There are so many fantasy matchups in wrestling we’d love to see that when they do happen they either live up to our expectations or fall flat, and on this day in wrestling history this dream matchup left a giant crater.
Throughout the 1990s, everyone wanted to see Hulk Hogan and Bret Hart face in a singles match. Both were the top faces in the early part of the decade, and then heels toward the end.
After the Montreal Screwjob Bret left the WWE (as we’ve all heard a million times, right?) and signed with WCW.
According to Bret, Vince McMahon told him they wouldn’t know what to with the Hitman and he was proven right.
Dream match turned laughable nightmare
When the match the match finally happened between Hogan and Bret on September 28, 1998, things didn’t go like any of us hoped, and Bret wrote about it in his book, Hitman.
Special thanks to @awrestlinghistorian for the excerpt.
“I was baffled when Eric wasted Hart versus Hogan on a free match at Nitro, throwing away a guaranteed moneymaker that the fans had been waiting years for. The plan, in my view, was insane. He wanted me to turn babyface during an in-ring interview, challenge Hogan, then get injured and have Sting take my place. When Sting twisted Hogan into his scorpion death lock, I would limp back out and double-cross Sting by DDTing him headfirst into the mat, turning heel again. To turn me heel at this point was so stupid, it felt like sabotage.” – Bret Hart
The match ended in a No Contest and while Eric Bischoff agreed with Bret when he talked about the book on his podcast, 83 Weeks, it’s important to note that Hogan wasn’t interesting in working with Bret.
“That doesn’t work for me, brother”
There are numerous schools of thought on Hogan’s reasoning from him not thinking Bret was a big enough star despite him being the top wrestler in the world at the time to professional jealousy.
We have to remember that at this time professional wrestling was more a land of sharks than the cooperative world we hear about now, and looking over one’s shoulder was a way of life.
Vince McMahon had been trying to replace Hogan for years with Tommy McGee, the Ultimate Warrior, and then Bret Hart.
So professional jealousy at McMahon trying to oust Hogan in 92-93 with Bret may have played a role.
It’s a shame as this would’ve been an instant classic had they managed to work together better and that would’ve made this day in wrestling history a different one all together.
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