Bret Hart: I'm as 'popular as I’ve ever been' thanks to CM Punk, FTR & others

Bret Hart says he feels as popular as ever thanks to currently active wrestlers frequently paying tribute to him. 

Hart was interviewed by Fox News Australia recently as he heads to the country in April for Starrcast Downunder. During the discussion, he spoke about how he appreciates the respect he's given from wrestlers such as CM Punk and FTR. 

Hart said:

I seem to be as revered or popular as I’ve ever been - and it’s maybe because of the salutes I’ve been getting from guys like (CM) Punk, and FTR, different wrestlers have mentioned my name, or do something that I did in the ring as a nod or a salute to me, and I appreciate all that. I think CM Punk alone has done a lot to remind wrestling fans to take a look back at some of the stuff that I was doing, and how good it was.

And I think it’s starting to stand out now where it’s like - in my honest opinion, without trying to sound too boastful, they’ve pulled the curtain back on wrestling so much. So now we know the whole thing’s a show, and they’re just really good physical actors, and that is what it is.

But you watch my wrestling and you go, jeez, he was the best. I think I made it look more real than anybody all the time. I made your stuff look good, I made my own stuff look good, nothing looked rehearsed. There’s so much I think in today’s wrestling that’s so badly rehearsed, over and over.