Bret Hart vs Chris Benoit (WCW, 10-4-1999)

WCW Monday Nitro, Kansas City, MO

This is a request via Ko-fi. This is one of the bigger matches in Nitro history, but it wasn’t for a title and wasn’t part of a storyline. It was Bret Hart and his hand-picked opponent for a tribute match to Bret’s brother Owen, who had died a little less than five months before this at the same arena in Kansas City.

Harley Race, a legend everywhere and particularly down in Kansas City in St. Louis, is the special guest ring announcer. “Of all the accolades I’ve ever had thrown at me in my career, this right here means more to me than probably 99.9% of them.” Mike Tenay joins commentary. Tony Schiavone says that they’re not calling this as announcers, “but as wrestling fans.”

Hart and Benoit shake hands before the match. Crowd chants, “Owen, Owen.” Tenay quotes Bret earlier in the evening: “By far, this will be the single-most important time that I’ve ever stepped into the ring. I’ll try to do my brother proud. I hope my best is good enough. I dedicate this match to Owen Hart and to those who loved him.”

Side headlock from Benoit, Bret turns it over into a quick pin attempt. Bret stands up and turns it over into a top wristlock. Benoit reverses, but Hart goes to a hammerlock, and then a side headlock. Bret with a shoulderlock, Benoit with a leapfrog, goes for a monkey flip, Hart pulls up on the ropes and they shake hands again and reset.

Knuckle lock, test of strength and Bret gets the first advantage. Benoit bridges down, and then back up. Kick to the gut from Benoit, straitjacket choke pushes Hart down to his knees, keeping him in that hold. Benoit spins him out and goes to a hammerlock. Benoit takes Hart down to the mat and stretches the arms back. Hart back up, Benoit puts his head in between the shoulder blades. Hart reverses.

Benoit backs Hart to the corner, then jumps inside-out with a dropkick to the gut. Snapmare from Benoit, then an armbar. Hart up quickly, looks to go behind, and hits a Russian legsweep. Right hand from Hart, snapmare, and into a chinlock. Benoit with a series of shots to get out, off the ropes, and Bret catches him with a knee to the midsection.

European uppercuts from Bret in the corner. Headbutt. Right hand to the top of the head. Kick to the gut from Benoit, and a hard chop. They’re turning up the heat a little bit. Bret hooks Benoit and hits a DDT. Benoit down, Bret flies out further than normal with the elbow from the second rope. Cover, two.

Benoit sent off the ropes, Hart goes for the kneelift again, Benoit counters with a rollup for two. Modified Boston crab with the legs extended up instead of back from Benoit. Hart gets the bottom rope. Hart sent off the ropes, Benoit with a backdrop for one. Side backbreaker from Benoit, taking something from Bret, cover, two. We go to commercial break but don’t worry: the tape machines are rolling.

Back from the break, Benoit hits a quick elbowdrop for two. Off the ropes, he goes for another, but Bret moves out of the way. Hart with a headbutt to the midsection on the downed Benoit. Suplex from Bret, cover gets two.

Bret goes to a chinlock. Side backbreaker from Hart. Bret stomps away at Benoit, knocking him to the floor. Hart follows to the floor, and drives Benoit’s back into the ring apron. Back into the ring, Hart with a stomp to the midsection as he continues working toward the sharpshooter.

Hart with a clubbing right across the back. European uppercut. Benoit sent off the ropes, goes around in a tilt-a-whirl, and comes out of it countering Bret’s intention with a beautiful tombstone piledriver! Cover gets two!

Both men down and the count reaches six before Benoit gets up. Northern lights suplex from Benoit gets two. Benoit stomping away. Benoit with a knee got the gut, gets another two count. Hart’s head rammed into the top turnbuckle. Headbutt from Benoit. Chop from Benoit. Bret sent off the ropes, but hangs on and Benoit’s headbutt hits nothing but air, and then the canvas. Bret drives an elbow down and has the advantage once again.

