Bret Hart opened up about Shawn Michaels and Triple H’s harsh treatment of Dwayne Johnson in his early days: “they were after him”

There’s an aspect of the pro wrestling industry that is often overlooked by many people, i.e., the treatment of newer stars in a promotion by the seasoned veterans of the squared circle. A similar incident took place in the mid-’90s when Dwayne Johnson made his WWE debut and was reportedly bullied by Shawn Michaels and Triple H at the time.

Dwayne Johnson has come a long way since his first WWE appearance back in 1996. After ditching the babyface persona and adopting the gimmick of “The Rock”, Johnson found a way to get over with the fans. Since then, he went on to become the top star of the company before eventually moving on to Hollywood.

Bret Hart revealed HBK and Triple H’s bullying of Dwayne Johnson

Speaking on his ‘Confessions of the Hitman’ podcast, Bret Hart talked about how Shawn Michaels and Triple H, who were the top stars in WWE at the time, treated The Rock, who was new to the company.

Apparently, a lot of wrestlers backstage were giving Dwayne Johnson a hard time, trying to get him to quit. Among them, The Game and The Heartbreak Kid were the most prominent superstars who were ganging up on The Rock. Bret Hart recalled that he and his brother Owen were looking out for The Great One when he first joined the company. However, Triple H and Shawn Michaels relentlessly continued to bully him until he finally broke out as a fan favorite.

“I remember Shawn Michaels coming into the dressing room and dressing down poor Dwayne. Shawn came in and just dressed him down and he chewed him out. And I believe, [HBK] told [The Rock] to never do a top rope dropkick ever again because that was his move. That’s what he was mad about. And then, he slammed the door and he walked out. The Rock was [deflated] because in those days, Shawn had a lot of weight”, said Bret Hart.

He further continued “Triple H was the same. He was always out to get The Rock. Shawn was out to get him and they just worked on him, and worked on him, and worked on him. And I left. [The Rock] was still in the doghouse with those guys. 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 and I’m so glad he overcame their petty bulls–t.”

The Rock refused to work with HBK

A couple of prominent WWE Legends have come out recently and talked about how poorly Dwayne Johnson was treated by Shawn Michaels and Triple H when the former was new to the company. After The Rock became one of the top stars of the company, the bad blood between HBK and The People’s Champ got worse.

In 2000, Shawn Michaels had an in-ring segment with Dwayne Johnson, where he caught The Brahma Bull with a sweet chin music on the jaw. Apparently, the kick was harder than usual and Johnson took issue with the stiff move. He confronted Michaels backstage, where the latter told him to quit the industry if he could not ‘handle the pain’. This resulted into a brawl between the two superstars, where The Rock apparently got the better of his rival.

AEW star Chris Jericho shed some further light on the matter, as he recalled an intense interaction between Dwayne Johnson and Shawn Michaels during a show in Hawaii. Apparently at the time, WWE had planned an on-screen rivalry between the two real-life enemies. However, The Rock declined the plans, saying that he wanted nothing to do with The Heartbreak Kid.

As of now, both Shawn Michaels and Triple H are on good terms with Dwayne Johnson and consider their real-life heat in the ’90s and the 2000s as water under the bridge. However, at that time, their real life hatred for each other made for some entertaining matchups that are cherished by fans to this day.

Do you think Dwayne Johnson would’ve failed to become the person he is without this harsh treatment? Tell us what you think in the comments.