5 WWE Superstars who refused a title reign

#4 Bret Hart refused to win the Intercontinental Championship

Bret Hart with a bold prediction..@TheRock @BretHart pic.twitter.com/mYEeVgV3Ij

— RetroWwfUfc (@RetroWwfUfc) June 29, 2020

The two-time WWE Hall of Famer, Bret Hart has had a very on-off relationship with the company and some of its Superstars. It was in 1997, a little before the infamous Montreal Screwjob incident, when Bret Hart was offered to defeat Rocky Malvia (aka The Rock) for the Intercontinental Championship, an offer that he turned down.

Revealing the incident in his autobiography, Hitman: My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling, Bret Hart mentioned that Shawn Michaels and Triple H wanted him to defeat The Rock for the IC title on RAW. But he refused to do so, as he felt that a loss here would destroy The Rock's momentum and might affect his future as a top Superstar of the company. It is also rumored that this was a way to keep him and Michaels apart and let Michaels go after the WWE Championship.

My 3,500 word piece looking at Bret Hart in 1997, and why he had to turn heel on the US fans: https://t.co/Vr8FeBjyVu pic.twitter.com/xSpkg2zVer

— Wrestling 20 Years Ago Podcast (@Wrestling20Yrs) June 11, 2017

Well, if this is the sacrifice that led to The Rock becoming what he is today, then it was a great decision from the Hitman and WWE should rather be thankful to him for that.