Bret Hart has revealed that his legendary singles career nearly never happened — because he threatened to quit WWE after becoming convinced Vince McMahon was about to break yet another promise of a big push.
Bret Hart (Credits: Ringside News)
Bret Hart Threatened to Walk Out Over Vince McMahon’s Broken Promises
Speaking to Inside The Ropes, The Hitman recalled WWE promising him a major singles run after the Hart Foundation dropped the Tag Team Championships to the Nasty Boys. Hart had heard it all before — promises of a big push that never materialized.
“Vince McMahon had then promised me that they were going to give me this big push. They’d been promising me this big push many times. They were going to make you a big star, and then they didn’t. Nothing ever happened the way they promised me,” Hart said.
The breaking point came at a television taping in Las Vegas. Hart learned WWE wanted to put him against Intercontinental Champion Mr. Perfect — Curt Hennig, who had just regained the title from Kerry Von Erich the night before at WrestleMania — almost immediately, with no title change planned.
Bret Hart vs Mr. Perfect: ‘I’m Done. I’m Going Home.’
To Hart, losing to the champion in his first singles match would have told fans he couldn’t get the job done — the opposite of the massive push McMahon had promised. So he drew a line: “I said, ‘Well, I’m done. I’m going home. I’m not sticking around for this.’ A big push isn’t losing to Curt in my first match.”
McMahon’s gamble eventually paid off the other way. Hart did get his push — the very next day after dropping the belts — and the Hart vs. Perfect feud became one of the defining rivalries of the era, building toward their classic at SummerSlam. But it took a genuine walkout threat from one of the company’s most loyal stars to make it happen.
Also Read: Rohan Raja: Bret Hart Is Such a Sweetheart, ‘I Don’t Think Many People See That Side of Him’
Source: Ringside News — read the full story there.
