortunately, I was never able to meet him while he was still in the ring. What kind of guy was he? You know, he was, he was, I think, the guy that's changed wrestling to where it is right now. He deserves the most credit of anybody I I can think of. Maybe me and maybe in in some other ways I I'm behind him in that. But he really changed wrestling and, he was so fast paced and he had he he learned his wrestling psychology or wrestling style in England which was rooted in actually shoot kinda wrestling Right. With a lot of silly kinda wrestling at the same time like flips and rolls and tumbling and Right. Funny type of wrestling that people a lot of Americans laughed at wrestlers that worked like that. But there were some guys that, you know, even Fit Finley and guys I've had before that were, you know, real good wrestlers and legit wrestlers that were in the business. And, and and so in England, you could go to us one show and it'd be a lot of, you know, not very good workers, say. And you might go to another show 10 miles up the road, and it's it's full of, like, really hard workers and old shears and guys putting on great matches. And England had its share of great workers, and dynamite learned a lot of that. And when he came to, Calgary in the, you know, stampede wrestling, he, he was always a gun. Fortunately, a guy that had a bit of a chip on his shoulder though. He was he had a small man complex. He was a small guy. How tall was dynamite straight up? He was fade about 5 8. K. 58, which should made him not very tall, but not not so short, you know. Like, he Did he was the guy just walking? I mean, I saw him. He was a pit bull. He was a real pit bull of wrestling and, But was he just a mean spirited guy? He was, you know, even a good guy, he was like a mean little pit bull. Right. If you made friends with him and you got to know him, he was the friendliest little pit bull in the world. But if you crossed him bite your head off, you know. He he was afraid of no man. I mean, I when I say that, I mean nobody. He was he was one of those kind of guys that would go nose to nose with the biggest guy in the company over over anything, over the smallest thing. And usually just establish that, you know, who who he was. He he seemed to always, just always wanna be the toughest guy in the room. And and, generally, he was accorded that respect all the time because he, a lot of times, pretty much no matter what despite his size, he was the toughest guy in the room. He he was a tough, really tough little guy. When I watched you guys, in the ring from your earlier matches back in the day, you guys were just seemingly so on the same page and had such chemistry. Was it like that the first time you locked up? Was it something that was acquired? Because just watching you 2 work together, there's, from, you know, and I coming from myself, there's seemingly almost no communication going on in that ring, and you guys are just telling the story and, you know, beating the living dog s**t out of each other and having kick a*s matches. Well, you know, the truth about me and Dino is that we I saw him. I worked with him the very first I I had actually had, I had my first wrestling match, I think, the week before. And, then they asked me to go again and I said, I didn't wanna go. I said, I'm, I'm just I'm just learning how to wrestle. I'm just, I'm going to Puerto Rico. And, but they sent me around on the road trip. They were short one guy and they somebody else was wrestling dynamite. And they promised me a real easy match with a sort of an old veteran guy who was gonna, you know, lead me through the moves and kinda make sure I looked okay. And and so I I had it all planned. I had it all matched set up and it was really easy or at least for me it was hard. But, something happened and the guy wouldn't work with dynamite and, they they switched it and they said, told me I had to wrestle. And I said, I can't wrestle an English guy. I got back in barely on. I want to take a few bumps and stuff but I don't know how to wrestle. I've only been in the I just started. I haven't even I had my first I had my first match last week. Give me give me a break. Like, I can't do much of flips and rolls. I had already seen Dynamite stuff. Right. And, they made me wrestle Dynamite. And Dynamite's sitting in the dressing and watching me sort of make this big thing. I never kept telling her, it's not that I don't wanna wrestle you. It's just that I don't know how to wrestle you. But he took offense to all that. And, he broke me in dynamite style. You know, we worked for most of the match, but every now and then, he just kicked me in the face as hard as he could or he just duplexed me over the top rope, like, right onto the floor or, like, it was just Dude, was that a shoe? Was that a shoe? Yeah. That was shoes. That that's gonna hurt you. Yeah. That that's on YouTube. That that suplex over the top rope is one of the most, brutal things I've ever seen in my life. That it was phenomenal. It was it was spectacular if you're on the watching end of it. If you're on the receiving end of it, not so much. Well, you know, and sad I'd say this with all with all great sadness is that that same bumps that we did perfectly that day on that show didn't hurt ourselves. It's the same one that he did with Dynamite or he did with Davey or years later for a finish in Japan when they were had to finally had to wrestle each other. It was sort of a big match. And Dynamite with Davey suplexed him over the top, and Dynamite hurt his back on the ring apron. And that's the back injury that sort of, you know, ruined his life. Was that the, was that the back injury? Because I thought it was, in a tag match where seemingly he kinda almost tripped coming off the rope. Was that the was that the You heard of Russell Morocco and Norton somewhere in Hamilton. But that was the the match that kinda broke the The match that really did it when he first Right. They came back. They carried him back to address him. They put him on ice for they put ice on his pack for about an hour or 30 minutes or because he had to wait for his last he wrestled again. He went in and wrestled, that wasn't Tiger Mask, but he wrestled another masked guy and, won the title that week or with that time in Japan. But, I mean, I just know that it was he always had problems with his back, lower back was always sort of just twinging on him all the time, right, till it finally just, you know, it just went that, a few years later. I'd love to talk with that guy a little bit. You know, I've seen some stuff on him. I guess he's in a wheelchair over there. But like you said, I mean, that guy