Bret Hart continues to champion logic and realism in wrestling.
On March 5, Fightful Select reported that there is a sign that reads “NO THIGH SLAPPING” at WWE events. The Wrestling Observer also reported that wrestlers were being fined for using the technique.
Speaking during a virtual signing/meet-and-greet hosted by The Asylum Wrestling Store, Bret Hart was asked about WWE's latest mandate, saying that they should have done away with it years ago. He acknowledges that his brother Owen was one of the first to do it, but that it's been taken too far. Here is his full comment on the matter:
"I heard a few days ago that they outlawed or banned or nobody’s allowed to do the slap stuff anymore, and I’m like totally — they should’ve stopped that ten years ago. It’s slap, slap, slap, slap, and my brother Owen [Hart] was one of the guys that started a lot of that. He brought it to — he was one of the best at slapping his leg on spin kicks and stuff. But come on, enough is enough, in every match. You see guys do stuff and you’re going, ‘That wouldn’t even make a slap sound.’ When you punch somebody in the jaw, it’s not a slap sound. You know, it’s a different kind of sound and you’re making a slap sound for everything. Every single move you do is a slap sound, slap, slap and I totally agree. I’m glad they put their foot down on that but they’re like ten years late. They’ve already kind of in a lot of ways, sadly, ruined wrestling by making it so fake."
Drew McIntyre shared his thought on the issue recently. You can find his comments here.
Shawn Michaels also spoke about leg slaps in an interview with the New York Post. His comments can be seen here.
Transcription via POST Wrestling