With the WWE Championship back around his waist, Ric Flair had visions of a very lengthy reign. One month in, however, a freak injury jeopardized those hopes.
“I was wrestling Ultimate Warrior in Phoenix in October 1992,” remembers Flair. “Out of nowhere, Warrior dropped me on my head. After a while, I finally got up but I quickly fell back down again. Then I got up and I fell down, over and over. I had no idea what was going on. Turns out I was diagnosed with an inner-ear condition that caused me to lose my bearings. I just couldn’t work anymore.”
Despite barely being able to balance himself, Flair agreed to defend his title against Bret “Hit Man” Hart in Saskatoon, Canada, on October 12, 1992. At the time, Hart was considered a “young veteran,” having competed professionally for sixteen years (eight with WWE). Over this time, he had compiled an impressive résumé, consisting of two World Tag Team Championships and two Intercontinental Championships. But this was his first true crack at immortality. Ironically, the opportunity took place in a town with which he was quite familiar.
“I had my very first match in Saskatoon,” Bret Hart admits nearly eighteen years later. “I didn’t have much of a physique in those days. I remember walking out to face Flair for my title shot and thinking to myself, ‘This is where it all started.’ It was special to come back and compete in Saskatoon of all places, especially because it was one of my dad’s towns.”
The Hit Man’s father was legendary trainer Stu Hart. The elder Hart is credited with helping launch the careers of such greats as the Junkyard Dog, Japanese sensation Jushin Liger, “Superstar” Billy Graham, and the British Bulldog, among others. Hart’s wrestling promotion, Stampede Wrestling, also ran shows throughout much of Canada, including Saskatoon. This time around, however, Saskatoon was WWE country, more specifically Bret Hart country. Utilizing his patented Sharpshooter, the “Excellence of Execution” was able to force Flair into submission and finally realize his dream of becoming WWE Champion.
Hart’s wife, two eldest children, father, and brother Bruce were all in attendance that night. But none of them got to share in the joy with the new titleholder. “I had two really bad injuries. I dislocated my finger and rolled my ankle. I actually thought I broke my finger; it was bent sideways. It was shaped like an L. So I celebrated my victory with a trip to the hospital. I was there until about 1:30 A.M. Then I went back to my hotel room and tried to get some sleep.”
Bret Hart’s victory over Ric Flair ushered in a new generation of sports-entertainment. Unlike Hulk Hogan, Hart weighed in at a relatively light 235 pounds—he didn’t have muscles on top of muscles like the champions before him. Instead, the toned-down Superstar used his superior technical wrestling ability to wow fans. This new formula for success ultimately proved its worth, but not before some initial growing pains.
Bret Hart vs. Ric Flair.
“I realized that wrestling was going through a transition,” admits Hart. “Hogan was such a big entity, and in a lot of ways I had to fill Hogan’s shoes. But he was more of a cartoon character from a wrestling standpoint. He was such a phenomenon that, by the time Hulkamania had played out, I found myself as the champion. That’s when the business took a sharp turn. It stopped being about cartoon characters, and it became more about the actual wrestling. I was the first champion who centered on the wrestling and title matches. As a result, the title suddenly meant something. When Hogan had it, everybody assumed there would be a happy ending every night. But with me as champion, there was a little more uncertainty. When I walked out, most fans thought maybe the title would change hands that night—it gave them more of a chance to be surprised at the results.”
Survivor Series 1992 marked Hart’s first major title defense. It was against Shawn Michaels—the same man who would help screw the Hit Man out of the WWE Championship five years later at the same event. The Hart-Michaels main event was a far cry from the two masses of humanity (Hogan and Undertaker) who had battled over the title just one year prior at Survivor Series. But what the Hit Man and HBK lacked in size, they more than made up for in technical ability.
At first, fans weren’t sure what to expect out of Bret Hart versus Shawn Michaels. There was very little buildup to the match on television, which was very uncommon heading into a major Pay-Per-View, but fans kept an open mind.
Prior to the battle, interviewer “Mean” Gene Okerlund ran through the list of opponents Bret Hart had successfully defended his WWE Championship against. The Berzerker, Virgil, Papa Shango, The Mountie… and the list continued. Quantity surely could not be questioned. Quality, however, was a much different story. These Superstars were far from elite. So when then-Intercontinental Champion Michaels confidently strolled to the ring at Survivor Series, fans began to think Hart might be in some serious trouble, considering he had yet to defend the gold against a truly worthy competitor.
Once the bell rang, Bret Hart quickly put all the fans’ doubts to rest. He went on the offensive early, utilizing a series of hammerlocks and headlocks—moves that were often foreign to WWE Championship Matches of the Hogan era. As the match progressed, so did the scientific wrestling, but at a considerably quicker rate. Sunset flips. Flying cross-bodies. Small packages. Russian leg sweeps. Hart and Michaels were executing lightning-fast moves. And the fans were eating it up. In the end, it was the Hit Man picking up the win with his signature Sharpshooter.
Bret Hart kissed his championship after the match, as Ohio’s sold-out Richfield Coliseum showered him with praise. The victory not only solidified the Hit Man’s reign as legitimate, it also turned WWE’s fans on to a new brand of championship matches. Despite all the adulation, however, Hart was still trying to adjust to his new role of champion.
