Saturday, August 9, 1997
Thanks, Canada!
By BRET "THE HIT MAN HART"
For the Calgary Sun
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You guys really blew me away. I wish I could have stopped to talk to
each and every one of you -- my great fans who have stuck by me
through thick and thin, who came out to the airports in Toronto and
Calgary to welcome the Hitman home to Canada, with the WWF
World Heavyweight Title, on Tuesday.
I hope you don't mind if I say, here's one tough guy who was really
touched by your loyalty and support. Especially since I'd just come
from hostile territory, in America, where people throw things at me and
spit on me because they can't deal with the truth. And they can't deal
with the fact that the Hitman has brought the WWF Championship
back to Canada -- for a fifth time!
The Americans are so self-centered that even though they know it's
the WORLD Wrestling Federation and the WORLD championship,
they think of it as the AMERICAN championship.
Hey, maybe we should have an American championship title. That's
fine by me. The Hitman vs. The American champion -- now that would
be a match I could sink my teeth into!
I guess The Patriot is the closest we're going to get to an American
champion right now.
I'll get back to that. First, I want to acknowledge some very brave
people -- namely, the American Hitman fans who are still out there --
the loyalist of the loyal -- they keep on hanging on! Night after night,
from building to building, I listen to the crowds and I hear them out
there. If you listen, you can hear them, too.
There they were singing O' Canada in New Jersey -- at
SummerSlam! They're not Canadian, but they sing our anthem as a
way of letting us know that they still respect The Hitman and they still
respect Canada.
The first time I won the WWF world title ('92), my goal was to live
up to being a good role model; to tell the truth, keep my promises, and
do my best to be the fightingest champion of all time. I've since found
out that in America, the truth hurts. If only I'd known then what I know
now. I'm a little wiser, a little older, a little tougher and a whole lot
madder.
Now, as five-time WWF champion, I've added another goal and
promise. I will not be victimized ever again. So now The Hitman is
making a few rules of his own. My rules are based on integrity and on
retribution. If that sounds like a conflict -- well, it is. It's a conflict I
have to deal with every single time I step in the ring.
With my American fans singing our anthem, my Canadian fans
coming out to welcome me home, and my fans all over the world
cheering me on, I guess that means I've got the balance right.
Now the question is, how will the WWF's new commissioner, Sgt.
Slaughter, tip the scales? His first act in office was to mandate that I
defend the title against The Patriot at the Ground Zero PPV on Sept.
7.
I have a serious problem with that. The Patriot, Del Wilkes, is new to
the WWF but he's an experienced wrestler with a lot of good moves.
The problem is that when I asked Slaughter who the Patriot ever beat
to earn a title shot, Slaughter said he beat me. Everyone knows that
Patriot never -- fairly -- beat The Hitman! It's obvious that Sgt.
Slaughter has chosen to be blind to Shawn Michaels' blatant
interference. You all saw what happened! So I have no respect for
Slaughter now -- not that I ever did! I think it would be a much better
idea to give the Undertaker a rematch at Ground Zero! I think we
need to get Sgt. Slaughter some glasses because he hasn't said
anything about how Shawn Michaels tried to hit me with a chair! Is
Slaughter going to make Michaels keep his word to quit wrestling in
America?
I came back to the WWF because I couldn't stand to see the
direction things were going. I came back because I couldn't stand the
thought of letting my fans down. I told you if I came back I'd have a
shovel, that there would be major changes. Little by little, the changes
are happening for the better but it's like pulling teeth. No one said it
would be easy. There's all sorts of talented young guys in the WWF --
and more on the way.
So I'd really like to take on all of these guys, one by one. Just 10
months ago, I was thinking about retiring. I'm more amazed than
anybody that today is just the beginning of a long, long road ahead.
But long after my own kids are older than me, it will still stand that the
Hitman is the best there is, was, and ever will be.
