Video: Full interview – Notts TV’s Iain Chambers meets ‘The Hitman’
His name stands alongside Hulk Hogan in the wrestling world and he was a gripping staple of 90s entertainment on television screens across the UK.
Today Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart remains a legend to fans of WWE and visited Notts County’s Meadow Lane in Nottingham on Friday as part of his UK tour.
He told Notts TV’s Iain Chambers he believes he’s now on the road to recovery after being diagnosed with prostate cancer in February and undergoing successful surgery.
“I’m happy to say I’m probably on the other side of it now, I’ll have to get checked for a long time, it’s hard to ever really say you’re cancer free, but I think I’m cancer free,” the 58 year-old said.
“I expect to have a full recovery.”
The Hitman in Profile
Born: July 2, 1957 (age 58), Calgary, Canada
Billed Height: 6ft
Billed Weight: 235lb
Debut: 1978
Retired: 2000
Hart retired in 2000 after suffering concussion following a kick to the head delivered by Bill Goldberg during a bout in 1999.
Brain injuries were recently brought to the forefront of the safety debate in wrestling after reports that Chyna, the late and legendary female wrestler had donated her brain to research into head injuries linked to the sport.
Hart said: “There’s a lot of talk about concussions in Wrestling – the truth about myself is I never got any brain injuries or concussions prior to the one I got from Bill Goldberg at the end of my career.
“I don’t have any hard feelings about it but I wish it had never happened.”
The untimely death of Chyna last Wednesday brought WWE into the international news agenda.
The 46-year-old, real name Joan Marie Laurer, blazed a trail for female wrestlers and was found dead at her home in California.
Fans have since debated whether or not she is worthy of a place in the WWE hall of fame.
Hart said: “Absolutely she is a worthy name for the hall of fame. In her own right she pushed that door open the most [for women’s wrestling] she really kicked those doors in.
“Say whatever you want about Chyna she had a tough life the last few years but she was one of the nicest people.
“When I met her she had a heart of gold and I feel really bad about how her life ended up. She never seemed to get over her falling out with Triple H and all that went along with that.
“She’s definitely a tragic story of wrestling and it’s a shame we lost her so soon.”
