[1992-04-05-WWF-Wrestlemania VIII] Bret Hart vs Roddy Piper

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

Is there a better Piper singles match on tape than this? I can't think of one, although I suspect he has had better matches. Very good match. Well-scripted and Piper did jobs rarely enough that Bret going over clean was a big deal. The finish has been copied many times, but it's still a great finish.

[Matt D]

My other two favorite WWF Piper matches are Piper vs Hennig 12/90 MSG and Piper/Orton vs Orndorff/Andre 8/10/85 MSG.

 

I'm not sure either are better than Piper/Hart (and admittedly one is not a singles match), but I wouldn't mind someone else chiming in on that.

[soup23]

I don't think it is on the level of Piper/Hart but I have also thought the dog collar match was very intense and well done.

[Frankensteiner]

I agree that this is well laid out match. I think Bret's selling made this match for me. The post-match with Bret bloody, barely able to stand and Piper strapping the belt around Bret's waist was a great image.

 

I was trying to think of other major face v. face matches in this era and couldn't think of anything other than Warrior/Hogan. I know there's probably been some house show matches between mid-carders or tag teams (Tito/Koko, Harts/Rockers) but I can't think of anything major. I'm probably missing something.

[Bix]

Dog Collar would be the closest with the Rude cage match at #3, IMO.

[Gregor]

I was trying to think of other major face v. face matches in this era and couldn't think of anything other than Warrior/Hogan. I know there's probably been some house show matches between mid-carders or tag teams (Tito/Koko, Harts/Rockers) but I can't think of anything major. I'm probably missing something.

Savage/Warrior later in the year at SummerSlam.

[Dylan Waco]

Dog Collar would be the closest with the Rude cage match at #3, IMO.

Rude Cage Match is a good match, but I find it hard to believe that's a top three Piper singles. The fun Savage match probably isn't quite as good but it's near the level of the Rude match and that doesn't seem like a match you would put in someone's top three.

 

Actually Buddy Rose had at least one really good match with Piper from memory.

[flyonthewall2983]

Watching it at the time I wasn't shocked by the blood, but looking back it's surprising they did as much color that day as they did. Although Flair later told the story about McMahon chewing him out for doing it.

[Loss]

Bret admitted he lied and said he bled hardaway when he bladed. Flair saw that Bret bladed and thought that meant he could too. Vince chewed him out for it.

[Tim Evans]

Love this match. Watching this again, did anyone notice the huge Four Horsemen sign in the crowd before the match started?

[NintendoLogic]

I'm pretty shocked that Bret was able to con Vince so blatantly. How often do people accidentally gash their foreheads?

[flyonthewall2983]

Vince may have let it slide for more personal reasons. In Bret's book, he said that weekend of the show, Shane made a rather rude gesture towards his wife and had a heated confrontation from what I remember reading.

[Boondocks Kernoodle]

I don't even think he hid it all that well, because when I was 10 years old, I didn't even know what blading was, but I saw that spot and told my brother "when he goes to fix his boot he's pulling out the blood capsule, and when he holds his head after Piper hits him that's where he breaks it."

[El-P]

Terrific match, and no, I don't think there was ever a better Piper match. Clearly one of Bret's best performance.

[Frankensteiner]

I don't think 1992 is Bret's best year but I think he does have a case for US WOTY. To me it's a toss-up between Bret, Steamboat, and Windham (I think Sting, Rude, Vader, and Savage could also be in the conversation). Bret doesn't have the quantity of Steamer and Barry but I don't know if you can hold that against him because he didn't have the same number of opportunities. Plus his opponents weren't nearly as good.

[shoe]

This is one of Piper's best matches. Easily in his top 10 single matches. This match really made Bret because Piper was a huge star. Though Piper did own Bret on the promos. I loved the segment before the match.

[Johnny Sorrow]

Terrific match, and no, I don't think there was ever a better Piper match. Clearly one of Bret's best performance.

Piper/ Valentine Dog Collar is better. But it is in the top ten of Piper matches for sure.

[Exposer]

I feel like he had a match with Buddy Rose that was as good or better.

[Kevin Ridge]

Think this gets better on multiple viewings. Big crowd and arena is pretty lit up. I think entrances look bigger with smaller stages. If that makes sense. Bret pretends to hurt his shoulder and gets a small package on Piper. I liked both good guys pulling out sneaky moves. Piper teases using the ring bell and crowd are happy he tosses it aside. Figure there be a bigger pop for the Sleeper but do like the finish. My favorite Piper match.

[MikeCampbell]

This was great more for the characters than the actual work, although the work isn't too shabby either. It's fun watching Bret and Piper both taking little shortcuts on each other, Bret faking the injury to get the cradle and Piper letting the fists fly and getting Bret bloody. The finish is a bit out of nowhere, but was original at the time, and it's been aped plenty of times since.

[WingedEagle]

Definitely a seminal moment in Hart's rise as a single. Piper heels a bit early spitting at Hart. Hart fakes a shoulder injury to set up a small package that ratchets things up a bit. After another cheap shot by Piper Hart blads himself and works underneath for a while. We get an early five moves of doom but the sharpshooter is blocked. Piper thinks about cementing his heeldom with a chair but can't bring himself to do it and then comes the finish.

 

Whether its because I started watching a few years after his big run in the mid 80s and thus didn't have any connection to him, Piper is someone who's never done it for me. Good fire, quick on the mic and clearly charismatic but I never saw him as anything special. Still a good match due to Hart but I'll always remember it because of him.

 

***1/2

[Laney]

I love this match. WrestleMania VIII one of the few wrestling tapes that the video rental in my hometown had, so I watched this many times as a child. I really enjoyed the story of this match and I definitely rank it as Piper's best.

 

In his book Bret writes that he fooled Vince with the blade job and avoided paying a fine since everyone thought it was hardway. He also writes that the Flair bladejob on the same show was blatantly obvious and both Flair and Savage were fined.

[PeteF3]

Piper's back to being a happy-go-lucky guy, but takes passive-aggressive potshots at Bret throughout until Bret basically tells him to shut his yap. Bret tries to pull Piper's "I woulda had you" move, but Piper's ready for him.

 

This doesn't reach the heights of the retirement match a year earlier--nothing could--but this is still a tremendous WWF sports entertainment match, but one with some pretty surprising hate and fire behind it. Even if it's just because of the blood, it holds up well in the face of the stiffer brawls elsewhere on the Yearbook. Terrific finish that would recur throughout Bret's career. This gives both Shawn and Bret upset victories over Piper in the span of a few weeks, which can be seen as a sign.

 

And this is in a jumble of the top 3 Piper matches, along with 12/90 against Perfect and the dog collar match. Haven't seen the Rude match since watching the '80s WWF set but I think it's just below the other 3.

[Karl]

Bret and Piper are two guys I don't think I every really appreciated enough until they stopped wrestling. You dont know what you got 'til its gone. Love this match.