"Go f**k yourself" – When Bret Hart lashed out at Hulk Hogan in furious backstage WWE row
To this day, many fans are still complaining about Hulk Hogan's involvement in the WrestleMania IX main event. The heroic Hulkster won the WWE Championship from Yokozuna in an impromptu 22-second match, moments after Yoko defeated Bret Hart in the advertised main event.
In his book Hitman: My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling, Hart claimed that Hogan promised to drop the title back to him. However, two months after WrestleMania, the WWE icon allegedly "flat-out refused" to go ahead with the championship change. As a compromise, he lost the title to Yokozuna at King of the Ring 1993 instead.
Hart also recalled in his book how he confronted Hogan in his dressing room backstage at the King of the Ring event:
"'You told me at WrestleMania IX that you'd be happy to return the favor, and as I understand it, now you don't want to even work with me, you won't put me over and I'm not in your league.' Hogan stood there speechless, so I carried on. 'Well, you're right, You're not in my league. On behalf of myself, my family and most of the boys in the dressing room, you can go f**k yourself.'"
6/13/1993
Yokozuna defeated Hulk Hogan to win back the WWF Championship at #KingOfTheRing from the Nutter Center in #WWEDayton, Ohio
#HulkHogan #Hulkamania #HulkamaniaIsRunningWild #Hulkster #HulkRules #TheImmortal #Yokozuna #SamoanDynasty #WWE #WWETitle #WWELegends #WWEHistory https://t.co/RyVP2Yuybr
The brutally honest conversation took place in front of Hulk Hogan's close friends Brutus Beefcake and Jimmy Hart, as well as referee Dave Hebner.
Hart explained what happened next after he swore at the six-time WWE Champion:
"He stuttered, 'Brother, you don't know the whole story.' 'I got the story directly from Vince [then-WWE Chairman Vince McMahon],' I said. 'Terry [Terry Bollea, Hogan's real name], you haven't said ten words to me since you got back almost four months ago. If you want to level with me, then go ahead. I'm right here!' 'I can't.' 'Why not?' 'Because you just told me to go f**k myself.' 'That's right, and I'll tell you again. Go f**k yourself.'"
Although he did not win the WWE Championship from Hogan, Hart still had a successful night at King of the Ring 1993. The event ended with The Hitman defeating Bam Bam Bigelow to win the King of the Ring tournament.
How Vince McMahon reacted to Bret Hart's exchange with Hulk Hogan
As Bret Hart referenced, Vince McMahon previously promised him a title win over Hulk Hogan before The Hulkster seemingly changed his mind.
On this day in 1993, Bret Hart would claim his second consecutive King of the King tournament.
This has always been my all-time favourite King of the Ring tournament due to Bret displaying his remarkable adaptability by having three completely different matches. https://t.co/iy4SUak9la
After Hart's frank words with Hulk Hogan, McMahon warned The Hitman about his out-of-character behavior:
"When I finally got back to the dressing room, Vince pulled me aside to lecture me about how it was unprofessional of me to tell Hogan off," Hart continued. "In fact, of the three of us, I felt that I was the only one who was being professional. 'Winning the King of the Ring is great,' I said, 'but it just doesn't pay the same as being the world champion, and you and I both know it!'"
In 2021, Hart also commented on Hogan's in-ring ability. He claimed the wrestling megastar was "very limited" and "didn't know a headlock from a headlamp."
Do you think Hulk Hogan should have lost the WWE Championship to Bret Hart? Let us know in the comments section below.