Bret Michaels’ NFL Success… Is This Bad News for Poison?
Bret Michaels just took the stage at the 2026 NFL Draft — and for fans of 80s rock and hair metal, it was a pretty surreal moment.
In this video, Patrick and I break down Bret’s performance, what it says about his current level of success as a solo artist, and why that success might actually raise some serious questions about the future of Poison.
With Bret continuing to land major opportunities like this — and still drawing big crowds on his own — does he even need a Poison reunion tour anymore? And if not… what does that mean for the band?
Is this a win for Bret… but bad news for Poison?
#BretMichaels #Poison #HairMetal #NFLDraft #80sRock
Please Like, Subscribe, & HYPE!! Thank you!!
Feel free to donate (or NOT!) to my PayPal: anthony.a.bryant@hotmail.com
Follow me on X!
https://x.com/HairMetalGuru
The Hair Metal Guru on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/thehairmetalguru/
Buy some of your favorite hard rock releases at FNA Records!
https://fnarecords.net/
Support Stevie Rachelle and Metal Sludge:
www.metalsludge.tv
I host Hair Metal Mansion on Rock 101 KLOL every Saturday night from 6-8pm Central Time… you can listen here!
https://www.getmeradio.com/stations/rock101klol-4751/?station_id=4751

@FoolsAmongUs
May 6, 2026 at 6:04 am
When I saw Poison in '04, they sounded like they did in '86 Great Band
@debrahigh7968
May 6, 2026 at 6:04 am
Great video. We the people want Poison, not BMB. It's the 40 year anniversary, c'mon Bret, do it for us fans !! 💚 💚 💚
Party Gras is great, but it's not Poison.
@geoffpenton302
May 6, 2026 at 6:04 am
Patrick!!! I’m a fuckin’ Bengals Fan too! Thanks for representing, my man! 😎😎
@thepatester
May 6, 2026 at 6:04 am
Lame. Glad I missed it.
@hughjass124
May 6, 2026 at 6:04 am
I with you I would still love to see a Poison reunion. It’s awesome that Bret Michaels got to perform at the NFL draft because like you said it’s so rare now a days that rock bands from our generation get any mainstream attention. But at the same time I hope Bret doesn’t forget how he got to where he’s at today. Poison is the reason he able to do this stuff. So hopefully they’ll get their act together and do reunion next summer.
@AnthonyAsher-kk7kj
May 6, 2026 at 6:04 am
I'm not a Brett fan. I love poison. Flesh & Blood is killer.
@althazarr
May 6, 2026 at 6:04 am
As much as most folks would like to see Poison together again, no one really knows how complicated the band's four members relationships with each other are. Just look at Skid Row,, L.A. Guns, Great White, Dokken, Pretty Boy Floyd, and Faster Pussycat for example. It is extremely tough to keep multiple people with different personalites together for years. It would be awesome to see all the great rock bands stay together forever, but sometimes it just doesn't work, and trying to force it can make things worse. I'm not a huge fan of Bret's solo stuff, but wish him all the best in what he chooses to do going forward.
@DaveWalsh-p3m
May 6, 2026 at 6:04 am
I won't support his solo band, I think they're total shit!!
@christopherearly5258
May 6, 2026 at 6:04 am
Poison is one of those rare bands where each member is fairly well-known. I'm not saying Bobby Dall has the same amount of fans as Bret Michaels, but rock fans know the name.
Very few bands are like that. Beatles, KISS, Queen, Motley Crue, Cheap Trick. Not many more. Most bands are all about one or two guys.
For that alone they deserve respect.
@doomsday3m
May 6, 2026 at 6:04 am
Poison needs one final tour together with Brett, Rikki, CC and Bobby while they are all alive and kicking ass. Personally, I thought they should have headlined that summer stadium tour over the Leps and Crue. They brought way more energy. With his BMB, the loudest pop is still for songs from Poison. If he isn't interested in a Poison tour than he needs to come out and say so. If he cares about Poison and their fans he needs to just come out and say what he wants to do. Poison deserves better and solo Brett sucks.
@B40-r8i
May 6, 2026 at 6:04 am
What Bret has on his side is the younger generations doesn’t the have connection to poison like we do and he has introduced himself to this younger generation just as Bret Michaels
@B40-r8i
May 6, 2026 at 6:04 am
Can we end the narrative now that grunge killed hair metal. In hindsight grunge was a blip there is zero nostalgia for it it’s never really mentioned in modern pop culture while hair metal is still part of pop culture and the hair metal bands are out playing a lot more than grunge bands. Grunge won the battle. Hair metal won the war
@BobRock420
May 6, 2026 at 6:04 am
Bret will ALWAYS be my Idol PERIOD. BUT WE WANT POISON. PLEASE BRO JUST GIVE US POISON.
@Rattlesnake7.5
May 6, 2026 at 6:04 am
I want to see ALL the members of POISON.
@drumrboyjones
May 6, 2026 at 6:04 am
Brett always brings a good show. He seems humble and so engaging. But as a fan of Poison, that is what I want. Bobby Brett CC and Rikki!! Love you guys and great job!!!
@aronbasile3335
May 6, 2026 at 6:04 am
wrong guru….warrant was all 5 guys. jani wrote the songs but the killer shows were all 5.
@aronbasile3335
May 6, 2026 at 6:04 am
His bass player stinks. The band just really doesnt cut it. at all.
@gunnarjordan6980
May 6, 2026 at 6:04 am
Poison has always been one of, if not my favorite band ever. However, I’m so sick & tired of Bret Michaels. I wish Poison would just fire this pos and get a singer who actually wants to record/write new music & tour. Who cares if it’d be smaller venues. Just get out there and enjoy playing again and with new music!
