Bret "Hit Man" Hart: The Best There Is, the Best There Was, the Best There Ever Will Be

the WWE Home Video release

Bret "Hit Man" Hart: The Best There Is, The Best There Was, The Best There Ever Will Be also known as The Bret Hart Story: The Best There Is, The Best There Was, The Best There Ever Will Be is a 2005 documentary film released as part of a three DVD set on November 15, 2005, by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). The documentary chronicles the career of popular WWE wrestler Bret Hart. Hart collaborated with WWE to make the documentary, contributing hours of interview content to the film. This collaboration marked the first time Hart had worked in an on camera capacity with WWE since the Montreal Screwjob, which was Hart's last in ring appearance with the company until his return on January 4, 2010. The documentary chronicles Bret Hart's wrestling career, from how he broke into the business as a member of the Hart family to his run in World Championship Wrestling (WCW). This is the second documentary about Bret Hart, the first being Hitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows (which was produced with cooperation by the WWF, but not released by WWF/E Home Video) which chronicles Hart's last days wrestling in the WWF and talks about his relationship with his brother Owen.

Hart has stated that the video was a project that he had wanted to do for a long time and that he originally pitched the idea of a compilation set to Vince McMahon before DVDs were commonplace.

Originally, the DVD was to be named Screwed: The Bret Hart Story, and would be a film focusing on the negative aspects of Hart's career, much like WWE's The Ultimate Warrior DVD, The Self Destruction of the Ultimate Warrior. It originally featured derisive interview comments from former opponents like Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels and Jerry Lawler, with whom Hart had real life personal issues (Hart has since made amends with Michaels and Lawler). Hart said of the project: "It was kind of a smear. It was basically a platform for guys to express their dislike for me and their jealousy." Hart was not slated to contribute to the documentary, but later agreed to participate, claiming that WWE essentially told him: "Get on board or we'll run you over."

Negative interviews were thereafter deleted when Hart got involved, and replaced with positive appraisals from alternate former opponents like Stone Cold Steve Austin, Roddy Piper and Chris Benoit, who held Hart in high regard. Hart has said that a major factor in his agreeing to participate in the project was an encounter with a small child in a dentist's office. The child had a Bret Hart action figure, but he had no knowledge of Hart's actual work and was only familiar with WWE video games in which Hart was featured as a "WWE Legend." Hart expressed that he wanted the DVD to be a way for younger people who had no experience watching him while he was estranged from WWE to see him in a more positive light, as opposed to the negative way he felt the company had portrayed him previously. After a promotional photo with WWE chairman Vince McMahon, Hart contributed over seven hours of new interview footage and was allowed full creative input in the project. McMahon noted Bret's participation with a message before the main program in which he thanked Bret for putting aside the various personal and professional differences the two men had in order to produce the DVD for the fans. After the DVD's release, Hart was interviewed for WWE. com's show Byte This! and promoted the DVD with a series of appearances to meet, and greet fans. He also appeared at the next year's WWE Hall of Fame to be inducted by Steve Austin.

Hart has said that he is very happy with how the DVD ended up.