Wrestling legend Bret Hart may not have the major Hollywood motion capture experience of fellow professional wrestlers and franchise superstars Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson or Dave Bautista (who keeps his WWE connection strong), but his mo-cap resume extends much farther back. The Hitman’s shot at mo-cap came in the mid-’90s for the video game WWF WrestleMania: The Arcade Game and he remembers the experience as fun but daunting.
On the most recent episode of the WWE Network series This Is Awesome, titled “Most Awesome Wrestling Games”–in which “WWE Superstars relive the nostalgia of battling their buddies back in the day and debate the classics”–Bret Hart reflected on the intensity of doing motion capture on the game, both good and bad.
“It was actually a really fun experience,” said Bret Hart. “I got to go to their warehouse where they had their whole setup. We had to dive and jump, just like you’re doing these moves on the invisible man, but nothing’s there.” However, it wasn’t all fun. “It took a lot out of me. I remember that it felt like someone was punching me in the ribs all day long. But it shows in the quality of the game.”
1995’s WWF WrestleMania: The Arcade Game is popular among WWE fans even today, as it twisted the typical gameplay of professional wrestling games of the time, with common comparisons to Mortal Kombat and even NBA Jam, also both by Midway. In addition to Bret Hart, other wrestlers in the game include Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker, Razor Ramon, and Doink the Clown.
Bret Hart is one of the greatest professional wrestlers ever, holding the heavyweight championship five times and the tag team championship (with Jim Neidhart) twice. He was also named wrestler of the year twice in the Pro Wrestling Illustrated 500, the first to be selected in two consecutive years. He is also one of the few wrestlers to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame on two separate occasions.
Did you play WWF WrestleMania: The Arcade Game when you were younger? Was it one of your go-to games? Who did you play as? Let us know your memories of the game below!