Bret Hart Claims Triple H And Shawn Michaels Tried To Get Ex-WWE Star Fired
Bret Hart has given an insight into the minefield that was the backstage politics in WWE.
After making his debut on an episode of Raw in February 1997, Ken Shamrock served as the special guest referee for the legendary Submission Match between Steve Austin and Bret Hart at WrestleMania 13.
Shamrock had already found success in MMA while dipping his toes into wrestling, and arrived in the company with a reputation as “The World’s Most Dangerous Man.” A year after his WrestleMania debut, Shamrock began his in-ring career with the company and went on to win the 1998 King of The Ring, as well as Intercontinental and Tag Team gold.
During an appearance on a special edition of the 1 of a Kind podcast, Hart sat down with Dominic DeAngelo for a wide-ranging interview. During the conversation, Hart recalled Triple H and Shawn Michaels trying to get Shamrock fired by getting in the ear of Vince McMahon.
When I met him (Ken Shamrock), he said, ‘I broke my wrist and I gotta let my wrist heal so I can go back,’ and he goes, ‘I can’t go back until my wrist heals,’ and I said, ‘Why don’t you do pro wrestling for New York while your wrist heals? Let’s go make some money,’ and next thing you know, he says, ‘Alright, I’m in,’ and then I talked Vince (McMahon) into it and Vince signed him and it’s funny, when they signed him, Triple H and Shawn (Michaels) tried to get him fired.
For no reason other than he was just — they didn’t like him, and I just remember Vince called me into his office and he goes, ‘I’m thinking about letting Shamrock go,’ and I’m like, ‘Why?’ He goes, ‘Some of the guys think he’s real stiff’ and this and that and he didn’t even have any reason.
He goes, ‘What do you think? What’s your honest opinion?’ And I said, ‘I would keep him. He’s doing alright, he’s doing great,’ and then like two weeks, a couple weeks later, he’s refereeing my match with Steve Austin and they kept him on and then he had his whole career there.
Bret Hart On Good Terms With Triple H
Over the years, Hart has made no secret of his disdain for Triple H, regularly criticising him for his work in the ring, and conduct backstage — especially during the 1990s. However, it seems the tension has thawed in more recent times.
On September 9th, Hart made a special appearance on Monday Night Raw in Calgary, where he was involved in a segment with Gunther and Sami Zayn. In backstage footage from the show, Triple H and Bret Hart embraced after the segment, and The Hitman said it was “always a pleasure” to run into The Game.
Hart and Triple H only shared the ring on five occasions during their careers, with just one of those matches airing on television.
H/t to POST Wrestling