really paved the way for a lot of guys to follow and was a stylistically just a trendsetter from the innovation standpoint. Dynamite that I I loved about him and I I think people kinda some people don't, you know, they they they don't like him or don't have respect for him. But the truth is is that, like, there was always a story about Honky Tonk talking about when Harley Harley Race had, some kind of abdominal surgery or, you know, he got had some complications that had take a bunch of his intestine out. And and he was off the road suddenly and everyone was having we just heard about him in the dressing room. And Honky Kong said some remark in the dressing room about, I guess, he doesn't got any guts anymore. Mhmm. And dynamite got up and walked over and just backhanded and knocked him off the chair. Wow. And, that's what I did. Like, Dynamite was the policeman in the dressing room. Right. He didn't let any bulls**t or somebody come in with an attitude or a guy that was a superstar. Like, you know, they had to come in and had to earn their rights in the dressing room with the boys, the guys that were doing the work and the guys. And he was a really good that's what I I mean, there was a lot of guys will tell you that's what he was a bit of a bully and and he was a bit of a bully. Like, I can think of other situations where where it was over the line. But, you know, with Jacques Rougeau for example. But but there was times that Dynamite being a bully and being a bit of a policeman would straight out guys. Like, that whole thing that happened years later with Sean, with Sean's personality back in the nineties. The truth is if dynamite could have been an adjuster, none of that would ever happen. Right. Interesting. He would've he would've policed that and straightened that out before it became an issue. The boys don't do that. The boys have their own locker room, you know, to a certain degree than than the talent. You had to always be one of the boys first. Well, speaking of one of the boys and bringing up, Dynamite being the policeman of the locker room, I've heard so many stories about Andre the Giant, the boss. If he didn't want you in the dressing room, he would run your a*s out. How was Andre back in the day? Was he the king of the dressing room? Because Tim, Tim White, referee Tim White, who's refereed so many of yours in my matches, you know, if if he didn't want you in there, he would grab your s**t and throw it out the door and you really didn't have much to say about it. How was Andre? You know, he was another one of those guys. You know, they can talk about Andre but I loved him. I I I understood him and I sort of appreciate him. And, you know, he, he he was the kind of guy that, you know, you if you respected him and you he worked hard and you were like I said, you you you earned it. He he was he was always, he was always a good guy. And Andre was a great worker too, you know. Oh, absolutely. They'll say that a lot about Andre. But he was super coordinated guy, you know. And he, I can remember in the it just didn't actually it's in the new WWE DVD that they just did on me a few months ago or a month ago. It's me and Andre wrestling in Italy, which is makes me laugh even thinking about it because I can remember going, who the hell put me in Andre? And I heard, like, freaking out in the dressing room going, I'm gonna do a single match with Andre. And Andre never even he kept kind of acting like he didn't give a s**t. And I remember, like, don't wanna give me a finish or anything. Like I said, what the hell are we gonna do? And anyway, he finally started laughing and talking about don't worry about it. And, you know, he just anyway, I found out later that it was Andre that asked that he could work with me. He said he wanted to say he wrestled Bret Hart one time. And so he booked a single batch in Milan. But I will say this much, when he when he started to drop that elbow on me from that height Yeah. And was looking up at that body, it's like a piano, like a grand piano getting ready to fall on top of you. And, you know, a 7 foot 4 grand piano. Yeah. And, I just remember thinking, holy s**t, he could kill me right now. If he's off by an inch or 2 or just slips or just, you know, sneezes or something, I mean, I'm I'm I could die right now. And, you know, he dropped that elbow drop on me. It was like somebody covering me with a blanket. It was it was so, he was such a pro. He really was. And I, I loved working with him. And I had a few my law tags and situations with him. But he was always a pro and always, you know, if he told you he was gonna be there on the finish or, you know, like whatever it was, he was there. Right. You know, whatever he needed to do, he did it. You know, I don't remember Andre. You know, and I also remember, you know, it's funny that you remember these stories. I remember that my first day in WWE, WWF back then was with the Dynamite Kid. They flew us down for Brantford and, Poughkeepsie TV tapings, 1 in Toronto and one in Poughkeepsie or close to Toronto. But anyway, we went to Poughkeepsie and, we landed at the airport in LaGuardia and then we got some other little airline to White Plains or, to to, Poughkeepsie. And when we were in LaGuardia, I remember, the 3 birds, all 3 of them, they were all passed out around the, the gate. Oh, no. And they were so I remember we left without on the plane. But you couldn't open they couldn't open the door of the plane for the pilot and everyone else to get on because they were all cuffed out against the door. And I remember they missed the plane. They never showed up. And I think actually it was a couple days later that the same thing, kind of thing happened and they showed up in Providence, Rhode Island. And they showed up about an hour late into the show and they came in, taught, giving some excuse about being late. They were, I think, clearly have been drinking and whatever else they've been doing. And as soon as they walked in, Andre just said, you're fired. To all 3 of them. All 3 of you guys are fired. Andre said that? He goes, you're fired. And I remember Michael I remember Michael Hayes give a cut in a promo on him and going, you can't fire me. You're not in charge and all this stuff. And and, and Andre I just heard Andre goes, you'll speak tomorrow. It's either you're gone or I'm gone. Oh, s**t. They they were all fired. Oh, s**t. You know, he he was one of the boys. He was tired of them coming late and they were they were bulls**t and they were getting away with it and he just said enough, you know. And, he was a professional. He didn't like guys that weren't, you know, Bam Bam was another guy that, you