On Thursday July 24, WWE Hall Of Famer Hulk Hogan passed away at the age of 71 after suffering from a heart attack and years of secretly battling chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Since his death, Hogan has continued to receive tributes from many in the wrestling world, with legends like The Undertaker, Ric Flair and Kurt Angle all commenting on “The Hulkster’s” impact on the industry. However, one wrestler who famously disliked Hogan is none other than five-time WWE Champion Bret Hart, who has now taken the opportunity to speak on the news.
In a recent interview on “The Masked Man Show,” Hart paid his respects to Hogan and admitted that his legacy forever changed the business, but still feels that he never helped elevate other stars or shared his success with talent.
“You can never deny what Hulk Hogan did, like his footprint in the wrestling business will always be huge, like maybe as big as it ever is going to get,” Hart explained. “Roddy Piper was one of the few guys that reached down and pulled me up to his level, like helped pulled me up … Roddy Piper made me and contributed back to the next generation. But there was a lot of wrestlers that didn’t do that. Hulk Hogan never did that for anybody. He never pulled anyone else up. Jake Roberts never did anything for anybody else. He only did for Jake Roberts. I look at Jake Roberts and I look at Hulk Hogan as just two guys.”
Hart and Hogan’s rivalry began over 30 years ago when Hogan refused to drop the WWE Championship to Hart at WWE SummerSlam 1993. However, over the years Hart has continued to be critical of Hogan’s backstage antics and believes he negatively impacted his career in wrestling.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “The Masked Man Show” with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
