Bret ‘Hitman’ Hart has worked in many promotions over his career, but he never had a role in TNA Wrestling. That’s despite the fact that TNA was, for a period of time, TNA was the biggest competition in North America to WWE, a promotion Hart resented for a long time due to the Montreal Screwjob.
On his My World podcast, TNA co-founder Jeff Jarrett discussed Hart, sharing that there were moves made to bring Hart to the ‘Impact Zone.’ While others in TNA hoped the Hitman would join, Jarrett always suspected that Hart wasn’t ready to commit to a role with TNA.
“When I heard [WWE] advertise Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels coming together [in 2010]… my gut was right all along—he never wanted to commit to us.“
Anytime talks got serious, something would arise to ruin those plans, Jarrett added. According to double-J, Hart’s goal was always a WWE comeback, despite the post-Montreal tension.
“He always had hope and optimism that he was going to go back to WWE and everything was going to be all right.“
Had Hart joined TNA rather than returned to WWE in 2010, Jarrett would not have used him as an in-ring talent. Instead, Hart would have served in a mentor role, likely replacing Ric Flair as a mentor to AJ Styles.
“I think it would’ve been perfect for AJ to have Bret somewhat as his manager. Probably would have fit more than having Ric Flair as his manager.”
Bret Hart returned to WWE instead, and has made sporadic appearances for the company ever since. Nevertheless, the fact that many in TNA wanted him on board highlights the immense credentials of the first-ever three-time WWE Hall of Famer.