7 Greatest Champions of WWE’s Modern Era
By Ian Carey
WWE.com
6. Bret Hart
Total Reigns: 7
Total Days as Champion (modern era): 620
Bret Hart is 1 of only 2 names on this list who gets penalized for having had world championship reigns in the pre-modern era. 90 days of Bret Hart’s 1st world title reign occurred before the 1st episode of Monday Night Raw, so wasn’t counted for the purposes of this article.
Hart’s title run in 1993 ended in the main event of Wrestlemania IX, when Mr. Fuji threw salt in his eye, allowing Yokozuna to win the title. At WrestleMania X, Hart would win the title back however as the company headed towards the dreaded “New Generation” era following Hulk Hogan’s departure.
Bret’s final WWF(E) championship run came after defeating the Undertaker at SummerSlam 97, in the middle of the Canada vs. USA storyline. Hart would then drop the belt back to HBK at the infamous Survivor Series 97 in Montreal.
Hart would pick up his final 2 world championship reigns in the Vince Russo-booked WCW. The somewhat non-sensical World Championship tournament the company held in 1999 culminated in Bret winning his first World Championship in WCW, but just a few months later Goldberg would kick him in the head at Starrcade, which would ultimately end in his career.