Here we go lads, the moment some fans and wrestling historians have been waiting DECADES for. It's Bret Hart vs. Tom Magee!
##Why Is This Match Important?
Great question. Alright so firstly, put yourself in 1986. Hulkamania is fizzling out and the stars of WWE's Golden Era are slowly being phased out of (then) WWF. Reasonably so, Vince McMahon was on the hunt for his next megastar, WWF's next big money-maker and draw. This brings us to the 7th of October 1986, and a dark match on 7th episode of WWF Wrestling Challenge. The match featured Bret Hart, relatively early in his career following successful runs as Tag Team Champion with Jim Neidhart, against fairly unknown name Tom Magee, who is the focus of this story. Trained by Stu Hart in the mid-to-late 1980s, Tom Magee impressed opponents and promoters with his athleticism and dashing appearance. Standing 6'4", the chiselled former World's Strongest Man competitor had already wrestled in promotions include AJPW and Stampede Wrestling.
Dave Meltzer (of the Wrestling Observer) described Tom Magee as "the greatest combination of strength and agility the business had ever seen" after watching a match of Magee's. Prior to his match with Bret, Magee had wrestled against the likes of Haru Sonoda, Angel of Death and Mike Shaw, but his match with Hart would prove to be his greatest moment. It has been mentioned that prior to the match, Hart asked Tom Magee to talk him through three things that Tom could do well, then they would revolve the rest of the match around those three things. The match went exactly as planned, almost too exactly. Bret made Tom Magee look like a megastar, prompting an on-looking Vince McMahon to even reportedly mutter "that's the guy", or something to that effect. Vince had found his next big star, it just wasn't Tom. Following the match, Magee went on to wrestle the likes of Terry Gibbs and Barry O, who did not make Magee look as graceful as Hart had. Magee's spark died down after a run of unimpressive matches in WWF, while Bret Hart's star-power and promise was awarded, becoming one of the WWF's most popular stars.
Fast forward 20+ years later, and very very few people have had the honor of watching this match in its entirety ..until tonight. Following tonight's episode of WWE RAW (30 minutes after this thread was posted), WWE will air the infamous Bret Hart vs. Tom Magee match for the very first time.
[**Go to the WWE Network and be ready for the first time ever airing of
... keep reading on reddit ➡
$11.99
He wrestled Bret Hart.
I believe it's going to be an instant classic, even though WWE never ever wanted to air it and Vince tossed Tom to the curb like right after. I hope everybody is ready to experience some hypothermia level chills in a couple days omg
For as much hate as this man gets, and for the reputation he has, I would love to see a humble old grandpa-like Vince telling his story completely stripped of the Mr. McMahon character, smiling, and almost giddy. It’s gonna be a sad day when he does pass, but would love to see something like this with him.
I literally don't give a fuck about anything Dave Meltzer says ever, but the one thing I quoted had nothing to do with his bulshit rumors. It was an opinion of the match. Saying how this might have been the greatest thing Bret Hart ever did because he took an absolute scumbag and made him look like a superstar. I quoted that very eloquently next door and got 400 karma, usually everything I say next door gets downvoted into the negative. This is actually a true story.
On whether or not he knew his infamous match with Bret Hart had even been lost by WWE: "I knew there was a lot of buzz about the match and that it had never been seen but I didn’t know what happened to the tape. I just assumed that the WWE had it in their possession and I’d never seen it. I got to see it in Las Vegas recently and I was impressed and amazed and there was a number of things in it that impressed me. I was really big and heavy at the time and I was amazed at how capably Bret Hart was able to lift me and I also was glad that I got to show some of the athleticism that I worked so hard to create over many decades of applying myself and the training of course that the Hart Family had put into me so as an athlete that is what you want to do and you want to show the hard work also that you put in but that everyone else has put into you. Anyone who does a delicate performance there are a lot of trainers and a lot of people that put their heart and their soul into giving you those abilities and so it is great when you get a chance to do that. I was so stoked to be there and meeting Vince McMahon and getting to talk to him and it is a kind of synergy that is in there. The combination of all those individuals brought together, WOW. The power and the lights emanating from that was just so amazing and I hope that the match reflected that."
