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Bret “The Hitman” Hart is someone whose career was tragically cut short, but he still has a place in the hearts of fans as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time. For some, he is the best ever. Due to how much he still had left to give, that alone is a testament to how perfect he was. Following years of wrestling at the top of his game, becoming both WWE and WCW World Champion in the 1990s, disaster struck at the latter end of 1999 when he was on the receiving end of a wayward kick from Goldberg that caused his career to come to a close. Some fans may forget though that Hart continued wrestling for a short while after this moment.
Goldberg And Bret Hart Faced Off At Starrcade 1999
Following some time of both teaming together and feuding, two of WCW’s biggest stars met in the main event of Starrcade 1999 with the WCW World Heavyweight Championship on the line as Bret Hart and Goldberg went head to head. The match itself was pretty basic, though with far too many referee bumps. During the match, Goldberg gave Hart an Irish Whip into the ropes, and when he came back, Goldberg planted him with a superkick to the head.
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After a brief second, Hart could be seen clutching the side of his head, though he shot back up and continued on with the match, and didn’t seemingly show any signs of serious damage. He was then speared by Goldberg, taking the move like normal. Roddy Piper emerged as the Special Guest Referee, calling for the bell in a blatant attempt to reenact the Montreal Screwjob, and awarded Hart the title as the show went off air to a chorus of boos from the crowd. Little did everyone know that this match would be the reason behind Hart’s career shortly coming to an end.
Bret Hart’s Career Was Ended By A Kick From Goldberg
Hart would explore this incident in his autobiography, Hitman: My Real Life In The Cartoon World Of Wrestling (h/t ProWrestlingStories), detailing, “It felt like someone chopped me with a hockey stick. It was an agonizing blow that sent me crashing to the mat where I lay holding my neck just behind my right ear at the base of my skull.” Some fans may wonder as to why Hart continued to wrestle, but he did so due to not realizing in the moment the seriousness of what happened. He expanded that he remembered thinking, “I’ve got to get up for the finish, but I can’t remember what it is.”
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Of course, in more modern times the assessment of concussions is far more well known, and the protection of sports stars and wrestlers is more of a priority, especially when it comes to head injuries, but Hart was not in any state to put two and two together. From there, Hart himself admitted that he played things down in the aftermath, not letting on how he was feeling, and instead allowed himself to suffer and get through each day with “a pale-faced, sweaty, head-pounding stupor, pacified to the point of numbness by the four Advils I took every three hours.”
Over the next month, Hart did see doctors who monitored his condition and ran tests on his neck, deeming him unable to continue wrestling. However, this conclusion and the decision to retire was not an immediate one, as Hart continued to wrestle over the next few weeks despite an injury which would have caused even further life-long damage.
Bret Hart Wrestled Several Times After The Goldberg Kick
Hart would go on to wrestle on the next three episodes of Nitro and two episodes of Thunder, wrestling the likes of Goldberg, Jerry Flynn, and finally Kevin Nash in what would be his final match before retiring. He would wrestle on house shows too against Goldberg, competing in eight matches in total after the kick. Finally though, the conclusion was made to walk away from the ring and drop the WCW World Title.
RELATED: 10 Things About Bret Hart's Life Outside Of Wrestling Fans Should Know
In the years since, Hart has actually competed in a few matches. In 2010, after Hart had made amends with WWE and returned for a storyline against Mr. McMahon, he “wrestled” the boss at WrestleMania 26. This was mostly a match with Hart offering out punches, kicks, and chair-shots, not taking any bumps, as was the case for the rest of his matches during this stint as well. Hart competed against the likes of The Miz, Chris Jericho, Edge, The Nexus, and Alberto Del Rio, in addition to some house show matches, but he was never on the receiving end of much punishment due to the condition of his body.
