Josh Alexander and Eric Young will engage in a battle of the Canadians this Sunday at IMPACT Slammiversary, but there’s one thing they can agree on before that happens.
Ahead of their bout for the IMPACT Wrestling World Championship, WrestleZone Managing Editor Bill Pritchard appeared on the IMPACT Press Pass to speak with both competitors. There’s been plenty of Bret Hart appreciation from the likes of CM Punk and FTR as of late, and Alexander and Young also shared their thoughts on Hart’s legacy and lasting appeal.
Eric Young: “For me, Bret Hart is one of the best storytellers that this business has ever seen. I think he’s a top three, if not top five, wrestler of all time. In the end, pro wrestling is art and it’s subjective. And everyone’s going to have their own choices and their own things. But I think anybody that’s done it at any level can fully appreciate and understand really how amazing he was. He had this innate ability that he had the whole world convinced that he’s the best technical wrestler in the world.
“He’s this technician. He did five things, in the end, he did four or five things. He had all these amazing ways of going in and out of them and these amazing transitions. But what to me, Bret was the best, was his physical storytelling and part of the business that I think is not lost but does take a backseat now and it will never take a back seat for me. I still believe it is the first and foremost. Physicality is a tool, but in the end we’re telling a story.”
“To me, the physicality of Bret and his ability to convince you who he was and what he was trying to convince the world was he had everyone, me included, convinced that he was that guy and he was convinced he was the best there is the best there was and they’re best there ever will be. The love for him is warranted, is earned, and he’s one of the best ever do it. So to me, the physicality side and moves that he does are not things that I do, but something I took from him, from watching him from a very young age was everything he did.”
“He made sure it was the best and he wasn’t going to do anything unless it was the best. And He had the best back breaker. He had the best regular suplex, he had the best turnbuckles, he had the best whatever it was that he was going to do, he did it at the highest level. And he never shows you anything but that. That comes with experience and that comes with passion, and Bret had them both.”
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Josh Alexander: “I find myself to be very lucky that I was born in Canada because when I discovered pro wrestling, I had to go to a video store and rent videotapes. When I did and you watched the entrance the first time Bret Hart comes out, I still remember from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. And the second they said Canada, I was just like, ‘Oh, this guy is Canadian, just like me’. And you know what? He just went under a microscope for me as a ten-year-old kid. So I’ve been able to study Bret Hart ever since I was ten years old. And I did so because of that instant bond, because he was Canadian.”
“Thankfully, because he was one of the best of all time. And EY just summed it up perfectly. He was fundamentally sound at every single thing he did, as was pretty much anybody that came out of The Dungeon. And I think that’s why Canadian Wrestling has such a rich history of being so good. But he was also one of the best storytellers. The match that I’ve watched probably 1000 times. It’s probably his most popular match, is him and Stone Cold Steve Austin at WrestleMania 13. Just the ability to be so physical and cut a pace like they did while telling this amazing story the entire time sums up what I think Bret Hart is.”
RELATED: Scott D’Amore Once Pitched Bret Hart As The Figurehead Of TNA’s Team Canada
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