know, when, he had some big dates, he got some matches with Hogan, I think, right off the bat. He'd just come in from some even a brand new guy and, young guy and making huge money with Yeah. Hogan on top. And he started bragging and bragging and addressing him about what he made and who who how great he was and this and that. And he was talking out of his a*s for about, you know, for a couple of days. Andre made him sure he wrestled him in the garden. Andre kicked him around like a soccer ball for about 30 minutes when he hit the boot. A soccer ball. It was he manhandled Bam Bam. He was a fairly, I think, fairly, you know, tough guy. But Oh, absolutely. Andre when he got mad at you, you didn't wanna be on the wrong side of Andre. Well, I mean, there's nothing you can do with a human being like that that big. And and pre back surgery before, you know, he really kinda started going downhill. I've heard stories of some of the stuff that he did in the ring, you know, standing on a guy's hair and wrenching his arms up just because, you know, it was kinda, you know, torsion him a little bit, but just kinda, you know, let them know with no uncertain terms that he didn't really like that particular person, and there wasn't anything you could do about it. He was too big and powerful. You know, I I I I couldn't imagine, like Andre well, you know, just it was a good thing that Andre was as good natured as he was. Did you ever drink with him? All all the time. It was got to be kind of a kind of a normal thing. I think everybody drank with Andre. But, you know, the truth about Andre was that when he when he was at the bar, if, you kept bothering him or something like that, you you know, he would ignore you. Like, wrestling fans kept coming up and asking for his autograph or tapping him on his shoulder. He would never turn around. He would never look at him. He never he just completely and totally ignored them. And finally, they would lose it to the point they would they would cut promos on him and he would still just ignore them. He just shut everybody out. And I realized that this is a poor guy that never gets sent. You know, people bother this guy every everywhere he goes. Right. And I don't think they understood how hard it was to be Andre. And, I always allowed him that, you know. I I, wrote a funny story in my book about my brother, Smith, driving us to the airport in my car, funny enough. But I I really was like we were headed to rush Andre to the airport. We had to get him there for a plane that was leaving, like, right away. And, the plane was missed. It was long missed when we were driving to the airport. But my brother Smith drove about oh, god. I don't and he drove about a 120 miles an hour to the airport. Where was Andre? At 5 o'clock traffic. And Andre was in the passenger season. What kind of car was it? It was a big Cadillac. Yeah. Big, 76 Rome DeElegance. It was a big heavy duty Cadillac. Oh, I'm sorry. Andre was in the back seat. I was in the front seat. And my brother's driving my my dad's Cadillac that he gave to me. And he drove it like an absolute idiot to the airport, like, just through stop signs, red lights, you know, side of the road, everything to and driving about a 100 miles an hour. And he got to the airport and he ran in with Andre. And then we, I remember when we went to the airport, there was a big ramp. If you ever see the Calgary airport, there's a big sort of curved ramp as you're going up the airport, to the next level. And we almost went over. I swear, my brother took that corner so fast with Andre. We were on, 2 wheels. And I remember when the car actually started hydroplanning to go up in the air, and then we crashed, kinda came down. We screeched to a halt in front of the American, departure or whatever. And, Andre got out of my car, he was so mad, he slammed the door. It's just about you know, he was I never saw him so mad. He got out of the car. He was just steaming. And, he went in to try to make this supposed flight that he knew was missed. And, my brother came out about 10 minutes later. The police came out. I remember they were gonna arrest me. And I remember I said to explain the whole thing, it was my brother Smith driving and he was trying to drive Andre to get him on a flight. And I kinda talked the cop out of giving him a ticket. But I mean, Andre was so and rightfully so because I was right in the car and I know how scary that ride was and we really did almost go over that ramp. He wouldn't talk to my dad and he wouldn't talk to my brother any of my brothers, including Nolan, forever again. He wouldn't talk to any of them. He started talking to me only after I sort of made friends with him. So you didn't say thank you for the ride? Yeah. But, you know, in all fairness to Andre, I always understood that. I mean, s**t. That was a scary ride. And then he's got every right to be had every right to be mad. I, I, before you came on the show, I sent out on my, Twitter account Steve Austin BSR. You can follow me on Twitter Steve Austin BSR. You can follow Brett at at Brett Hart on Twitter. And I sent out some, information that you were gonna be on the show. And if you had any questions, just send your emails. We're about to go to break. But before we go to break, let's answer a couple of these questions and then come back and go all the fan questions so that the people who participated in this show can, get their question asked and answered by Bret Hart. What is your most cherished moment in the ring? And I know that's a tough one because there's a lot of, special moments in your career. It's hard. It's really hard. It is really hard to say, but I probably gotta say, maybe, winning the title, the first time. Right. You know, I just think, even though I wasn't the greatest match or wasn't the greatest, you know, it wasn't it wasn't it wasn't anything that I, you know, if I could have planned it, you know. But at the same time, I think it was the most important. I mean, that was a big night. That was, somebody could have told me that, someday when I got into wrestling, I would reach that pinnacle and really be the champion of the world. I would I mean, I I think if I somehow could have known I was gonna get that far, I mean, I just it seemed like such a far off dream. I mean, I when I really You never saw yourself being the heavyweight champion of the world? No. Not really. It was, like, that would be in my deep farthest dreams. Like, that's what kinda how I looked at it too. It was, like, jeez. But that was in it? The easiest dream that I ever had came true. I am the champion. I used to write wrestling magazines, draw the pictures. I had the