“It still hadn’t sunk in. I couldn’t believe it was happening, and I couldn’t believe it was me. I began to feel a great sense of responsibility to everybody in the dressing room and the company because I felt it was important to be ready every night and be prepared to carry the torch and be the champion. I changed my lifestyle. I didn’t go out and have beers with the other wrestlers anymore, mainly because I felt an obligation to be on the ball every night. I just changed my life. I kinda had to pinch myself every day.”
The newly focused Bret Hart used his Sharpshooter once again to earn a Pay-Per-View victory, this time over Razor Ramon at the 1993 Royal Rumble. As Hart celebrated his victory in the back, undefeated newcomer Yokozuna was tossing Randy Savage over the top rope to win the Rumble Match. The 1993 Rumble marked the first time in history that the winner was granted a WWE Championship opportunity at WrestleMania. As a result of the new stipulation, the 500-pound monster was locked in for the main event at the biggest event of the year.
Caesars Palace played host to WrestleMania IX, the first-ever outdoor WrestleMania. In keeping with the Caesars Palace theme, the Pay-Per-View was dubbed the “World’s Largest Toga Party,” which required the announcers and television crew to wear togas. Ring announcer Howard Finkel even changed his name to Finkus Maximus for the event.
Considering Yokozuna’s massive size, fans anticipated a very slow and plodding main event. But the contest turned out to be more technical than expected.
“Yoko was actually an amazing athlete and a very formidable opponent. I always had pretty good chemistry with him. I was able to bring out the best in him and vice versa. People forget how young he was; he was just a kid when he was working with me at WrestleMania IX.”
Despite Yokozuna’s prowess, at WrestleMania IX he resorted to cheating to accomplish his goal. While Hart had Yokozuna’s massive legs locked in the Sharpshooter, Mr. Fuji pulled out a bag of salt and tossed it into the champ’s eyes. The underhanded tactic temporarily blinded Hart, long enough for Yokozuna to cover him for the win.
Six months after defeating Ric Flair in a technical classic to win the WWE Championship, Bret Hart had the title stolen from him by Yokozuna. The loss was especially tough to swallow, considering the Hit Man had spent those six months establishing the entertainment value of technical wrestling. Then, with one handful of salt, it was all gone.
“When I lost the belt to Yokozuna at WrestleMania IX, that was, believe it or not, the first time I realized I was the champion,” claims Hart. “When I lost it, that was when I thought it was my belt and I should have it back. I started to appreciate my position as WWE Champion after I lost it. I didn’t have the confidence yet during that first reign—I kept thinking I could lose it any day. But when it changed hands, I suddenly realized I was champion of the company… even when I didn’t have the belt. For the rest of my run with WWE, it was always my belt. I was at my peak for the rest of my time there.”
A defeated Hart slowly began to regain his sight as he made his way out of the ring at Caesars Palace. Hulk Hogan, who had competed in a Tag Team Match earlier in the evening, ran to ringside to help the Hit Man find his way to the back.
Then Mr. Fuji proceeded to make the most ill-advised managerial decision in the history of sports-entertainment.
“Hogan!” Fuji screamed. “We will put up the new [WWE] heavyweight belt in the ring right now!”
Hogan was reluctant at first, but eventually he accepted the challenge after Hart gave his blessing. One clothesline and a legdrop later and the Hulkster was WWE Champion for an amazing fifth time. Even more astounding was the brevity of Yokozuna’s reign. He only held the title for two minutes and seven seconds—only Andre the Giant held it for a shorter period of time.
Hogan’s fifth WWE Championship reign came close to never happening. A few days prior to WrestleMania IX, the Hulkster went Jet Skiing with fellow WWE Superstar Brutus Beefcake and Baywatch stunt coordinator Ellis Edwards. During the excursion, Hogan was tossed from his Ski headfirst. When he brought his head back above water, he noticed another Ski coming right at him. His life jacket prevented him from ducking fully back under the water, and the Jet Ski collided with his face at forty miles per hour. The impact broke his orbital socket.
Hogan’s doctor told him to not get on a plane, let alone compete at WrestleMania IX. He ignored him. Instead, the Hulk showed up at Caesars Palace with a huge black eye. When fans saw it, rumors began running rampant regarding the true cause of the injury: The most popular urban myth that still exists today claims Randy Savage knocked Hogan out after learning he had an affair with Elizabeth.
The fifth time around for Hulk Hogan proved to be much less memorable than his previous WWE Championship reigns. By this time, fans wanted more of the Bret Hart–style main event matches. Plus, Hogan’s heart wasn’t truly in it anymore. He was more focused on making it big in Hollywood. In his 2002 autobiography, Hollywood Hulk Hogan, he admitted to looking at his new reign as little more than a payday—obviously not the attitude WWE expected from its champion.
With a listless Hogan representing WWE as champ, business began to drop. Hart saw the decline in popularity as an opportunity to regain what he believed was rightfully his.
“I had a feeling that they would see that going with Hogan was a mistake and that I would get my chance to be champion again. I actually got the sense that I would be challenging Hogan at SummerSlam that year. And I figured I’d probably beat him. But that never happened because Hogan was uncomfortable getting in the ring with me, even though he said he would be happy to do it to my face.”
Hulk Hogan vs. Yokozuna
Regardless, Hulk Hogan never made it to SummerSlam. While defending the title against Yokozuna in June at the King of the Ring, the Hulkster was victimized by a mysterious cameraman who climbed the ring apron and shot a fireball into the champ’s face. The evil act blinded Hogan long enough for Yokozuna to land his big legdrop to pick up the win and the WWE Championship.
