You really can find anything on the internet.
Once thought to be long-lost, a 1986 WWE wrestling match featuring superstar wrestler Bret Hart has resurfaced in full on the internet. Yes, this was back when the pro wrestling giant was called WWF, and Hulkamania was taking over the world.
On Saturday, Instagram user @abuyousef2007 uploaded the wrestling match, clocking in at 10 minutes and 10 seconds, on the social media platform. It’s the first time ever that this much-talked-about match has been available at full length.
Why is Bret Hart vs. Tom Magee a big deal?
The bout features Hart taking on an up-and-comer Tom Magee in October 1986 at the Rochester War Memorial Arena in Rochester, New York. While Hart vs. Magee was part of an event taped for television, it was previously thought that the match never actually aired anywhere. However, the existence of this particular version: the full bout with Arabic commentary, appears to prove that the match did air in at least one market in the 80s.
Making the event even more noteworthy was the fact that the WWE itself, which has one of the most comprehensive wrestling video archives in the world, could not locate the match in their vault. So over the years, the match became somewhat of an urban legend.
However, back in 2019, wrestling photographer Mary-Kate Anthony found the long lost tape in her collection. According to Anthony, she had previously helped Hart convert his personal collection of matches on VHS to digital and Hart had not requested the physical copies back. The legendary Magee match was in that collection.
The discovery was such a big deal in the wrestling community that the WWE reached out to Anthony in order to obtain the match. The wrestling company quickly produced an entire documentary about the once-lost match and its resurfacing called Holy Grail: The Search for WWE’s Most Infamous Lost Match, which is available on the WWE Network on Peacock. The documentary includes a better quality recording of the Hart vs. Magee match, but for some reason this version starts mid-fight.
The match itself gained notoriety in pro wrestling circles because of its backstory. Magee was an all-star athlete at the time, competing in powerlifting and strongman competitions, and had a physique and look well suited to pro wrestling. But he was unproven in the world of wrestling. So, to test the waters, WWE booked Magee to take on a seasoned veteran in the form of Bret Hart.
Hart, at the time, was less than a decade into his wrestling career, but the match truly showcases why he’d go on to be known as “the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be.” Magee is green as can be in the match, yet Hart helps carry the rookie throughout the 10 minute bout and makes Magee look like a future superstar. Reportedly, WWE owner Vince McMahon, on the lookout for his next Hulk Hogan-esque superstar shouted “that’s my next champion!” when watching Magee take on Hart from backstage. Pro wrestling journalist David Bixenspan dubbed the fight the “holy grail miracle match.”
Hart would go on to become WWE world champion and help spark the 90s wrestling boom known as the “Attitude Era.” Magee, without having a talent such as Bret Hart to put him over in his matches, would quietly fade out of the wrestling industry by 1990 without much success.
The internet has been really good at rediscovering lost content recently. An episode of Sesame Street from 1976 was recently uploaded online for the first time. The episode in question was originally removed from the air after parents complained that it was too scary for the kids. It featured Margaret Hamilton reprising her classic Wicked Witch of the West role from the Wizard of Oz.
So whether it’s an old wrestling match you think may not exist, a weird kids’ TV show episode, or some other pop culture artifact you only half-remember, ask the internet to hunt it down, and it may miraculously surface like Hart vs. Magee.
