By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Inside the Ropes interview with guest Heath Slater
Interview conducted by Kenny McIntosh
Available at ITRwrestling.com
On working with Bret Hart: “He wasn’t limited that night (in MSG). I think he was going for real. I just remember Bret trusted me. I take pride in not hurting anybody, making sure my stuff looks good, but it’s snug. I’m a safe worker out there and Bret liked that. TJ [Wilson] and Nattie [Neidhart], we’ve been friends forever. They talked good about me with him, and then Bret got in there, just worked with me a little bit and was like, “Yeah, I like this kid. I’m gonna stick with him when I fight.”
“But dude, Bret Hart, he’s such a good-hearted human being, he’s knowledgeable and he’ll help you out with anything if you ask. I worked him at Madison Square Garden, overseas, up and down the road, in Calgary, his hometown. I got to do this and the little kid in me is just like, ‘Holy crap, this is amazing.’ But the adult in me is like, ‘Don’t sell it.’ But dude, working Bret was just an honor.”
Slater on being told not to be too physical with Hart in their match, but Hart saying otherwise: “I was insanely proud of that. What’s crazy is that that night at MSG, they said, ‘Don’t hit him, don’t bump him. Don’t do this. Don’t do that.’ I’m like okay, don’t worry. I won’t do nothing. And then I’m in there with Bret and he’s like, ‘Hey, man, I want to do this and do that.’ I’m like yeah, let’s do it. I’m not gonna tell the ‘Hitman’ no, you can’t. And we did, and he was doing all this old stuff. It’s like backbreaking, the forearm off the top, getting the Sharpshooter on me, the spinebuster, doing it all.
“I remember when we got to the back, Michael Hayes looked at him and was like, ‘Bret, my goodness, man, you still got it! You looked like you were in the ’90s.’ And Bret literally looked right at Hayes and was like, ‘It’s that kid. He’s the one that made me look like that. It was him.’ I remember I looked around at [Justin] Gabriel and I said, ‘You heard that, right?’
On the pride he takes in being one of Hart’s final opponents: “Oh yeah, man. I’m just glad I was a piece of the puzzle when he came back. So many people were jealous of me, my friends, the workers. So when I went on that legends run, everyone was just like, ‘Dude, how did you get this spot?’ I’m like, ‘I fought for it! It’s mine! Stay away!'”
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