10 Fascinating WWE Royal Rumble 1992 Facts

10. Bret Hart Was Reportedly Negotiating With WCW Around The Time

A scheduled IC title match for the Rumble pitting Bret Hart against The Mountie would not come to pass. Two nights before the show, Hart dropped the belt to Mountie at a house show in Springfield, MA. The cover story was that Hart was working with a 104 degree fever, and valiantly defended his gold, to no avail.

Around that time, Hart (according to The Wrestling Observer) believed his WWE deal was up, and was talking a guaranteed contract with WCW. The plan (at least from the WCW side) was to have Hart debut on Clash of the Champions two nights after the Rumble, possibly with the IC belt (as retaliation for Ric Flair bringing the Big Gold Belt onto WWE programming).

Hart's contract, however, had rolled over and he was unable to give notice. For what it's worth, Hart's autobiography confirms the Observer's notes about the plan to lose the belt to Mountie, only for him to regain it from Roddy Piper at WrestleMania 8, but makes no mention of agreeing to a WCW deal at that point in time.