@raymurphyjr5830
May 6, 2026 at 6:04 am
I think if Bret is gonna continue with his solo party gra and forget where came from and be greedy with poison then Rikki,Bobby and CC should find them and Damm good singer start new band the way Matt,Duffy and Slash did make a kick record and go out and tour and promote it and KICK ASS AND TAKE NAMES their fans will support them the poison fans and gain new fans, they don't need to wait on Bret let him hold them back or give the lion's share of poison tour money, I truly hope and wish those guys would really do something like that,they deserve it, they just as important to poison as Bret is regardless of what Bret thinks! GOD BLESS YOU AND GOOD LUCK AND BEST WISHES TO YOU 3 GUYS IN ANY AND ALL YOU IN THE FUTURE
@jasonstephens5894
May 6, 2026 at 6:04 am
If he doesn't fucking do it with poison then 🖕🏼
@jasonstephens5894
May 6, 2026 at 6:04 am
It would be much more successful with the other 3 original band mates
@jasonstephens5894
May 6, 2026 at 6:04 am
Brett needs to hook back up with Poison. People are getting tired of Brett's Bullshit Band singing Poison songs!!
@bunfunn3868
May 6, 2026 at 6:04 am
Poison should have done this. But the singer has a Greed and Ego problem.
@ScottNazzarese
May 6, 2026 at 6:04 am
Brett needs to give the people what they want and stop fucking around before it’s too late! Great vid guys!
@chrispilmoor4403
May 6, 2026 at 6:04 am
Love poison but been a uk poison fan we got truly shafted ….donnington 90 and a very small uk tour with kotzen in 93 was the only time we saw them over here 😢
@ciaranmeeks9431
May 6, 2026 at 6:04 am
Heres a question noone seems to be asking: Who needs Bret or Poison anyways!?! Why not start fresh? It's worked for George Lynch and all his many projects. Same with Pearcy. Same with Steve West and Bruno Ravel with The Defiants. Assuming they get along well enough, I don't see why Rikki, Bobby, and CC can't find some hot, new young singer, put an album together under a new band name and start playing the festival circuit either in the US or overseas. I mean…why not? Clearly Bret couldn't care less about his old band, and frankly, at this point with no new material in such a long time, Poison is essentially done regardless. They're a nostalgia act. If the other three guys care at all about staying relevant in music, they'll strike out without Bret and do something new where they can call all the shots.
@ThinkReal
May 6, 2026 at 6:04 am
Bret making all the Poison money now… fucked up for the other guys. No one is there to see Bret performing solo material.
@ChrisPorter-il2vp
May 6, 2026 at 6:04 am
I Agree w. my 2 cool bros/Inspirations – Guru & Reese I Love Bret Michael's solo albums just like I do w. POISON like you Anthony/Patrick I'm a full fledged through/through POISON fan a 100%, I also want to add that it's about time that the NFL Draft had Bret Michael's band was in it instead of some bullshit Rap, R&B, Dance, Shitty mix breed Rock crap like they usually have now days so I give the NFL thumbs up for that Bret needs to lose the mix in Rap non sense in his band performance just saying. POISON/Hair Metal Guru…. Forever I Love this Kick Ass Rock channel Anthony/Patrick you 2 are Cool/Amazing & Awesome keep on Rockin' from yours truly Chris '' Partyrocker '' Porter..
@scottelfverson597
May 6, 2026 at 6:04 am
Agree Guru that Brett always gives 100% on stage. Also agree that he loves the power and control. He's definitely cashing in on the Poison legacy that the 4 guys created, not just him. Poison have only toured down here in Australia for Open Up and Say Ahh in 89. Arena size shows due to the popularity and success of that album. I was only 13 so I couldn't go then. I'm pretty sure that they never came for Flesh and Blood. So one time touring here. I did see Brett Michaels open for Motley Crue on the Saints Of Los Angeles tour in 2010 I think. Great show he even had his own pyro and everything. At the end of his set he said to the crowd that how would they like to see him next year with a full Poison show. To which the crowd cheered loudly. He then said then we will see you next year. Well Brett that was 16 plus years ago and we're still waiting. Get Poison together with Warrant, LA Guns, Slaughter, Ratt etc and do a tour. That would sell enough tickets to fill arenas here.
@scottbourret1190
May 6, 2026 at 6:04 am
I believe Brett is trying to channel his inner Sammy Hagar or Kennt Chesney, but he's not them. He really only has a handful of songs that he needs to recycle at every show.
@drums2112
May 6, 2026 at 6:04 am
💩 warmed over
@skidmore15
May 6, 2026 at 6:04 am
Guru,
Had to chime in on this one. For me, since the age of 5… KISS, Poison, RATT…. That’s my big 3.
I can not for the life of me understand why this is so hard to will into happening!
Imagine this:
Tour announced.
It’s happening, for sure. Tickets are on sale, to the world.
Now picture what would happen, in media, of all sorts…
If POISON, all 4 members, took the time in as much secrecy as possible, to get into great shape, to get close to that classic look, meaning hair, clothing, lasers, bombs, stage setup… a “Farewell” of the highest order…. And the lucky S.O.B’s who HAPPEN to get tickets to opening night, get to be there for the big reveal! It’s Poison. AS CLOSE TO 1986-1992 as possible!!! The die hard fans would lose their minds, and be beyond happy. And the buzz it would generate, would shock most casual fans. And probably… gain new fans. Lots. And album sales would boom, streams would boom, merch would boom….
Can they just be the one band of that era, that DOES IT RIGHT – ONE MORE – ONE LAST TIME?!
@MrNeilphipps
May 6, 2026 at 6:04 am
I'd love to see Poison live. Hopefully they do a reunion tour. I thought it was a good opportunity for Bret to play at the draft. Lot's of viewers for that.