belt on. I was the champion. I took on everybody. My little wrestling magazine was WWF. I fought my brother, Owen, in the wrestling magazine. It was really funny all the stuff I drew when I was about 13 years old and I because you know I like to draw. Yeah. But I draw these magazines with myself and different brothers as champions and but Owen was the one bad brother which was funny because he is the one that used to laugh about that because he used to read my magazines. I used to draw as a kid and it's, you know, all this stuff kinda end up playing out for real, you know, or at least for a while there. But it was I love lived a very, you know, I know I went through a lot of stuff with Olin and passing and Bulldog and a lot of faith a lot of sad tragedy in wrestling. But to be really honest, I I've I'm very, happy with what I got from wrestling. I got a lot of great memories and I had a lot of great times and, you know, I hope that, anyone that does read my book appreciates that it's more about all the good stuff I did, you know. Yeah. One of the things, also about your first one of one of the other things about your, when you first became champion there in WWF was it was a transition because prior to you, it was a big man's game. Yeah. That's what I was kinda saying earlier is I think that the wrestlers are today, they didn't grow up watching, you know, Dusty Rhodes, and they didn't grow up watching Hulk Hogan, and they didn't grow up they watched they grew up watching Bret Hart and that's why they wrestle that's the way they wrestle today. And I think, you know, the generation that Vince referred to it in that thing last week on Raw, that Brett Hartnett, that he mentioned it as sort of, the Brett Hart era. But I I do think that we you know, when I became champion, it wasn't about I didn't have 24 inch arms. You know, I wasn't 6 foot 8 and I didn't look like Warrior either. And I didn't look like you know, even Macho Man was, kind of different. I was I was the first sort of mid sized guy to get sort of really, maybe Randy too. I think me and Randy were the first ones to really start making it about the wrestling. And, you know, I I don't think people remember me necessarily at the time because I, you know, I got sort of stuck with a belt in a funny time in the business. You know, Hogan had, got question on steroids and, the Arsenio Hall show put him in a funny light and steroids became a big thing. And Vince had his trial and they thought he was selling steroids to the wrestlers and it was, sex things going on with the ring crew that became headlines. And business was in a kind of in a bad slump. Hogan sort of jumped out and left everyone abandoned, the wrestling because he was gonna do Hollywood. Or and it was those things, like, where's wrestling go from here without Hulk Hogan? And, I think, to be really honest, I was the first real like, this is the way wrestling is gonna go without Hulk Hogan. It's gonna go with Bret Hart. We're gonna go into wrestling. We're gonna go completely the other direction. And go with David. And the the the gears and the game of professional wrestling never stop, and, it's always gonna keep rolling. Doesn't matter what your name is, who you are, and that's such what makes the business so interesting. The machine never stops. Sometimes the parts fall off or sometimes the parts were replaced. I'm talking with Brett the Hitman Hart. The best there is, the best there was, the best there ever will be. When I come back, we're gonna go to fan questions and talk a little bit more with the one and only Bret Hart. Welcome to the Steve Austin Show. I was deep in conversation with the 1 and only Bret The Hitman Hart. A lot of you fans wrote in and asked questions. This entire last segment is gonna be your questions read by me and answered by Brett. And we're gonna start it off, Brett. Are you back with me here? Oh, yeah. I'm here. Well, listen. Let's start it off with this. Alright. Trim that out. Okay, Brett. During your time in Stampede Wrestling, who would you say was the most legitimately tough guy on the roster the whole time you were there? And that's from Patty over in Liverpool. Patty in Liverpool sent that. Well, there were a lot of legitimately tough wrestlers all the time. I mean, being tough isn't something you just go through, period. You know, like, you're really tougher. But I think, you know, my dad used to always say, you know, a lot of guys felt that haku was one of the toughest guys in the dressing room. I've always heard the name haku. Everybody that has been around says haku. Are you confirming that? I'm just saying that my dad used to his dad. Oh. You know, I'll imitate him. He used to I'd like to see the guy that's gonna take care of the Queen Constantine. And I, you know, I think about it and I go, undefeated sumo wrestler, undefeated amateur wrestler, undefeated in every kind of type of wrestling you could think of. Not too many guys pushing Earthquake around. Yeah. Yeah. Earthquake, pretty tough guy. He was he was super tough, man. I think, I I don't have any doubt he would've been a gold medalist if he decided he won the gold medal. But he he was undefeated Canadian heavyweight champion. No one even touched him. No one could beat him. He he had he don't if you ever look at him, he he was a big guy, big fat like a heavy guy. But he was built like a he built like a mastodon, though. He was big boned and heavy. You look at his look at his legs. Yeah. They're like tree trunks, man. They're like like like those ones in Oregon that are big redwoods. They're, like, huge. There's nobody pushing him anywhere. I don't even know if an elephant could push him too far. That'd have been a damn good WrestleMania match. Hey. We got another question. This is, let me see. This is coming from Conn. Brett from Khan in Oxford. Got a lot of people from England. Love the hit man. They're riding in. People listen to the show all over the world. Brett, if you were in a 100% top shape, who would you most like to get in the ring with and feud from today's WWE roster and why? Well, you know, the the guy I would love to work with the most would be Cena. I would love to have wrestled him and it'll never it could never happen, you know, just so everyone knows. But it could never happen. But ideally, he would have been a great, you know, and Steve would appreciate this. The the villain, the heel character that I sort of became in 97. That that Bret Hart, the one that was bashing Canada and with the Canadian flag and had the attitude and all. That same character against John Cena today would be a great, if you could morph them together. That that would have been