Bret Hart vs The British Bulldog (WWF, 12-17-1995)

WWF In Your House: Season’s Beatings, Hershey, PA

This is a request via Ko-fi. The family is divided for Christmas! Bret’s WWF title is on the line against the man “he’s never beaten.”

Davey Boy has Jim Cornette and his wife Diana in his corner. Cornette goes back to 1981 in Stampede Wrestling to detail Bret’s jealousy of Davey. Bret promises revenge. Davey’s reportedly wearing the same trunks he wore at SummerSlam ’92.

C&E, they shove off. C&E, Bulldog shoves him back again. Circle around, C&E, side headlock takeover from Smith, Bret counters out, drop toehold and an armbar for Hart. Davey Boy rolls out, then yanks the hair and Bret down with it, into an armbar for Smith. Bret pushes it to the corner and gives a clean break.

Armdrag takeover into an armbar from Bret. Driving knees down into the biceps. Bret off the ropes, over Davey Boy, crossbody gets two for Bret. Inverted atomic drop from Hart, then to the midsection with a boot. Armbar again from Bret, Bulldog sends him off the ropes, this time catches Hart with a kneelift at mid-ring. Hair pull and slam from Bulldog.

Bulldog gets Bret up for the powerslam, but doesn’t try it, just drops him into the TREEAWOE. Smith accidentally elbows Earl Hebner and helps him up, then goes back to work in the TREEAWOE. Finally, Smith lets Hart down and continues to hammer away, throwing a forearm to the back. Chinlock from Bulldog.

During this rather slow start, the PA crowd starts a brief “ECDub” chant in December 1995. Bret fights out of the chinlock, goes for a crucifix, Davey drives him down with the counter. Legdrop from Bulldog gets two.

Vince gets word that The Undertaker will face the WWF champion at Royal Rumble ’96. Bulldog stays in control and Cornette jabs Bret in the throat with the racket handle, Davey covers for two. Chinlock again from Davey Boy.

Bret with shoulders in the corner, but a whip is reversed and Bret meets the turnbuckles hard, sternum-first, Hitman-style. Cover gets two before Bret gets a foot on the rope. Hart off the ropes, back body drop from Bulldog. Cover gets two again.

Another chinlock from Bulldog. Bret up again, tries to shove him off with a whip, but Davey grabs the hair and rides him down to the mat. Cornette talks shit at ringside. Again Bret tries to whip Davey off, does so, Davey with a tackle. Bret with a leapfrog and a monkey flip to turn the tide!

Inverted atomic drop again from Bret, then a big right hand puts Smith down. Headbutt to the midsection. Running bulldog on the Bulldog gets two. Right hands from Bret. Davey reverses a whip, ducks too soon, piledriver from Bret! “Hey! He learned that from me!” Lawler shouts.

Bret covers, gets two again. Diana looking on concerned at ringside. Bret with the fist to the gut, Russian legsweep, then up to the second rope for the elbow. It connects. Bret sets Bulldog on the top rope, looking for the superplex. Another Diana split screen, but Bulldog blocks the superplex and tosses Bret crotch-first on the top rope. Hart falls to the floor.

Bulldog follows out after taking a short breather. Clothesline to the back sends Bret crashing into the ring steps. Davey breaks the count, then picks Bret up and rams him into the ringpost. Then into the guardrail.

Bret’s busted open bad. ECW fans chant “he’s hardcore.” Back in and Bret hits the turnbuckles hard, back-first this time. Davey Boy sets for a piledriver of his own, and he hits it. Two count. Smith gets him up for the delayed vertical and drops him down. Diana split screen and ZOOM. She is distraught. Vince asks for the cameras to stay wide because of the blood. They’re staying on this split screen forever.

Gorilla press slam from Smith gets two. Scoop slam and Davey Boy goes up top. He hits a flying headbutt right to Bret’s ass cheeks. Cover gets two. Smith comes up limping a bit, but ties Bret up in a bow-and-arrow. Bret flips out quickly, then grabs the sharpshooter, but Smith slips out! Davey Boy with a stomp, but his knee is clearly bothering him now.

Bulldog with a shoulderblock, Bret goes flying out to the floor again. Even Vince wants the match stopped in Davey Boy’s favor. Oh, boy, another split screen on Diana. Bret comes back in with a bridging German suplex for two, a desperation move.

Double clothesline puts both men down. Both back up, and Davey charges Bret at the ropes, only to get backdropped out to the floor. Cornette coming to Smith’s aid. Bret with a slingshot plancha and he rains down with right hands. Bret springs back off the ropes with some sort of flying attack, but he’s caught on Smith’s shoulder, and Davey hits the powerslam on the floor!

Davey tearing up the mats at ringside to expose the concrete floor. He goes for a suplex, but Bret blocks and crotches Smith on the guardrail, then clotheslines him off. Back into the ring, Bret hits the side backbreaker for two.

Hart puts him up top again, this time hits the big superplex from the top rope! Slow turn to cover, two count. Bret argues with Hebner, Davey rolls him up, Bret reverses it for two! Bulldog off the ropes, Bret headbutts him in the gut or something, maybe it was a punch, either way he stays in control.

Bret reversed into the corner, but he gets a boot up on a charging Bulldog. Bret cradles the Bulldog, rolls him over, and gets the pin! Unlike Wembley there’s no embrace in Hershey, with Davey Boy simply limping out of the ring with his wife and manager as the pyro goes off over the ring for Bret.

Rating: 4.5/5. It’s probably a better-worked match than their more famous Wembley affair from ’92, but it lacks the emotional punch of that one in some ways, too. That said, this one has charms by the bushel. Though it starts a little slower than you might hope, considering there’s some grudge and some history and the family drama and all,  when it picks up, it REALLY picks up. Bret’s blood staining Bulldog’s tights throughout the latter portion of the match is a great visual, and Hart fighting back from behind as the greatest WWF champion of all-time is always good stuff. Davey Boy isn’t always my favorite guy to watch, but when in with the right opponents and motivated, he could be counted on to deliver, too, and he’s really good here. The powerslam on the floor is a wild ass spot for ’95 WWF, and the match gets into a really gritty war of attrition once Smith hurts his own knee and gives Bret the opening to come back. The production choices are not great — the split screen on Diana is comically overused — but it doesn’t really detract from the match if you’re able to kinda tune it out and just chalk it up to the WWF being the WWF. Bret Hart from 1991-97 is someone I enjoy watching as much as I enjoy watching anyone else from any time ever, and this match would go on a comp tape if I made one for that period of his career.