Pro Wrestling Chronicle

Match # 104: Chris Benoit vs. Bret Hart (Nitro 6/22/98)

This is not the famous match the two would have in late 1999 in memory of Bret’s deceased brother, Owen Hart. We’ll get there. This is a forgotten match from Nitro unearthed on this set, and I’m excited because I don’t remember it off the top of my head.

Hart comes out to the NWO music. What a waste this WCW run was for his career. I dig the way Hart starts out with subtle heel tactics, hair pulls and possible eye rakes, and slowly becomes more heelish. Benoit tries to grind him out with some technical holds, but Hart’s cheating short cuts win out. Hart is carrying the match with his selling and sudden movement, because what this match is lacking is a lot of movement or intensity as it moves forward. Hart manages to beat him on the outside and get back in to get the crowd booing, but Benoit wasn’t much of a face here.

Hart nailed an excellent pile driver for a near fall. Tony calls it a “Tombstone pile driver”, which is not the move or the right company. Heenan’s no better, claiming both men are from Calgary. They were to worried about each other half the time, and Tenay would step in to clear the air. We get a commercial while Hart works him over, but this is rather uninspiring considering the two talents.

Harts frustration and Benoit’s come back totally elevates this in a matter of seconds. Benoit comes all the way back, both selling, but misses the diving head butt. Top rope superplex and a great near fall on Hart. Benoit’s frustrated now. He switches into the Crippler Crossface, but Bret makes the ropes. Stevie Ray of the NWO is out to distract while Hart clobbers Benoit from behind with “an object” made to look like brass knux. But he goes further, which I give style points for, as he rolls Benoit over on him. He lets Benoit get a two count, kicks out, and throws him in the Sharpshooter for the win in about 15 minutes. It became what I was looking for as a fan as the story unraveled, but it didn’t have the punch for me that other matches on this disk did. Better than the lesser Booker-Benoit match, but you didn’t fully feel the struggle. 3 ¼ and 6.7/10.