9 Levels Of Bret Hart & Hulk Hogan's Heated Rivalry
3. King Of The Ring 1993
"I was gonna show everyone what Bret Hart was all about, I was going to make sure everyone knew the difference between Bret Hart and Hulk Hogan." - Bret Hart's DVD (2005)
At the first ever King Of The Ring PPV event, Bret Hart had three incredible battles with three distinct opponents. En route to his victory he squared off with Razor Ramon, Mr. Perfect, and Bam Bam Bigelow. The matches were all within a short time frame, and proved Bret Hart was a master of the squared circle.
Following Wrestlemania 9, Bret entered this event with a boulder on his shoulder. In his words, he was determined to not only have the three best matches on the PPV, but to have the three best matches of his career, and to prove a point to Vince McMahon and Hulk Hogan.
Before his KOTR final with Bam Bam Bigelow, Bret confronted Hogan after his embarrassing match with Yokozuna, and reminded him of his words at Wrestlemania 9, when Hogan allegedly told Bret, he'd be happy to return the favor. This led to Bret digging further, and agreeing with Hogan, that he (Bret) was not in Hogan's league. He promptly told Hogan on behalf of himself, and his family, and most of the boys in the dressing room, what exactly Hogan could go do.
Vince, Hogan and Bret eventually sat down and got to the bottom of what was really said, and Bret felt he was just a pawn in a larger game of chess between McMahon and Hogan. However, it's clear that this situation stuck with Bret.
Furthermore, it was the first time he felt like he was the best in the business, and didn't have to take a backseat to another wrestler again.