a great match. I think I would have really, I would have some great psychology and great way to tell a story. And, Cena was the great perfect hero to go against, you know, that hitman character from that era. You know, I I would love to have done that. And in saying that, and it's sort of the same thing as, what happened with me and you, you know. When I think of when you and I worked, Steve, that was the beauty of it, is that you were the rest of them was going through this change. And, they started liking the the badasses and, you know, the guys like John Cena, they started to get tired of cheering for the same old sort of, you know, you got a number one baby face in the company kinda thing. It's like, you know what? We were not buying this guy and we're not gonna we're gonna go against the grain. And this it was a whole transition that's never been, you know I don't think, anyone could understand how hard it was. You never sometimes do what you would have happened to go to certain towns. And no matter how bad you get, they cheer for you and know how good, you try to be. They boo you, you know. And that whole trans that whole period and how we how we sort of switch places and sort of I always tell people, you wanna understand great great working and great psychology and great you 2 Russes appreciating the circumstances that what what's happening in the business around them and how to sort of I think it's a really, such a great time. I mean, I I know we've talked a lot of times about that match, but I really think there was some great art being made that's never been they'll never duplicate that art, that artistry that came from that time period. It was really, you know, it's amazing because I know that in Survivor Series when we fought, you and I, we we tried so hard to make that the greatest match of all time. Like, we really gave our all for that. So when it was over, it was like that. We did everything. We did everything we could think of, every move, every bang, every you know, I thought we took it to the edge. And then all of a sudden, the way I remember when we got worked at WrestleMania 13, it was kinda last minute and kinda like, okay, we'll just slap Brett Hart and Steve Austin together again. You know, they got kind of a building thing going and it's like, yeah, but we just worked a month ago kinda thing. It's like, wow, you're gonna work again. And it's like, we're gonna make it a no holds barred match. And, you know, I remember at the time thinking no holds barred, that takes out pinfalls. So that makes it even more boring and more harder. We're not gonna have the same, you know. And I remember thinking of the match I have with Bob Backlund, the I quit match, which I thought was my only really disaster match I ever had. But anyway, so I I I don't think anyone ever realized I I know I didn't that, you know, that that would be such a great match. I think going into it, I thought it was gonna be awful hard to come up. They had tried to duplicate whatever we had already done before. Well, you know, when you're talking about that match and us going back together so soon, I just, injured my knee. I was in San Antonio. I was off. It was about 2 or 3 weeks before, WrestleMania 13. And I was at home watching Monday Night Raw when it when Vince made the announcement that in a submission match, in the semi main would be Stone Cold Steve Austin, Bret the Hitman Hart. I was watching TV. I'm in the match. I just found out about it. The submission match totally pissed me off because, you know, I didn't have a whole arsenal of offensive moves anyway, and I damn sure didn't have any submission moves, maybe one. So I was petrified and mortified and pissed off. You know, of course, I hadn't been in the company really long enough for them to consult me or ask if it was okay if they booked me in a match, but I was hotter than some b***h. And I don't wanna talk too much about WrestleMania 13 or any of our matches because I want you to come back, and I wanna spend a total show on those because I wanna discuss certain segments of time that people can go back and reference as we pick through those matches. But your answer about John Cena and working with him, I totally see that. But also, I I love the heel aspect of Bret the Hitman Hart from way back in that 86 match with Ricky Steamboat. And I think Steamboat had actually requested to work with you. Was that true? I don't know. Do you remember the match I'm talking about, though? The the match that you're talking about was the we got news that we were working at WrestleMania. Correct. And they booked us in Boston and they booked us in Washington DC to get to sort of get comfortable with each other, get familiar with each other. And so the match that you watched was the very first match we ever had. But that night in the dressing room before that match, they came in and said the match got scrubbed during the they told me I was in the Battle Royale now. And that the Steamboat match was gonna be Hercules and Steamboat, which Oh. In the end probably was better because Hercules end up doing a match with them about 30 seconds long, which in jobs out to them and it was, like, was even worth the trouble. I would've hated doing that. But if you switched it. But if you go back, anybody on, a YouTube to to watch this match, that was 1986. Was that in Boston? That That was in Boston. You know, the beauty of that match is that we never worked with each other before, and we're Oh, that thing was a thing in beauty. It's just it's it's seamless. It it's so snug, and the timing is there, and that would have been Steamboat versus Bret Hart in Boston in 86. Catch that on YouTube. And you kind of, brushed upon the next question sent in from Marcy, and and here it is. And since you brought up my name, what was it that you saw in Steve Austin that you knew you wanted to work with him and give him the rub he needed? You know, without, you know, going to a big, long, you know, blowing a lot of smoke up, up your up your a*s kind of thing. I mean, the truth is, I mean, I remember going to Vince in when you were studying Steve and going, why is this guy not here? You know, I tell Vince, we don't have any Vince's office said we don't have anybody for for you to work with. I go, why don't you get Steve Austin? You know, because I used to bring your name up a lot. And, and I used to bring up Benoit's name a lot. And there are certain guys in WCW that I used bring up their names. Why don't you bring these guys in? They're they're free now. They're not working for them anymore. And, Vince would always think about it but then you'd never see him bring him in. And all