This Day In History - October 12th

October 12th

On this day in ....

1992 - Bret "Hitman" Hart defeats Ric Flair for the WWF World Heavyweight Title in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. Flair submitted clean to the Sharpshooter, beginning Hart's first run with the World Title and ending Flair's second reign with the WWF belt. For a complete look at this historic match, go to Page 2!

1992 - Butch Reed defeats Junkyard Dog for the USWA Unified Heavyweight Title in Memphis, Tennessee.

1998 - Ken Shamrock defeats X-Pac in a tournament final for the WWF Intercontinental Title at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, Long Island. The belt had been vacated when current champion Triple H suffered a knee injury. Here are full results from the tournament:
First Round:
- Ken Shamrock defeated Steve Blackman.
- Val Venis defeated Marc Mero.
- X-Pac defeated Jeff Jarrett.
- Mankind defeated Mark Henry (This match saw the debut of the "Mr. Socko Mandible Claw").
Semifinals:
- Ken Shamrock defeated Val Venis.
- X-Pac defeated Mankind.
Finals:
- Ken Shamrock defeated X-Pac.

1999 - Mankind & the Rock defeat The New Age Outlaws for the WWF World Tag Team Title in Birmingham, Alabama, starting their third tag title reign, and ending the fourth reign for Billy Gunn & Road Dogg. On the same show, Big Bossman won the WWF Hardcore Title by defeating champion Al Snow and The Big Show in a three way match. This began the fourth and final Hardcore title reign for the Bossman.

2006 - WWE announces that Francine and Gunner Scott were being released. Francine had been hired prior to the ECW relaunch, but rarely appeared on WWE television. Scott had been brought up from OVW for a brief run on Smackdown, then sent back to OVW before being released. At the same time, WWE announced that Pat Patterson, who had gone into semi-retirement and was dealing with some health issues, was returning to the company full-time as a producer (agent) for the company.

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Here we look at one of the highlight's of Bret Hart's career, the night he defeated Ric Flair for the WWF World Heavyweight Title. In his book, Ric Flair says the match is "awful" and that it never aired on television. While the Nature Boy is certainly entitled to his opinion, the match DID air on television. It was shown on an edition of Prime Time Wrestling, and was later put out on a WWF Coliseum Home Video release.

Mat Classic: WWF World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair vs. Bret Hart
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada - October 12, 1992

The History

The WWF was in a period of transition. Vince McMahon was still handling the steroid and sex scandals, and had made the decision away from muscular monsters like Ultimate Warrior and Davey Boy Smith, and instead push smaller, more athletic wrestlers like Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels. Ric Flair, the WWF World Champion, had won the title from Randy Savage only six weeks earlier in Hershey, Pennsylvania. No one was expecting this title change, as Hart was seen as an "Intercontinental Title-level" worker at the time.

The Match

They circled each other, then locked up, with Flair backing Hart into a corner, and Earl Hebner getting a clean break out of the two. Flair let out a pair of "Whoo's" before moving back in to lock up. Flair grabbed a side headlock, trapping Hart's left arm as well, and took him to the mat. Hart got to his feet, ducked out of the hold, and and the two exchanged hammerlocks. Hart grinded in his, pulling up on the arm, and Flair made the ropes. Hart broke, and Flair slumped to the mat, clutching his arm. They locked up again, and Hart stood on the bottom rope in a corner, grabbing an armtwist. Flair kept Bret in the corner, and broke up the hold. Flair grabbed a wristlock and kicked Bret in the leg. Flair, then whipped Hart hard in the corner. Flair went for a vertical suplex, but Bret blocked the attempt twice, then hit his own vertical suplex for the first two count of the match. Bret Hart hit a headbutt, and then backdropped Flair. Bret stomped Flair in the gut, after teasing a Sharpshooter first. Flair rolled to the floor for a breather.

Ric Flair walked around ringside, shaking things off then reentered the squared circle. Hart placed Flair in a side headlock, but Flair turned it into a top wristlock, bending Hart backwards towards the mat. Hart bridged back, forcing Flair down and applying an armbar. Hart again stood on the bottom rope, gaining more leverage on the arm, as Flair tried to maneuver them into the corner. Hart went back to the arm after a break, using an armdrag to bring Flair down, then went into an armbar. Hart pounded the arm, twisted it, and yanked down on it. Flair rolled into a front facelock, but Hart reversed into a hammerlock and drove his knee into Flair's arm.

