Bret Hart: Hulk Hogan was a ‘good guy once upon a time,’ became a ‘backstabbing’ piece of sh*t

Bret Hart and Hulk Hogan’s narratives of their conflict at WrestleMania IX is documented in Hulk Hogan: Real American. 

The third episode of the docuseries titled Hollywood Hogan discusses Hogan’s involvement after the WrestleMania IX main event, where he ran out to assist Hart after he lost the WWF Championship to Yokozuna. During the match, Mr. Fuji, Yokozuna’s manager, threw ceremonial salt in Hart’s eyes which led to his title loss. 

The narration in the docuseries swings back and forth between both men’s perspectives as they recount their sentiments on what transpired. 

Hart: “I remember walking up to him, I was like, ‘Hey Terry.’ I stood up with my hand out to shake his hand for about 30 seconds but he wouldn’t even look at me. He just kept talking to (Brutus) Beefcake.”

Hogan: “I can’t imagine doing that intentionally. Maybe I had an off day. Maybe I was drunk, maybe I was high. I don’t know. I don’t know what to tell you, but it wouldn’t have been intentional.”

Hart: “I knew right then and there. I was like ‘I’ve got the belt and I’ve got what he wants and I’m the enemy now.'”

Hogan: “I had that Hogan stroke back then. Me and Vince (McMahon) were just bonded at the hip and I could pull the plug on certain things and certain people.”

Hart: “That day I remember thinking what a step backwards. It was a whole different audience and they were liking me, not Hulk Hogan”

Hogan: “Bret got all up in my face and he got all riled up. I said, ‘What’s up with this guy? I thought he was a team player, man.’….Vince made the decision, it’s just one of those things.” 

Hart: “I said it’s going to backfire and it’s going to be really bad. ‘F*ck you’. Hulk came up with such a phoney, bullsh*t match. The kind of match that Hulk would dream up. Hogan came out like the hero. ‘Yeah, he’s my friend coming out to my rescue. Go get him Hulk. Go in there and win my belt. Win it for me’. It sucked. People would be going ‘Why did they do that to Bret Hart?’. He was a good guy once upon a time, but in the end he was a backstabbing, knife-wielding piece of sh*t.”

Earlier that night, Hogan teamed up with Brutus Beefcake to take on Ted Dibiase and Irwin R. Schyster for the WWF Tag Team Titles. 

After the main event, Hogan defeated Yokozuna in an impromptu match to become the new WWF Champion. His reign ended 70 days later by Yokozuna at King of the Ring in 1993. 

Hogan passed away on July 24, 2025 at the age of 71. His match against Andre The Giant at WrestleMania III was honored with the Immortal Moment Award at the 2026 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony. 

Wrestling Observer Live: A trip back to 1993

Since I’m gone on vacation, I pulled an old Wrestling Observer Live show from the archives: 30 years ago this week.

Hear what it was like way back in 1993. Lex Luger beat Yokozuna at WWF SummerSlam, but he didn’t win the WWF World title. Bret Hart made Jerry Lawler submit, but he didn’t win the title of King of the WWF ring.

There was an exciting week of WWF television as there were three competitive marquee matches featuring such top notch stars as Virgil, Marty Jannetty and Bastion Booger. Wrestling on TV just can’t get any better than this!

Plus, you won’t believe what happened with The Shockmaster! All the news and insight from 1993. Check it out!

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Bryan & Vinny & Craig & Shawn Show: Granny segment plus RAW S2:E18 with Yokozuna vs. Earthquake Sumo Match

The Bryan & Vinny & Craig & Shawn & Granny Show is back with tons to talk about including a weekly Q&A, a Wrestling Report AND a Soap Opera Report, QUESTIONS and more, then the boys review RAW season 2 episode 18 with Yokozuna vs. Earthquake in a sumo match. A fun show as always so check it out~!

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Bryan & Vinny & Shawn & Craig Show: RAW 47 with Yokozuna squashing dude into a pancake, plus Granny!