of a sudden one day, there was Steve and it was like, finally. And I even told Steve that story when he first said that. I've been asking him to bring you in for since for for, like, 2 years now. And, you know, I was a big fan of Steve before he got to WWE. And, you know, I always tell people that tell me, they go, you know, you made Steve Austin and all that kind of stuff. And so, you know, that's not true. No. But you were a big part of the making process and and I'll never forget that. And and you gotta call a spade a spade. Would I would I have been okay without you? Yeah. Most likely, but that would you you can't take that, you know, you just can't take that component out of my career. You were already the hit man. You'd already established greatness, and you would continue, to go down the road that you did. You were already a made guy, feuding with you and you hand picking me, for that match, in Madison Square Garden. And I remember I told this story with Sean when he first came on the show, back in the day that we were in Houston. It was at the Houston Summit. I'd wrestled Sean in about a mid card match and you had watched the match and I remember you came up to me afterwards and you said, Hey man, that was a good match. And you said, I'll work with you any day. And so you were a big part of, helping make me and some people sometimes people don't understand the rub process. Certain things have to have to happen correctly, during some time to get people over. Guys don't get over just because they're over. It's a whole process of going through the process. So working with you was, you know, imperative for my career to to end up the way it did. And with the feuds and the story lines, I mean, you you couldn't have scripted a better story from really start to finish of the stuff that we did. I just remember a lot of the, like, the stuff I think you you used to sometimes say the odd comment about my dad, you know, about old man hard he'd done in his basement or whatever it is. You'd say something about it. You know, it would light up my dad so much he'd get a big smile on his face. Yeah. He'd they'd he would love it. And I and I always and I was, like, we had such good promos, considering we were 2 guys that really, got along pretty good. But our promos, I think, whenever I watch them, I go, I was really in my zone. Like, I we had a we seemed to understand each other's characters perfectly. How to always make each other's characters and keep pushing and pushing. And I I like when I look back to those days and the promos I was doing with you, I I think they were and yours in particular was like you were ahead of your time now. You're just you're just getting your, just getting familiar with where you were going. And, you know, I I, yeah, I always tell people, and this is true, that once I left WWE, I wasn't really a fan of, wrestling so much. I didn't I tried not to watch the show and the only guy I watched was was you. I always always love all the stuff you did. Even with Vince, I'd shake my head and go, yeah, I love it. That's good s**t. You know, damn, you know. I I I was like the only character that, to me, that really went back to my childhood of what a wrestling villain. But I think it was even a couple Bugs Bunny cartoons where they had arrested. It looked a lot like what your gimmick was. You know, the muscle, you know, the look, the whole the whole thing. You just, it's just, you know, you were always, we always had a good chemistry together in the ring too. I I do remember you working with Sean, all over the place in Texas and little towns. And I don't even remember the names of some of them. But I knew I do remember kinda peeking over, like, barn doors and stuff like that to watch you work and and coming back and saying, yeah. I wanna I wanna work with you sometime. And, you know, and then whenever we did work, I think we always always really worked well. I know, I think that I what I did for you a lot of the time was, I think you wouldn't you know, if it's fair for me to say, I think when you first got to WWE or when you first got to started working with me, you were still a little, you kinda go on or go on or you'd spit out of control sometimes. Like, you get a little you get going too fast. You get you end up somewhere where you didn't know where you were Yeah. In the match. And I think I was good at kinda teaching you to calm down, relax. It's not the whole match isn't screwed up. We'll just go back to this part. Now, we'll pick it up again. And I think I really taught you how to pace yourself better and just take your time. And, and I I noticed that years later, I was like, yeah. You you can tell, like, how much you've improved, like, not from the time period when you first worked with me in in, say, Survivor Series to even when you worked with me in WrestleMania 13. You know, the timing and the the understanding of how we worked in you know, really just the that was just 2 guys mostly playing off instincts of each other's characters, and it's like I love how we started it. I love how we how we duked it out all the way through. I always think that is what that's what this whole business is about, is, what we did in that match is that's that's the greatest art of pro wrestling that I can think of. This is the Steve Austin Show. But, you know, even when I go back and watch stuff, and I'm just so hypercritical of anything, that I see or do, and in picking apart the current product, I mean, you know, I I I don't mince words. It is what it is, and I'm just passionate about the business. I was watching part of that match, last night. You had, hit me in the corner. I was hanging from the turnbuckle with both arms. You spun me around, and that was when you started giving me those big haymakers, and I kicked you between the I kicked you right in the balls, and you went down. I started using the ropes to pull myself up, and the and the match continued. But when I was thinking, watching that last night, I was thinking, golly. You could have stayed down another 30 seconds. 