Bret Hart Has Major Regrets About His Pro Wrestling Career

As storied a career and legacy in pro wrestling that Bret "The Hitman" Hart had through the decades he stepped into the square circle, he still has a particular regret about his time in the industry.

"I watched Undertaker and Shawn Michaels wrestle at one of the WrestleManias," Hart told The Ringer. "Even then, I had such a bitterness towards Shawn, but I had to admit it was one of the greatest matches I ever watched. That's where I ended up deciding to make friends with Shawn and bury the hatchet and all that." He added, "We've been friends ever since. And I'm grateful that he's in a better place today. I wish that none of the bad history that we had ever happened. I wished I'd never left for WCW, because I probably wouldn't have had a stroke and I probably wouldn't have had to wrestle Bill Goldberg."

Hart departed WWE for WCW following the Survivor Series pay-per-view in 1997 — infamously known as the "Montreal Screwjob" — in which Shawn Michaels was involved. But during their parallel runs in WWE, Hart and Michaels maintained a heated rivalry, both in and out of the ring, and were often at odds with one another. 

Hart's in-ring career came to an abrupt end while in WCW while suffering from severe post-concussion syndrome, kickstarted by head injuries sustained during a WCW World Heavyweight Championship clash with Goldberg at Starrcade in 1999. Hart later had a stroke in 2002 following a bicycle accident. After recovering, "The Hitman" would return to WWE in 2006 to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.