Vince McMahon promised legendary WWE Superstar five-year Championship reign before taking title off him

Speaking in an interview with ESPN about his WrestleMania matches, Bret Hart recalled that he was told by Vince McMahon before WrestleMania IX that he was going to hold the WWE Championship for “five, six, seven years” in the 1990s.

“The Hitman” won his first WWE Championship in October 1992 when he defeated Ric Flair at a live event in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and McMahon said he wanted Hart to have a lengthy reign with the title, much like Bruno Sammartino in the 1960s and 1970s.

However, one day before WrestleMania IX, Hart found out that his 175-day reign as WWE Champion was going to end in the main event against Yokozuna, who then immediately dropped the title to Hulk Hogan.

“They told me when I won the title, which was about three months before, that they were going to keep the title on me for a really long time. I’m talking five, six, seven years. I only went on what they told me, so I was totally not prepared to lose so quickly. I was really caught off guard by that.”

Bret Hart’s WWE Championship reigns

Despite his WrestleMania IX disappointment, Bret Hart went on to win the WWE Championship on another four occasions, including in 1994 when he defeated Yokozuna at WrestleMania X to begin a 248-day reign with the title.

The two-time Hall of Famer’s other reigns lasted 133 days, one day and 98 days.