"Didn't know a headlock from a headlamp" - Bret Hart's honest opinion on WWE legend
Bret Hart recently stated that two-time WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan's wrestling skills were "very limited."
The Hitman has made his thoughts on Hogan well-known in the past, notably highlighting how the latter wasn't too keen on elevating younger talents in his heyday.
Hart will receive a Canada Walk of Fame induction on December 17, 2021. He spoke to Calgary Sun not too long ago to promote the event. The WWE legend gave his honest take on Hulk Hogan's in-ring experience during the interview, saying he "didn't know a headlock from a headlamp."
"I think if you look back at wrestling when it was the Hulk Hogan show. He was six-foot-eight and a one-out-of-three wrestler. He didn't know a headlock from a headlamp. He didn't know very much. He knew how to do a clothesline and maybe a body slam. He was very limited," stated Bret Hart.
Hulk Hogan has lost clean to only 14 people during his career. https://t.co/1qCdZS9YjA
In contrast to Hogan's wrestling style, Hart took a highly technical approach to matches in the 1980s and 1990s, which inspired many stars of subsequent generations.
He also influenced WWE veterans like Edge and Natalya — two fellow Canadians who still wrestle today.
Why Bret Hart vs. Hulk Hogan never happened in WWE
"The only thing Hulk Hogan ever knew was how to make Hulk Hogan. He couldn't tell you how to make AJ Styles or Samoa Joe. What's Hulk Hogan going to tell Samoa Joe? He doesn't know anything to even tell him; he's got zero to offer." - Bret Hart on Hulk Hogan. https://t.co/mJw6677V0f
In 1993, there were plans for the two legends to clash for the WWE Championship at SummerSlam. However, their one-on-one contest never occurred as Hogan dropped the world title to Yokozuna on his way out of the company.
Last year, Bret Hart had the following to say about why the two-time WWE Hall of Famer might not have wanted to work with him:
"I think Hulk Hogan knew that someone like me could embarrass him on the ring, or really take the edge off him from a fan perspective because he was so limited as a wrestler, and being so much bigger than me, like 6’8″, wrestling a guy that was six foot, he was always gonna be the overdog, I was always gonna be the underdog against Hulk Hogan, and that would have been too big a thing, it would have been, Hulk Hogan could never make another wrestler, and especially another wrestler that might end up being bigger than him. He couldn’t bear the thought of wrestling me and making me so he completely buried the knife in me and made sure that he never worked with me."
The only televised one-on-one match between Hart and Hogan went down on September 28, 1998, in WCW. It lasted approximately 10 minutes, with The Hitman winning via disqualification.
At this point, a significant singles contest between both men is a possibility that only exists in fantasy booking scenarios.