On was it ever stated to him that Vince McMahon unofficially crowned him his 'next champion': "So that’s interesting because I don’t recall anybody gushing over me verbally. I certainly knew people were watching me and I had a lot of attention but in terms of somebody giving me like an over the top appraisal like that was just a no. But I don’t think that was their style. They weren’t prone to gushing or overly praising and so no I don’t recall that… I had an audience with all of those guys, including Pat Patterson and I was just trying to get to know everyone. But I felt despite all of the other things that I’ve said that there is also an element of and I don’t want to say matter of fact-ness but they are professionals and everyone is professional so it is expected that you are going to go out there and you are going to do something really neat. You didn’t just get there because it is hard to get in there so if you did get in there than of course you are going to do something that is high level or elite otherwise you weren’t there."
On remembering more details of the match with each retelling: "It was all
... keep reading on reddit ➡>One of the greatest mysteries in sports-entertainment history has been found and you'll be able to see it along with a documentary explaining the story on WWE Network after Raw on Monday.
>In 1986, Bret “Hit Man” Hart faced Tom Magee in an untelevised tryout match in Rochester, New York. After the bell sounded and Magee’s hand was raised, he was labeled the next Hulk Hogan, but since the bout was untelevised, footage became lost over time … until today.
>VHS tape traders tried in vain to chase down the cassette of Hart vs. Magee for three decades to no avail, but it was recently discovered as part of “Hit Man’s” tape library and is available Monday after Raw on WWE Network. Check out this classic match and get the full story on how the tape was discovered, what happened to Tom Magee, and much more by watching Holy Grail: The Search for WWE’s Most Infamous Lost Match, streaming Monday after Raw.
I've heard people talk about this match before and I'm super curious what it was like. From what I've read, apparently Magee wasn't actually that good but Bret was so good at the time he carried him to an awesome match. Pretty awesome that Bret happened to have a copy of it too. I'm curious what kind of quality it'll be.
There we go lads, that was Bret Hart vs. Tom Magee! Let's get some results!
##Results
| Match | Winner | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Bret Hart vs. Tom Magee | Tom Magee | Won via |
##Why Is This Match Important?
Great question. Alright so firstly, put yourself in 1986. Hulkamania is fizzling out as strong as ever (edit: what do I know?) and the stars of WWE's Golden Era are slowly being phased out of (then) WWF. Reasonably so, Vince McMahon was on the hunt for his next megastar, WWF's next big money-maker and draw. This brings us to the 7th of October 1986, and a dark match on 7th episode of WWF Wrestling Challenge. The match featured Bret Hart, relatively early in his career following successful runs as Tag Team Champion with Jim Neidhart, against fairly unknown name Tom Magee, who is the focus of this story. Trained by Stu Hart in the mid-to-late 1980s, Tom Magee impressed opponents and promoters with his athleticism and dashing appearance. Standing 6'4", the chiselled former World's Strongest Man competitor had already wrestled in promotions include AJPW and Stampede Wrestling.
Dave Meltzer (of the Wrestling Observer) described Tom Magee as "the greatest combination of strength and agility the business had ever seen" after watching a match of Magee's. Prior to his match with Bret, Magee had wrestled against the likes of Haru Sonoda, Angel of Death and Mike Shaw, but his match with Hart would prove to be his greatest moment. It has been mentioned that prior to the match, Hart asked Tom Magee to talk him through three things that Tom could do well, then they would revolve the rest of the match around those three things. The match went exactly as planned, almost too exactly. Bret made Tom Magee look like a megastar, prompting an on-looking Vince McMahon to even reportedly mutter "that's the guy", or something to that effect. Vince had found his next big star, it just wasn't Tom. Following the match, Magee went on to wrestle the likes of Terry Gibbs and Barry O, who did not make Magee look as graceful as Hart had. Magee's spark died down after a run of unimpressive matches in WWF, while Bret Hart's star-power and promise was awarded, becoming one of the WWF's most popular stars.
Fast forward 20+ years later, and very very few people have had the honor of watching this match in its entirety ..until tonight. Following tonight's episode of WWE RAW (30 minutes after this thread was posted), WWE will air the infamous Bret Hart vs. Tom Magee ma
... keep reading on reddit ➡Posts like this keep popping up in the past few weeks out of nowhere and I don't get it. Who is this guy and why is everybody so excited about this match? I've been watching wrestling for like 20 years and never heard of him.
For example: https://www.reddit.com/r/SquaredCircle/comments/bn34qy/not_a_drill_bret_hart_vs_tom_magee_will_air
