A WWE legend gives all the credit to Bret Hart for perfectly executing a historic moment that was originally set to be fixed in post-production.
One of the most memorable endings in Royal Rumble history, the 1994 event saw The Hitman and Lex Luger as the final 2 entrants. The final moments of the match saw both men go over the top rope and out to the floor, causing confusion among the fans and the commentary team over who hit the ground first.
With officials going back and forth over who won the match, President Jack Tunney made his way to the ring to establish the victor. After consulting with the officials, Tunney made the decision and Howard Finkel declared that both Hart and Luger were co-winners, the first and to this date only wrestlers to share a victory.
Lex Luger Gives All The Credit To Bret Hart
Speaking with Chris Van Vliet, Luger gave all the credit to The Hitman for the memorable Royal Rumble finish:
“Bret tries to credit me. I credit Bret, the Excellence of Execution, because all I had to do was catch him and go backwards over the top rope, which is not fun. I didn’t even do a lot of backwards over the top rope kind of stuff, but I trusted Bret because he had to tuck my head and everything. Because when you go backwards on top rope, you gotta for safety tuck your head and everything.
So Bret cross-bodied me and took us out, and then, man, he spider monkied me. He pulled me in and pulled my head in and they said Vince jumped out of his chair in the back. Because we walked through it however we’re going to do it. Bang, bang, bang, cross body, out.”
Continuing, Luger stated that Vince McMahon’s original plan was to edit the footage so that they both touched the floor simultaneously. However, thanks to Hart, the ending went off better than expected with McMahon shocked at how both men pulled it off:
“Vince goes, ‘Try to hit the floor at the same time, we’ll touch it up afterwards so we’re both at the same time.’ They even did it in slow-mo. What a miracle. You couldn’t tell in the slow motion who hit first. But Bret pulled me in so tight the way we hit the apron with me going backwards, and from there to the floor. Bret just got us both level and even we both hit it at the exact same time. Could have done it a thousand times after and wouldn’t have got it. That’s when Vince jumped out of his chair. Wow, oh my gosh. They nailed it.”
Speaking in a recent interview, Hulk Hogan spoke about his relationship with Bret Hart.
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Inside The Ropes presents An Evening With Bret Hart in September 2025 with shows in Glasgow, Manchester and London. Limited tickets for the shows are available here.