He might not have been involved in WWE storylines for some time now but Donald Trump is very much part of the company’s history in more ways than one.
Trump has been a constant fan of WWE since the early days of WrestleMania, while his relationship with the McMahon family is well known.
Furthermore, the current sitting President of the USA has also been involved in a match, with the infamous ‘Hair vs Hair match at WrestleMania 23.
Indeed, it was that night an onlooking former WWE champion, Bret Hart, decided he could take his career back to the ring.
Bret Hart on how Donald Trump v Vince McMahon got him back to WWE
Hart has always been vocal in both his praising and criticising of the modern WWE product.
After stepping away from the company after the Montreal Screwjob in the late 90s, Hart returned in 2007.
“So I called WWF. I remember watching WrestleMania [23. I don’t know what year it was, but it was Vince wrestling good old Donald Trump. I remember watching it and thinking, ‘I could do that.’ And next thing I knew, the wheels started turning. ‘Why don’t you throw that card out? I’ll come back, work with you guys, put all this behind me, and make a distinct point where everything changes and I don’t have to deal with the screwjob issue anymore. It’s gone.’
“So I made the decision to call. I was living in Hawaii at the time. I had a pretty good life down there, I was happy. I didn’t need wrestling. But I called WWF and talked to some guy named Kevin Dunn, one of Vince’s right-hand guys.
“I said, ‘Yeah, I’d like to talk to Vince about maybe doing a storyline and coming back.’ I had just watched him wrestle Donald Trump. I said, ‘I could wrestle him,’ but I explained I had a concussion injury, which was very real. I can’t fall backwards or land on my head, it could probably kill me. I can’t even shake my head vigorously. It’s a serious problem.
“I told Vince, ‘I can’t take any bumps, but Donald Trump never took any. I can fall on my knees, fall on my stomach, but I can’t fall backwards or take blows to the head. But I could do something. I can beat the crap out of you for sure.’”
Hart’s career would keep going until 2011 and his final match in teaming up with John Cena in a tag-team contest.
As for Trump’s constant presence in WWE, we still see him linked in one way or another. Quite whether Hart is the only man to ever be influenced by Trump in terms of a wrestling return, we can only guess.
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