Published on Jan 26, 2016
When Vince McMahon attempted to build for the future without Hulk Hogan in 1992-93 & push actual ring ability instead of muscles & size which the WWF was built on, it met with the worst run of business in company history. SummerSlam & Survivor Series buyrates were way down & Royal Rumble was the lowest buyrate of any WWF PPV in history. Bret Hart was given the opportunity to be champion & from a financial standpoint, it didn't work. McMahon felt he needed Hogan back or WrestleMania would suffer a similar fate. Hogan returned at WrestleMania IX teaming with Brutus Beefcake to defeat Money Inc. by DQ. Then in an unprecedented series of events ended the show as WWF champion after defeating Yokozuna in just 21 seconds. WrestleMania, largely due to the appearance of Hogan, did a far less severe year-to-year decline than any of the WWF PPV events during the period he was gone, showing Hogan's worth.
“When it comes to crowd control, Hogan from the second half of 1981, when he turned babyface in the AWA, through the remainder of his in-ring career was the greatest ever. No wrestler could read & work an audience better. Even Steve Austin wasn't willing to take Hogan on in 2002. Bret Hart should thank his lucky stars that Hogan chose to drop the WWF title to Yokozuna in summer 1993. In a babyface vs. babyface meeting, Hogan would have humiliated The Hitman.” - Fin Martin [PowerSlam Magazine - October 2013]
On rumor Hogan wouldn’t drop the belt to Bret in 1993: “I wouldn’t have either. Bret was a nobody from Canada & Hogan was the greatest star in wrestling. I don’t blame him. He did the right thing.” - Paul Orndorff [Inside The Ropes - April 2012]
Burial of The Hitman: Exposing the real Bret Hart - Deleted Scenes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdFts...
“When we wrestled in Stampede in 1978, he had no talent, but he would beat me 9 times out of 10. I had no problem with that. As long as Bret got the glory, he was happy. But when things didn't go his way, all he did was cry & complain. He blamed Vince McMahon for his divorce. Then Goldberg give him a good slap & he ended up with a concussion. Now all he does is moan & groan in his Calgary Sun column. Why doesn't he just write the truth about himself & stop whining?” - Dynamite Kid [PowerSlam Magazine - July 2000]
“When I returned, fans weren’t interested in watching me chase Bret for his championship, & our rematches drew poorly. Personally, I never saw dollar signs on Bret Hart. He was a good, sound, physical wrestler, but with limited charisma & interview skills. He also could have been president of his own fan club. The facts are this: Hogan & Savage, for all they did, right & wrong, drew a lot of money. Roddy Piper, Dusty Rhodes, & Ric Flair drew big money. Bret Hart did not. Vince had other distractions at the time, but when Bret beat me for the title, the company went to hell for a while.” - Ric Flair [To Be the Man - 2005]
“The main-event guy made the most money when he had the belt. When I was the (WWF) champion, I made the most money. It was an old rule Vince (McMahon) Sr. had that was passed on for quite a while. That changed when Bret Hart became champion; he'd work for a lot less than anybody else, so it changed everybody's pay.” - Hulk Hogan [Fighting Spirit Magazine - March 2013]
“When I was IC champ & Bret was (World) champ, I said, "Bret, you gotta go tell Vince you want more money because I ain't happy with what I'm getting, so you gotta be getting more than me. Fuck this. Go tell him you want more." I always felt Bret cared more about winning than money. I'm one of those guys who needs the money; beat me every night, pay me. Bret likes winning. We used to call Bret "the 400 thousand dollar a year champion." You could give Bret 400 grand a year & let him put everybody in the Sharpshooter & he didn't give a fuck.” - Scott Hall [PWT0rch - 2006]
“Bret Hart proved once again that the biggest Bret Hart mark is Bret Hart. Hart was giving the induction speech for his late father Stu at the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame last night in Waterloo, Iowa, when he went off on journalist Greg Oliver. Hart said “either he goes or I go.” Oliver wouldn’t leave, so Hart made good on his threat & stormed out. So, what is Hart’s beef with Oliver, who is so respected in the industry, he was there to be presented the Jim Melby Memorial Award for wrestling journalism? According to Wrestling Observer, Hart hasn’t liked Oliver since he wrote a book in which he ranked Hart No. 14 on the list of the greatest Canadian wrestlers ever. Apparently, Hart was offended at not being higher on the list. Anyone who knows anything about this business knows Hart had an outstanding career, so he should be above such nonsense & not be so insecure. Hart’s actions were inappropriate & petty, especially when he was there to accept an honor for his father.” - Kevin Eck [Baltimore Sun - 29th June 2008]
