What led to an increase in the rift between Bret Hart and Goldberg after 1999?

Even, when Bret Hart's career came to an early end at the hands of Goldberg, both superstars seemed friendly towards each other. However, over the years, there seems to be more animosity within the Hall of Famers.

What led to an increase in the rift between Bret Hart and Goldberg after 1999?

Bret Hart and Goldberg at Starrcade 1999 (via WWE)

Bret Hart is one of the greatest to ever step foot inside the squared circle. The WWE Hall of Famer has had some of the best technical matches in the industry. There is no doubt the 90s is that period when The Hitman was at its zenith in the ring winning multiple world titles. However, the dream run for Hart became a nightmare in mere seconds during a match against Goldberg.

While Bret was making his name with his technical prowess in WWE, Goldberg was decimating people with sheer strength over at WCW. The two wrecking forces would eventually meet each other in the ring in 1999. While they had some matches on Nitro and Thunder, it was their infamous encounter at Starrcade that had some lasting impact on both of their careers.

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In 1999, Bret Hart was already a veteran in the ring, while Goldberg was still relatively new to the world of professional wrestling and not as refined a wrestler as Hart. Nonetheless, when the two of them competed for the World Heavyweight Championship at the main event of WCW’s biggest PPV of the year, fans had high hopes going into it. However, the bout is now only remembered for one of the biggest botches in Wrestling History.

During the match, Goldberg delivered a kick to the former WWE superstar’s face which landed a little too hard. Consequently, this blow to the head gave a concussion to Bret, whose seriousness wasn’t realized at the time. He continued to wrestle for a few weeks after the head injury which developed a post-concussion syndrome. The diagnosis eventually forced Hart to draw the curtains on his storied career in early 2000.

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Bret Hart’s issues with Goldberg’s later run in WWE

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Goldberg inadvertently ends Bret Hart’s career with a kick (via Twitter)

While everything felt good between the pair immediately after the event, as more time passed Bret voiced out some unspoken issues with Goldberg. Speaking with Inside the Ropes, the WWE legend revealed that his Starrcade opponent only called him eight months after the event to apologize, which was “irrelevant at that point.” The Hall of Famer went on to thrash on the Bill, “I don’t think he ever understood, or I don’t know that he even does now or even cares that he cost me, honestly, cost me 16 million dollars in, like two seconds, and ended my career.”

Bret voiced his thoughts on Goldberg’s current run in WWE as well. He criticized the company for paying him millions and inducting him into the Hall of Fame. While speaking on Steve Austin’s podcast, Bret said, “[Goldberg] was one of the most unprofessional wrestlers to ever work in the business. For Bill Goldberg to be in the Hall of Fame… he hurt everybody that he worked with. You might as well wrestle a real gorilla. He was the most dangerous guy to work with.”

To see a man, who ended his career, still compete in the squared circle and make millions seemed like a much bigger deal for Bret Hart as the years have gone by. While Bret returned to the ring in 2010, the second run never felt as good as his prime. The Excellence of Execution must have seen Goldberg’s recent success and felt like he could have made all that money if it was not for that unfortunate night in 1999.

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