It’s the Bryan & Vinny & Craig & Shawn & Granny Show and we’ve got tons to get into including our weekly chat with Granny, a Q&A, her Wrestling Report, her TEN QUESTIONS, her joke book reading, and then the boys review RAW 47 with the infamous moment where Yokozuna decided to kill some poor bloke with the sitdown splash in the corner. A fun show as always — except for that guy — so check it out~!

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Bryan & Vinny Show: SummerSlam 1993 review plus Granny and more!

The Bryan & Vinny & Granny Show is back with tons to talk about including Granny’s Q&A with tons of questions, her Weekly Wrestling Report and limerick reading, and then the boys review SUMMERSLAM 1993 with Lex Luger vs. Yokozuna and more. A fun show as always so check it out~!

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Bryan & Vinny & Craig Show: WWE Raw 29 with great Lex Luger promo, plus Granny

The Bryan & Vinny & Granny & Craig Show is back with tons to talk about including our weekly chat with Granny, her Weekly Wrestling Report and Q&A, poetry reading and more.

Then, we review WWE Raw 29 with a no-longer-rare great performance by Lex Luger that ultimately gets f*cked up. A fun show as always so check it out~!

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Bryan & Vinny & Craig Show: Raw 24 with Lex Luger slamming Yokozuna, plus Granny!

The Bryan & Vinny & Granny & Craig Show is back with tons to talk about including Granny’s usual Q&A, Weekly Wrestling Report, Lanny Poffo book reading, and more, then the boys review RAW 24, a useless show with the exception of the recap of Luger slamming Yokozuna. A fun show as always so check it out~!

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WWE Network adds unseen footage from Yokozuna/Luger slam

If you are still feel patriotic following the 4th of July, this week’s Hidden Gem on the WWE Network has your back.

This week’s upload pretty much has everything regarding Lex Luger’s big push in the summer of 1993: the “I’ll Be Your Hero” music video, footage of Luger touring the United States on the Lex Express bus, b-roll footage of Luger’s babyface turn on the USS Intrepid on July 4, 1993 where slammed Yokozuna and the WWE title match at that year’s SummerSlam. The footage runs slightly over the three hour mark.

The patriotic push came after Luger had an initial middling run as a heel, the Narcissist. The original plan was for him to defeat Yokozuna for the WWE title at SummerSlam 1993, but the win was pushed to WrestleMania X. By the time that show rolled around, plans changed again and ultimately Luger never got over in the way WWE was hoping for.

Luger jumped to WCW in 1995 and won the WCW title once before the company folded in 2001.

October 30, 2000 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Death of Yokozuna, Bret Hart leaves WCW, more

Rodney Anoia, who was the heaviest superstar in the history of pro wrestling and a two-time WWF champion under the name Yokozuna, passed away suddenly on 10/23 in a Liverpool, England hotel room a few weeks after his 34th birthday.

Anoia was the most successful of the huge Samoan clan of wrestlers started by Afa & Sika Anoia, his uncles, when they began wrestling in the early 1970s. He was one of the biggest stars in the business around the world during his WWF run, which lasted from late 1992 through 1996.

Whether Anoia was the heaviest man ever to perform in the world of pro wrestling is a matter of conjecture. It is believed that Anoia weighed close to, if not, 800 pounds in late 1996, at about the time the WWF stopped using him because of his weight problem.

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DR. KEITH PRESENTS: BANZAAAAIIIII!!!

It’s a trip down memory lane this week on the DKP as we tackle a subject and a man that we should have a long time ago. If we were going to do this we had to do it right, and that meant drafting in one of the most knowledgable wrestling minds we know, Kris Zellner!

Yes, Kris makes his DKP debut to sit down with Alan and talk the career of Rodney Anoa’i aka The Great Kokina aka Kokina Maximus aka YOKOZUNA! One of the most iconic wrestlers of all time, Yoko is remembered fondly by everyone who was around during the height of his fame. But before he even landed in the WWF, Yoko had a very interesting diverse career and we break it all down this week on the DKP.

A really fun show that is chock full of great memories! CHECK IT!!! 

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