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Hulk Hogan ruled the roost in WWE for a very long time. The success of the Rock 'n' Wrestling epoch was built around Hogan, and he made a truck load of money for himself and the company. The plan was to push Ultimate Warrior as his successor, but the Warrior experiment fizzled out and the next face of the company, the guy succeeding Hogan, was Bret "The Hitman" Hart.
Bret Hart was smaller in comparison to Hogan but his technical skills were a marvel to witness. The Hitman produced one timeless classic after the next, and while pro wrestling was going through a rough patch, there is no disputing that Hart was an incredible talent and easily one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time.
Hulk Hogan Wouldn't Put Over Bret Hart
Hart versus Hogan should have main evented WrestleMania. Hogan was still around and quite capable of putting on a show in the 1990s, but we never got this dream match the way we wanted. Hart and Hogan never made magic inside the squared circle because, from the very start, these two did not like each other.
When did the hatred start? According to the earliest rumors, Hogan flat out refused to put over a young Bret Hart when he first broke into WWE. The Hulkster often pulled the “doesn’t work for me, brother” card, but he went one step ahead to sabotage the career of Bret Hart. We all know the WrestleMania 9 malarkey and how Hogan walked out of the event as WWE Champion. Bret Hart was actually booked to win the match, but Hogan came in and ruined all that.
Since then, Bret Hart has been extremely vocal about his disdain for Hogan and while these two worked in WCW, the dream-match never materialized on a big stage. They had one filler match on a random episode of Nitro and it was not worth a rewatch. The internet shoot wars between Hogan and Hart are plentiful, and it is usually Bret Hart initiating the fighting.
Bret Hart Is Very Vocal About His Dislike Of Hulk Hogan
The Hitman has said a lot about Hogan but here are a few examples to illustrate how much Hart hates the Hulkster. When Hogan became a part of TNA, Bret Hart was the first one to run him down, calling Hogan a worthless wrestler and expressing shock at how TNA had signed him to such a big contract. In 2011, Hart and Hogan had a nasty exchange on Twitter. When asked by a fan about how Hart would improve TNA, the Hitman said that he would send Hogan and Bischoff away for a start. He followed it up by calling Hogan a backstabbing, two-faced steroid freak and Hogan responded.
Hogan claimed that Hart did everything he was accusing him of and Hart brought up John Graziano, a friend of Nick Hogan who was badly injured in a car crash with Nick Hogan doing the driving. Hogan sent out a last tweet, saying that he would be praying for Bret Hart to find happiness in his life.
Hulk Hogan opts not to engage with Bret Hart too much. He has, on occasions, given his side of the story, and it goes something like this. Hart and Hogan were actually really good friends back in the day, and they lived in the same apartment complex and often trained together.
The Hulkster And The Hitman's Rivalry Began In WWE
The rift started when Hogan became champion after WrestleMania 9 and Hart confronted him about not dropping the belt to him. Hogan said something about striking a deal with McMahon and that dropping the belt to Hart was not a part of the deal. He also claimed that Hart refused his handshake at the Hall of Fame event in 2006 and that left him a little confused and heated. Steve Austin walked Bret Hart away from him and that was a smart thing to do, implying that Hogan was pissed, and he would have done something.
The Hulkster even took credit for inventing the iconic “best there ever will be” catchphrase during a filler promo and said that Bret Hart stole that from him. Imagine that. But the most confusing part is the claim that Hogan and Hart were really good friends throughout their careers and that they started wrestling at the same time.
That goes completely against everything we know about their relationship. Reports about backstage animosity were prominent even during the dark ages of the pro wrestling dirt sheets. On the same subject, if Bret Hart was such a good friend, why would Hogan bury him backstage about being a mid-level talent? Hogan actually thought Bret Hart was simple a tag-team level wrestler when the two worked in WWE. That is why he refused to put him over, and Hart has not forgotten, nor has he forgiven.