“When it comes to crowd control, Hogan from the second half of 1981, when he turned babyface in the AWA, through the remainder of his in-ring career was the greatest ever. No wrestler could read & work an audience better. Even Steve Austin wasn't willing to take Hogan on in 2002. Bret Hart should thank his lucky stars that Hogan chose to drop the WWF title to Yokozuna in summer 1993. In a babyface vs. babyface meeting, Hogan would have humiliated The Hitman.” - Fin Martin [PowerSlam Magazine - October 2013]
On rumor Hogan wouldn’t drop the belt to Bret in 1993: “I wouldn’t have either. Bret was a nobody from Canada & Hogan was the greatest star in wrestling. I don’t blame him. He did the right thing.” - Paul Orndorff [Inside The Ropes - April 2012]
Burial of The Hitman: Exposing the real Bret Hart - Deleted Scenes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdFts...
“When we wrestled in Stampede in 1978, he had no talent, but he would beat me 9 times out of 10. I had no problem with that. As long as Bret got the glory, he was happy. But when things didn't go his way, all he did was cry & complain. He blamed Vince McMahon for his divorce. Then Goldberg give him a good slap & he ended up with a concussion. Now all he does is moan & groan in his Calgary Sun column. Why doesn't he just write the truth about himself & stop whining?” - Dynamite Kid [PowerSlam Magazine - July 2000]
“When I returned, fans weren’t interested in watching me chase Bret for his championship, & our rematches drew poorly. Personally, I never saw dollar signs on Bret Hart. He was a good, sound, physical wrestler, but with limited charisma & interview skills. He also could have been president of his own fan club. The facts are this: Hogan & Savage, for all they did, right & wrong, drew a lot of money. Roddy Piper, Dusty Rhodes, & Ric Flair drew big money. Bret Hart did not. Vince had other distractions at the time, but when Bret beat me for the title, the company went to hell for a while.” - Ric Flair [To Be the Man - 2005]
“The main-event guy made the most money when he had the belt. When I was the (WWF) champion, I made the most money. It was an old rule Vince (McMahon) Sr. had that was passed on for quite a while. That changed when Bret Hart became champion; he'd work for a lot less than anybody else, so it changed everybody's pay.” - Hulk Hogan [Fighting Spirit Magazine - March 2013]
“When I was IC champ & Bret was (World) champ, I said, "Bret, you gotta go tell Vince you want more money because I ain't happy with what I'm getting, so you gotta be getting more than me. Fuck this. Go tell him you want more." I always felt Bret cared more about winning than money. I'm one of those guys who needs the money; beat me every night, pay me. Bret likes winning. We used to call Bret "the 400 thousand dollar a year champion." You could give Bret 400 grand a year & let him put everybody in the Sharpshooter & he didn't give a fuck.” - Scott Hall [PWT0rch - 2006]
“Bret Hart proved once again that the biggest Bret Hart mark is Bret Hart. Hart was giving the induction speech for his late father Stu at the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame last night in Waterloo, Iowa, when he went off on journalist Greg Oliver. Hart said “either he goes or I go.” Oliver wouldn’t leave, so Hart made good on his threat & stormed out. So, what is Hart’s beef with Oliver, who is so respected in the industry, he was there to be presented the Jim Melby Memorial Award for wrestling journalism? According to Wrestling Observer, Hart hasn’t liked Oliver since he wrote a book in which he ranked Hart No. 14 on the list of the greatest Canadian wrestlers ever. Apparently, Hart was offended at not being higher on the list. Anyone who knows anything about this business knows Hart had an outstanding career, so he should be above such nonsense & not be so insecure. Hart’s actions were inappropriate & petty, especially when he was there to accept an honor for his father.” - Kevin Eck [Baltimore Sun - 29th June 2008]
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