Bret Hart thought he was about to become WWE’s long-term centerpiece after winning the company’s top championship. According to The Hitman, Vince McMahon wasn’t talking about a run lasting a few months either — he was throwing around numbers that would have kept Bret on top for years.
During an interview with Inside The Ropes, Hart looked back on the period after he became WWE Champion and explained just how secure McMahon made him feel about his spot. Bret said McMahon compared what WWE had planned for him to the lengthy championship runs of Bruno Sammartino and Bob Backlund.
“Vince had told me in those—that time period right after I won the belt—he goes, ‘We’re going to keep the belt on you for a really long time. Like, you’re going to be champion for at least seven years.’ We’re thinking six, seven years. Kind of like Bruno Sammartino and Backlund in the old days, how they used to keep the belt on one guy for.”
That immediately got Bret thinking about what being WWE’s top champion for that long could mean financially. At the time, he viewed holding the championship as being positioned at the very top of WWE’s pay structure.
“I remember going, ching ching. Like I’m going to be making some serious money. The belt is the highest paid guy in the company.”
Hart said the promise also changed the way he approached his work. Instead of treating the WWE Championship like something that belonged to him, Bret said he was determined to prove every night that WWE had made the right decision putting him in that position.
“I don’t want to lose this opportunity. I’m going to keep work. And I worked really hard as soon as I got the belt.”
McMahon apparently kept reinforcing the idea that Hart had nothing to worry about. Bret remembered being told that WWE had major plans for him and that his position was secure.
“He said, ‘Don’t worry about your position. You don’t have to worry about anything because you’re locked in. We’ve got big plans for you for a long time.’”
Ringside News previously covered Hart making a similar claim about McMahon promising him a years-long WWE Championship run. What makes the story sting is what happened next, because that supposed long-term plan disappeared when WrestleMania 9 rolled around and Hart was told he would lose the championship to Yokozuna before Hulk Hogan walked away with the belt.
Bret clearly never forgot being told he could be WWE Champion for six or seven years only to watch the entire plan change underneath him. More than three decades later, the gap between what he says McMahon promised and what WWE actually delivered remains a major part of how Hart remembers the WrestleMania 9 disaster.
What do you make of Bret Hart saying Vince McMahon once talked about keeping the WWE Championship on him for as long as seven years? Let us know your thoughts and feedback in the comments.
This transcript was produced exclusively for Ringside News from the original recording. Republishing the transcription in full is prohibited. When using excerpts, provide prominent credit and a link to this article.
