Bret Hart has once again shared his firm stance against one of wrestling’s most overused strikes , the chop. During a live recording of The Ringer Wrestling Show at the Gramercy Theater in New York City, the WWE Hall of Famer took time to clarify his previous criticism of the now-famous match between Gunther and Sheamus at Clash at the Castle in 2022, where he had publicly voiced his disapproval of the match’s hard-hitting style.

Hart explained that his issue with chops stems from their unnecessary brutality and lack of practical value in storytelling, referencing a key lesson from his father, the legendary Stu Hart.

“I don’t want to sound like I’m tooting my own horn all the time, but the best wrestling has to pretend to be real,” Hart said. “I mean, that’s what I did. I tried to make it as real as I could. Contrary to that Gunther guy, who seemed like a nice enough guy when I met him. But I mean, I hate wrestlers that hurt each other on purpose. I hate it when you’re out there getting beat up and hurt by a guy for real, and everybody thinks it’s…. Like, chops. Whoever won a fight with a chop? What a waste of time.”

He continued, “But I remember my dad used to tell wrestlers in Stampede Wrestling, he said, nobody ever beat anybody with a chop. And it’s true, they hurt. They look like shit, they make a big slap sound, but they hurt.”

Hart pointed to his own experience wrestling Ric Flair as an example of how damaging constant chops can be, even in a match that is supposed to entertain rather than injure.

“When you get chopped by someone like Ric Flair in a 30-minute match, and he chops you 15 times in the match, your whole chest the next day is just bruises and it hurts to even put a shirt on. I used to wrestle Ric Flair and I used to wake up and go, why am I hurting so much? And then it’s like, doesn’t Ric Flair know that it’s a show?”

“It’s not supposed to be real. I’m not supposed to really wake up with a really sore chest the next day. So I have no respect for guys that hurt each other all the time.”

Hart then turned his attention back to Gunther, who is well-known for his stiff style, and did not mince words.

“And it’s just to me, lazy s–t wrestling when guys like that Gunther, and I’ve told him this to his face, it’s bulls–t. Like, when you’re hurting somebody for real, you’re unprofessional. I wrestled guys, never hurt anybody. When I used to come back to the dressing room, my kicks, my stomps, all the stuff I did, the beauty of what I did is that it looks like it really hurts a lot but I never hurt anybody ever.”

Despite his criticism of modern in-ring brutality, Hart expressed appreciation for the current generation of wrestlers who pay tribute to his in-ring style and legacy.

“I notice that Cody Rhodes throws a punch a lot like I did. And I remember telling him back 15 years ago, I said, you throw a really good punch, I love your punches, you’re one of the only guys that throws a good punch. Roman Reigns is a guy that, when I watch him, I think he emulates a lot my style even though you might not notice it.”

He also gave a nod to wrestlers like CM Punk and Dax Harwood, who frequently incorporate his style into their work.

“I take it as a compliment and whenever I watch wrestling and I see something that’s obviously a salute or a sort of like, hey, that was the Bret Hart 1988 or something like that, I take that as a huge compliment, especially from the wrestlers today. I think they’d all be a lot better off if they copied me more.”