Bret with a back suplex, Benoit takes a violent bump on it just because he can. Bret laying in with right hands, goes off the ropes and charges, but Benoit drops down and Hart whiplashes himself off the ropes going for a crossbody. Benoit with a tope suicida to the floor! Another commercial break.

Tony explains to us that the match “took a rough and rugged turn” during the break, and Hart is back in control. “He had Benoit up against the apron and he just wasted the man.” Rollup exchange for two on each side. Bret in control, but Benoit counters a European uppercut with a backslide for two.

Benoit pulls himself up, but Bret is fresher and lays in shots to the back again. Headbutts to the lower back. Inside cradle from Benoit gets two. Benoit getting more desperate as Hart stays relentless in his attack. Benoit sent hard into the corner, bounces out right into an atomic drop. Bret goes for a superplex, Benoit headbutts his way out of it, but Bret gets a European and hits the superplex on a second attempt, a pretty one at that — pretty and nasty.

Bret goes for the sharpshooter, Benoit grabs the arm and pulls him over for the crossface! He’s got it on! Benoit cranking on it, Hart reaching for the bottom rope, and does get it!

Benoit with the snap suplex, hangs on, hits a second, hangs on, hits a third. Benoit signals for the finish. Hart halfway across the ring, and Benoit hits the flying headbutt! Cover gets a long two count. Benoit pulling Hart up, back suplex hits. Benoit, tired, slow to get up himself, and he drops another quick elbow down into the chest. “Let’s go, Bret!” chant. Benoit looks around at the crowd.

Bret sent off the ropes but reverses and hits a back elbow in one motion. Hart with a piledriver! Cover, two, Benoit gets his foot on the rope. Benoit sent to the corner, where he hits chest-first in Bret style. But he comes out with a series of wicked chops and a forearm to the side of the head. Bret sent into the corner, Benoit charges, Bret gets a foot up. Benoit goes for a dragon suplex, Bret breaks the full nelson, but he can’t stop Benoit transitioning to the German! Another one! Bret blocks a third, but Benoit hits him in the back of the head and goes for it again. Benoit goes for the northern lights again, but Bret fires away to the injured back.

Benoit goes for the crossface again, partially in desperation, and Hart blocks it this time, grappling Benoit down tot he mat and looking to position the legs for the sharpshooter, a struggle that pans out! He turns him over! Benoit holding on, but he taps out!

Rating: 5/5. Couldn’t have done much better for what the match was supposed to be. It doesn’t have the raw emotion of a match resulting from a normal feud or personal issue, but it’s a marvel of basic, effective in-ring work. Some people, I suspect younger fans, not meaning to be a dick about people being younger than me, don’t quite get the hype behind this match.

But I was 17 then, so I was right at an age where this all meant quite a lot to me. Bret Hart is probably my all-time favorite wrestler. Owen Hart was one of my favorites. Chris Benoit was one of my favorites. When I was a kid, before I realized just how little work ethic and drive I have compared to what it would take, I used to dream of going to the Hart Dungeon and learning to wrestle. The Hart Dungeon and the people who came out of it were almost mythical figures to me.

This is a celebration of that style of wrestling, in tribute to a fallen brother and friend. This match meant a ton to me at the time, and it still does. It’s also Bret Hart’s last truly great match — he really never was the same after Montreal, and he really wasn’t the same after Owen, and his career didn’t last a lot longer, anyway, as he would get hurt and forced into retirement in early 2000, just a few months after this match.

It is Bret’s broken-hearted love letter to what he thought professional wrestling should be, warning his love of what it would become.

I love what this match represents, I love how it’s worked, I just love the match. I’m not star rating, I’m rating on how much I enjoy matches, how much they impacted me, what they mean to me, it’s not meant to be scientific. This is a five-spot because it just is. It’s a truly important match in my life as a wrestling fan, and I felt a well of emotions watching it again almost 19 years after it happened.