WWE Hall of Famer Bret “The Hitman” Hart has once again taken aim at a top WWE superstar, criticizing former World Heavyweight Champion GUNTHER for his hard-hitting in-ring style and specifically his prolific use of chops.
Speaking on The Masked Man Show, Hart unloaded on wrestlers who he feels intentionally hurt their opponents, placing GUNTHER in that category. He stated that he believes the art of wrestling is making it look real without actually causing injury.
“The best wrestling has to pretend to be real. That’s what I did,” Hart said. “Contrary to that Gunther guy… I hate wrestlers that hurt each other on purpose.” He added that he has voiced his opinion directly to GUNTHER, saying, “I’ve told him this to his face, it’s bullshit. When you’re hurting somebody for real, you’re unprofessional.”
“The Hitman” blamed his old rival, Ric Flair, for popularizing the chop, a move he feels is lazy and ineffective. “Who ever won a fight with a chop? What a waste of time,” Hart stated. “They hurt, they look like shit. They make a big slap sound, but they hurt… I have no respect for guys that hurt each other all the time. It’s just to me, lazy, shit wrestling when guys like Gunther…”
Hart’s critique of GUNTHER’s style comes after the former champion has had several intensely physical and critically acclaimed matches. This past weekend at SummerSlam, GUNTHER lost the World Heavyweight Championship to CM Punk in a brutal main event encounter. Before that, he retired Goldberg in what was also a very physical bout at Saturday Night’s Main Event. GUNTHER’s hard-hitting style has become his trademark in WWE.