30 real seconds. I could have, is who I'm referring to, then started pulling up those ropes. And we had that crowd right in the palm of our hands, but that was just the greatest natural double down that that could have happened, and it was. And when I look back and nitpick it, I should have stayed down for 30 seconds. That's what I think. You know, I always tell people, like, when I fought Bulldog in Wembley. And it was like I remember going through the whole match with Davey and it was a long story about the match. But I remember at the very end, I told Davey, I said, make sure you when, when when when we get up at the end, I said, I'm not gonna shake your hand. I won't I mean, I'll make like I'm a poor sport. I'm gonna keep making out. I'm gonna leave. But just keep giving me that just keep staring at me like, come on, you're my brother-in-law. Yeah. You know, it come on. You're dude, you know, I'd I'd beat you current square and I'm off in my hand. Just keep keep looking at me in the big puppy dog's eyes and I'll just keep getting like I'm gonna leave like f**k you Yeah. Kinda thing. And I told her, I said, we'll have that place. We could have that place. I'll have that 82,000 ready to start crying if we do it right. And you know what I remember? It's a little thing, but whenever I watch that match, I go, you can't I couldn't get Davey to look me in the eye. Every time he did, he turned, he started trying to work the crowd. Yeah. And I kept saying, you idiot. And the drama's with me. Right. With me. Look at me. Don't look at the crowd. Don't look at Diana. Don't and he kept. And I remember I finally you'd see me. I just finally throw my hands up and I just walk over and I hugged him because we it was all it was like he didn't get he forgot. Right. Never did get it. And then it's like one of those things that I can just tell you what it you know, when you watch that show, Bassett, as much great as that match is, it's the little details. And, you know, another thing that I do remember is when, you know, when you and I worked that we we always, always had good chemistry. We always always got along very good in the ring. And, you know, I don't think that, I don't think we ever didn't have good chemistry in the ring. Even, on that DVD that just came out, they have me and you working in South Africa. I don't know if you've seen that back in a while. I haven't seen that. I remember that match. I thought it could have been better, but I remember one time and and I did enjoy that match in South Africa. I think I was a little blown up from the travel schedule. But one time we were working in Kuwait, and I think we worked a string of shows together there. And you and I were always are you are you laughing? And you might know the story I'm about to tell. We're always dead serious in the ring. And and for the first few years, when I was in the business, I mean, I I didn't think you could smile. I didn't think you you were supposed to have fun. I just thought you were supposed to wrestle. And me in a competitive environment, man, I have killer instinct. I'm just out there to compete. Well, hello. Finally I learned how to relax a little bit and to loosen up a little bit and have fun out there, and when you're having fun, the people are having a good time. And it doesn't matter how serious the angle is, it's just you being you and in the moment, whether you're heel or babyface. Doesn't mean you have to smile, you're just having fun. And so I was out there playing a little bit of Gaga that night, and I was trying to get I was who was the referee in that match? I said, I bet I can get Brett to crack. And that's when I started flapping my wings like a chicken. And you barely laughed, and you always used your back of your hand and your hair to cover up your smile. And I almost busted you. Do you remember that? I do remember a match with me. I do sort of remember that. I'd and I remember, maybe it was the same week or same day within I think it was a 3 day trip. So, I remember Owen being in a match with, and maybe you were in it, maybe you weren't. But I remember whoever was in it with me, he he was all hijinks and he was pretending to smoke while he had guys in head scissor. He was pulling all his all his shtick out, all his funny little gags where he's taking the funny bumps, and he'd call high spots that were impossible to do. And I just remember I remember laughing on the apron so hard. I I think the hardest I've ever laughed in the ring was in in that match. And, you know, it's not very often that you can you get a chance to let like you said, to to to laugh every now and then. But, you know, I remember riding with Curt Henning, I always had a spot where he'd call out some kind of a duck the elbow cross body and then I'd hook the under and then he'd kick out and I'd roll under the rope and we go into a big series of high spots after that. But I remember the first time we did it, I dived a little early and he was a little too far back. And, you know, anyway, I ended up kind of hitting him around the shoelaces with a big crossbody and, you know, we both started laughing and it was like and I think the match turned out to be not not one of our best matches, anyway. So that was the very first time we worked and we always laughed about doing that spot. So every time we did work, we did it like that anyway. And they would always kick out, he'd kick out and I'd be laughing my head off under the bottom rope and I'd come up and I'd hit him with a tackle and I'd go through these all these high spots where I'm he's bumping and taking arm drags and I'm coming up and hip tossing. And then it was a lot of complicated stuff and I'm laughing all the way through it till I took him over in a headlock and I'm there lying there panting in the ring just catching my breath. And we'd both be just laughing our heads off and, you know, it was fun out there sometimes. It wasn't wasn't always, what people think it is. Hey, confirm this story for me. We're we're gonna wrap this thing up after this story. I always heard a story. I think it was before I came into company and everybody knew and we'll cover this in more detail next time you're on the show, but Owen used to pull ribs on everybody and he kept the whole crew laughing whether you were in the ring and he could also have a great match in the ring, but when it was time for a little bit of he was that guy and through the airports on the road everybody laughed with Owen. But one time, I guess it was like a battle royal situation, you guys are overseas, I wanna say it was India and somehow Owen snuck a bunch of tuna fish into the ring, and while you're on the mat, stuck the tuna fish in your mouth and had you in a camel clutch. Is that a true story? Yeah. I think that is a true story. What happened? I I can't remember. I don't I think it was a little more subtle than that. I think he I can't remember. But it doesn't for some reason, I'm thinking it was true. Well, okay. So what was the best rib Owen played that you sell? Well, I think the best one was, the best one was the one with, for me anyway, was the one with my dad and Reg Park. You know? That happened. Reg Park, used to wrestle. He used he was one of the first guys to make, championship wrestling