Vince McMahon’s retirement following an internal investigation by WWE's Board of Directors sent a shock through the wrestling industry. Superstars both past and present have shared statements since he stepped down, and now Bret Hart is among them. Hart, who has a complicated history with McMahon, had a surprising response to the whole thing.
Bret Hart spoke to Sportskeeda about a litany of things and, during the conversation, fielded a question about Vince McMahon leaving the WWE as its CEO. It’s no secret that the two men had a rocky relationship in the past. Given Hart has a long history of speaking his mind, even about guys like Hulk Hogan, many assumed his words would be negative. They were not:
Like everybody else, I’m mostly just kind of surprised. I don’t think anybody’s ever made as big a footprint as Vince McMahon. I feel kinda sad about it, actually. I know people probably think I would be gloating or happy to see him go through what he’s going [through], but I don’t. I feel bad that it happened, or whatever’s happened. I think his loss, or his absence from the business, will be sorely missed.
This is the same guy who still calls Hulk Hogan a “phony piece of shit.” So, it's safe to assume if he wanted to say something he would, but of course, it’s notable that McMahon and Hart buried the hatchet in recent years to the point that they’re at least on speaking terms. In fact, Hart has made sporadic appearances in WWE (though he did get attacked one time). Perhaps his current relationship with McMahon makes him a bit kinder when talking about the situation.
Wrestling fans may remember Bret Hart’s feud with Vince McMahon goes a long way back, with the most notable incident between them known as “The Montreal Screwjob.” The moment lives on in infamy, and the wrestling world still continues to debate what Hart knew and what exactly McMahon rigged. That incident was the last time Hart was seen in a WWE ring for a long time.
Hart may be sad about McMahon leaving, but many WWE fans are excited about the current direction. Triple H stepped into the role as head of creative, and he’s already making some pretty notable changes. Fans applauded the decision to turn Becky Lynch face again, and the surprise returns of Karrion Kross and Dexter Lumis to the WWE certainly have people excited about who else could turn up.
It’s possible Bret Hart isn’t too concerned about all that and maybe sees some elements of Vince McMahon’s tenure that won’t continue in this new era for the WWE. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what changes there are as the months go on and if Hart is right about the former CEO being sorely missed.
Bret Hart doesn’t wrestle these days, but anyone with a Peacock premium subscription can see a lot of his work in the WWE and WCW. There are a lot of great matches of his to watch on there, so anyone interested should definitely consider picking up a subscription.
