Ric Flair has explained why Bret Hart condemned Gunther for using chops and branding the WWE star’s wrestling style ‘lazy’ and ‘b*****t’. The 76-year-old was dragged into an argument after his fellow WWE Hall of Famer recalled their past contests.
Ric Flair On Bret Hart’s Criticism Of Gunther’s Chops
Bret Hart criticised Gunther’s approach to wrestling, citing his intention to harm opponents, especially when using his trademark chops. He asked, “Who ever won a fight with a chop?” while also deeming this style to be “unprofessional”.
Ric Flair is synonymous with the chop, often leaving his rivals bruised on their chest after several shots. Hart touched on this: “I used to wrestle Ric Flair and wake up going, ‘Why am I hurting so much? Doesn’t Ric Flair know it’s a show?’ It’s not supposed to be real. I’m not supposed to wake up with a really sore chest.”
The Nature Boy has now responded to those comments during an interview with Escapist Magazine: “Oh, I agree with Bret as far as being one of the greatest technical performers of all time. That goes without saying. But Bret never liked to get smacked, and that’s the way I worked. We laugh about it now, but he just hated getting chopped. But for me with someone like Ricky Steamboat, you must have seen our matches. I hit Steamboat as hard as I could.”
Flair continued by reflecting on chopping others including The Rock:
“I hit Sting as hard as I could and the people could feel it. Especially when you’re out on the floor. I even watched a match between me and The Rock recently. I was smacking the hell out of The Rock. He didn’t care.”
Gunther is a two-time World Heavyweight Champion who was dethroned at SummerSlam after losing to CM Punk. The Austrian heavyweight had hit Punk with plenty of chops that night as he does with most of his opponents.
Flair spoke highly of the 38-year-old: “For Gunther, I haven’t watched him enough, but what they find fascinating about Gunther is his look. He has a tremendous look. Because when he wrestled Pat McAfee. Pat McAfee was 10 times the athlete that he is. But Gunther has a great look. His facials are great and all that. But if you’re comparing him to me, come on, there’s levels to the game.”
While Gunther doesn’t usually get an immediate pinfall victory using chops, he wears his opponent down, which allows him to lock in the Gojira Clutch. While Hart isn’t a fan, he has won The Undertaker over with his “old school” mentality and ring psychology.
Victim Statements From Gunther’s Chop
Gunther’s opponents often dread facing him because of his hard-hitting style that includes brutal chops. The likes of CM Punk and Jey Uso have been seen wearing the scars of war with The Ring General.
Some of those who have faced Gunther have opened up about experiencing his chops. Sami Zayn, who dethroned him to become Intercontinental Champion at WrestleMania 40, said: “It’s kind of hard to explain. It hurts, but it’s almost more jarring than anything. You almost can’t believe the reaction it has on your body. It’s just hard to explain. It’s loud. Different from other strikes, for sure.”
Pat McAfee, who lost to the Austrian at Backlash, posted a picture of his chest after the match with the caption: “My chest… is ahhh… burning,”
Gunther ended Goldberg’s career at Saturday Night’s Main Event in July and delivered several chops to the WCW icon during their match. But Goldberg actually laughed them off: “They’re loud… it looks like they hurt. You know, you look at the skin, and it leaves some good marks, and it’s devastating. It’s a great work punch, right? But I thought it was going to hurt more. That’s all, and it just startled me, and I didn’t mean to do that, and I really apologise, because I didn’t mean to.”
The WWE RAW star is currently off TV after undergoing surgery on his nose following a defeat to CM Punk at SummerSlam. But when he returns, it seems highly likely he’ll continue using his chops whether Bret Hart likes it or not.
