WWE Rumors: Bret Hart Details How The Rock Was Allegedly Bullied By Top Superstars As A Newcomer
On the latest episode of his subscriber-only web series Confessions of the Hitman, WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart went into detail when explaining how Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson allegedly endured his fair share of bullying from some of the company’s top-tier talents, including Shawn Michaels and Triple H, when he was new to the wrestling business.
As quoted by Wrestling Inc. on Wednesday, Hart revealed that there were a number of wrestlers who were apparently jealous of The Rock when he first joined WWE as a third-generation superstar. These individuals supposedly wanted to “break him” to the point that he’d want to quit the business. “The Hitman” noted that he and his brother, the late Owen Hart, would oftentimes look out for the then-youngster and defend him from his detractors.
Hart specifically cited two superstars who, as he saw it, unfairly targeted The Rock for otherwise trivial reasons. These included Michaels, who allegedly gave the future Hollywood megastar a hard time for doing a top-rope dropkick because that was “his move.” While Michaels eventually apologized for losing his temper, Hart said that he warned The Rock that the “Heartbreak Kid” was not sincere with his apology, adding that the top-rope dropkick was not associated with anyone in particular.
“I said, ‘they’re just busting your chops and they’re trying to work on you.'”
Hart then accused Triple H of being “the same” as his longtime friend in the sense that he supposedly picked on The Rock and tried to break his spirit.
“They wanted him [out] as bad as they wanted me out. Like, they were after him. And, for me, maybe a year later, he started getting his break and he started to take off in WWE,” the Hall of Famer continued. “I’m so glad he overcame their petty bullsh*t.”
Regarding the reasons why Michaels and Triple H — both members of the influential backstage faction known as “The Kliq” — were purportedly so harsh with The Rock in his early days as a WWE superstar, Hart speculated that they weren’t comfortable with seeing a “nice” person like him get a good push right out of the gate.
“Just jealousy, and distinctly jealousy. Seeing someone that is a nice kid climbing the ladder bothered someone like Shawn Michaels or bothered Triple H so much that they couldn’t see passed it.”
This isn’t the first time in recent weeks that at least one member of The Kliq has been accused of targeting certain colleagues for one reason or another during their heyday in the 1990s. As reported by The Inquisitr, former WWE superstar Pierre Carl Ouellet recalled earlier this month that he fell out of favor with management for refusing to lose a match against Kevin Nash, who was then in the middle of a world championship reign.