Hart maintained the hammerlock, as flair got to his feet. Hart went into an armbar, and Flair forced Hart into a corner for a break. Flair tried to grab an armtwist on the break, but Hart reversed and flipped Flair to the mat with an arm twist. Hart legdropped the arm, but Flair hit a kick to the midsection and sent Hart over the top rope and to the floor. Hart jumped onto the apron and shoulderblocked Flair through the ropes, then went for a slingshot sunset flip. However, Flair got his balance and punched Hart in the head to break up the hold. Hart rolled out of the ring and to the floor. Flair regained his confidence and let out a "Whoo" before moving towards Hart, who was now on the apron. Hart did the shoulderblock and sunset flip combo again, this time pulling Flair's trunks down and taking the Nature Boy over for a two count. Hart hit a reverse atomic drop and a pair of clotheslines to an ovation from the Canadian crowd. Flair rolled to the floor and flopped onto his face.

Back in the ring, a headbutt sent Flair down again, but the "dirtiest player in the game" thumbed Hart in the eyes. Flair whipped Hart into the corner, and the challenger slammed into the buckles chest first. Flair whipped him in again, and then backed up and kicked Hart in the left knee. Flair hit a shinbuster, then punched Hart in the face twice in a corner before kicking at the leg again. Flair delivered a chop, then another punch to the face. Flair snapmared Hart, then dropped a knee, but Hart rolled out of the way. Hart went for a spinning toe hold, but Flair kicked him off. Flair applied a side headlock, but Bret escaped it with a shinbuster, then dropped a trio of elbows to the right leg. He applied a leglace briefly before grabbing a Figure Four Leglock. Flair struggled in the hold, his shoulders going down on the mat for two counts on two occasions. Flair finally made the bottom rope to break the hold.

Hart went for an elbowdrop, but Flair rolled out of the way. Flair went for a beckbreaker, but Bret turned it into a backslide for two. Flair hit a punch to the gut, then decked Hart with a right hand. Hart reversed a whip and grabbed a sleeperhold, but Flair got out with a back suplex. As both men got up, Flair grabbed a small package for a two count. Flair delivered a double underhook suplex for a two count, then hooked the leg for a second two count. Flair, limping, went for the knee drop, this time hitting it, but obviously caused himself some pain as well. Flair whipped Hart hard into the corner, then covered Bret twice for two counts. Flair complained to Henber about the count, allowing Bret to roll him up from behind for a two count with a school boy.

Hart delivered a punch and grabbed a headlock, but Flair hit a shinbuster and applied the Figure Four. Hart strained in the hold, which was applied in the center of the ring. Bret's shoulders went down for a two count, but then he managed to turn the hold. Flair turned it back over, and they reached the ropes. Flair got to his feet first, put Hart in the corner and kicked at Hart's leg. Flair threw a chop, then kicked Bret in the back of the left leg. Flair stomped the leg twice in the corner. Flair yanked on the leg, and said "Now we go to school" then went for the figure four, but Bret turned it into a small package for two.

Bret and Flair traded punches in a corner. Bret started to mount a comeback with punches, but ran into a Flair boot after a whip into the corner. Flair went to the top rope, but Hart grabbed him and slammed Flair hard into the mat. Bret slugged Flair, then whipped him into the corner and backdropped him. Hart drove an elbow into Flair's chest and covered him for two, then hit a Russian legsweep for another two. Flair begged off, and Hart hit a side backbreaker. Hart hit a second rope elbow and hooked the leg for two, but Perfect yanked Flair's leg to assist with the kickout.

Hart gave Flair a vertical suplex for two. Flair begged off, as Hart yelled at him to get up and the crowd cheered Bret on. Flair chopped Hart in a corner, but Hart pulled down his straps, daring him to to it again. Hart absorbed the second chop and hit a series of punches, then delivered a superplex off the second rope. Hart applied the Sharpshooter, and Perfect tried to interfere, but the referee was standing between him and the wrestlers, and ordered him off the apron. Perfect had no sooner gotten down from the apron than the referee turned and Flair submitted. In twenty eight minutes, Bret Hart had won the World Wrestling Federation Heavyweight Title from Ric Flair, Flair's first submission loss in the WWF.

The Aftermath

Hart and Flair would have several rematches on house shows, including an incredible Ironman match in Boston in January of 1993, right before Flair left the company to return to WCW. They wouldn't meet up again until Hart went to WCW in 1997. They wrestled several times in WCW, most notably at Souled Out '98.


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