Add as a preferred source on Google Bret Hart has once again opened up about one of the most unlikely returns in recent WWE history, when he put years of resentment behind him and agreed to work with Vince McMahon again.
In an interview with Inside The Ropes, the WWE Hall of Famer revealed that the idea started after he watched McMahon’s storyline with Donald Trump at WrestleMania 23 in 2007. At the event, Trump and McMahon were represented by Bobby Lashley and Umaga in the “Battle of the Billionaires,” which ended with Vince getting his head shaved.
Hart said that after seeing Trump get physically involved in the segment, he realized he could do something similar, even though he was not in condition to wrestle a normal match.
“So I called WWF. I remember watching WrestleMania [23] — I don’t know what year it was — but it was Vince wrestling good old Donald Trump. I remember watching it and thinking, ‘I could do that.’”
The major issue, as Bret explained, was his physical condition. The “Hitman” suffered a serious concussion in 1999 during his WCW run in a match against Goldberg, which ended up speeding up his in-ring retirement.
Even so, Hart believed a controlled match against McMahon could work, specifically because it would not require dangerous bumps or shots to the head.
“I can’t take any bumps, but Donald Trump never took any. I can fall on my knees, fall on my stomach, but I can’t fall backwards or take blows to the head. But I could do something. I can beat the crap out of you for sure.”
The return finally happened in 2010, when Hart appeared on Monday Night RAW and started his final rivalry with Vince McMahon. The deal also helped publicly close part of the weight left by the Montreal Screwjob, which took place at Survivor Series in 1997.
At WrestleMania XXVI on March 28, 2010, Hart defeated McMahon in a No Holds Barred Lumberjack Match, closing the story with a symbolic victory over his longtime rival.