belts. Give a little history on Reg Park. Yeah. Years and and really nice ones. Yes. Really nice. He was a standard. Body builder who had a really good body. He had a really good physique and was a, you know, fairly respected body builder before he got into wrestling. And, you know, always took good care of his body. Always was a good athlete and stuff like that. Pretty mild kind of timid guy, but not a shooter or anything like that. And, Olin could disguise his voice just because if you met Reg, and Olin only met him a couple of times when he went through Phoenix and stuff. He lived in Phoenix. Yeah. You know, Stu Noland loved him and every once in a while he'd come up and visit Calgary because Phoenix is kind of Calgary sort of, twins or whatever. And they, you know, Reg would come up all the time and say hi at different times of the year and, you know, pass him through. And so we kinda knew him, you know, a little bit. Knew that he worked for my dad and knew who he was. And I remember WrestleMania 4, I think, and then New Jersey or something. I brought my dad down and he was in a big suite with me and one of my kids in the room. And, he had a big long night shirt on. He was having a great time. He was seeing he was with his 1st WrestleMania and he was meeting different guys and wrestlers. And and, Owen decided to call him his first thing in the morning. And, we're just getting up and having breakfast and stuff like that. And my dad's in his night shirt. And, Owen decides that he's gonna call my dad up from the lobby of the hotel to pretend he's Reg Park. And he he calls up and I answered the phone because it was my room. And, he just he fooled me. I said, who is this? And he goes, it's Reg Park. Can we talk to your father or something like that? That? He describes he did sound just like Reg Park Yeah. Handed the phone to my dad and I go, it's Reg Park. And my dad gets on and it's like he's, how the hell are you Reg? And Reg, how are you? And they're laughing and no one's kinda playing along with it and they're having a couple of good chat and chatting away just like the real reg would. And and then all of a sudden, no one just turns on my dad and the but, Stew, you never had the guts to you never had the balls to try me or so. That was what it was. You never had the balls to try me. And he kept saying it to Stu and calling Stu calling Stu out on the phone and, call him, that he never that he he wanted wanted wanted Stu to fight him in the lobby of the hotel. And I just remember seeing my dad's face while he's holding the phone. First, it was like, how the hell are you, Ranj? And all that. And then the other ladies, Ed, if you wanted to try me, why didn't you try me? And I remember he got so worked up. I remember he he Owen kept taking it further and further and further until it got hysterical and he couldn't take it anymore. And my dad kept getting more warm wound up until I was actually, like, thinking I'm gonna have to step in and take the phone from him. And all of a sudden, my dad, I remember he slammed the phone down on the bed and sat on the bed and his night shirt. And he was just shaking his head and he looked at me. He goes, that lousy Owen. He got me. Because Owen finally just said, it's me, Owen. I'm pulling your leg. And it was, you know, it really was the funniest, I think, that he ever did. He got my dad big time. Oh, Jesus Christ. Oh, man. Laugh thinking about it. I know. That guy, he he, he made, a lot of people laugh. I tell you, going through the airports, sometimes we're dead dog tired, and and he'd pull a rabbit out of his hat and do something, and everybody would start laughing. But, alright. Spent an hour and a half talking to Brett the Hitman Hart. Brett, will you come back and join me on a future edition of the show? Because we've got so much more to talk about. I wanna go into specifics about, several of the pay per view matches we had. We touched on them briefly, teased a little bit, but break them down in details and nitpick them. Steve, I'd love to come back. It'd be great to chat. We hardly even get started. Seems like we cost about 15 minutes. This has been a Podcast 1 production. Download new episodes of the Steve Austin show every Tuesday at podcastone.com. That's podcastone.com. Do you own or rent your home? Sure you do. And I bet it can be hard work. You know what's easy? Bundling policies with GEICO. GEICO makes it easy to bundle your homeowners or renters insurance along with your auto policy. It's a good thing too because you already have so much to do around your home. Go to GEICO.com. Get a quote and see how much you could save. It's GEICO easy. Visitgeico.com today. That's GEICO.com. New to Podcast 1 Sportsnet, Michael Irvin and Ron Jaworski. The MIP. I am the MVP of the MIP. I am Michael Irvin, and I got a great show. It was a shock. It was a Back to the system. Yeah. I went to practice the next day. I made him the tackle. No big deal. Any other coach out here, you lose. You will lead too. But let me tell you what I pulled out of last week. It made me say, oh, that's a playmaker right there. Y'all saw it. I'm the guy. Right? I'm the guy. I'm the guy. Look out. Trouble is coming. Hello, everyone. This is Eagles Hall of Fame quarterback Ron Jaworski, and I am so excited to bring you the hottest new podcast for the NFL and gaming. Welcome to Jaws Picks featuring me, Ron Jaworski, as I give you my expert analysis and predictions of each and every NFL game. And you could hear the quarterbacks like it was in practice. Yeah. And, man, I was just loving hearing the quarterbacks call everything at the line of scrimmage. You know, they've kinda solved some of their problems over the last couple weeks, man. They were getting gutted on defense, but that's 53.3% correct against the spread. Download new episodes of the Michael Irvin podcast every Thursday and Jaws picks with Ron Jaworski every Wednesday and Friday on all your favorite podcasting platforms. I love reality TV on Pluto TV. Same. And I love that it's free. It gives me the freedom to watch Bravo's Real Housewives Vault channel. I'm totally free to watch Bad Girls Club. I'm free for Jersey Shore. Love and Hip Hop, I'm free all day. Survivor, I'm free all night. With 100 of free reality shows, you are totally free to watch what you love on Pluto TV. Pluto TV. Stream now. Hey, never. Pure exploitation, ineptly made, and completely repulsive. Hi. I'm Bobcat Goldthwait. And I'm Sean McKittrick. And 0 Stars is our podcast where we look at our bad reviews and Yeah. The bad reviews of anybody who will join us here. Michael McKinnon. Eddie Wong. 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