Ex-WWE star blasts Bret Hart, claims Shawn Michaels was "cool as heck"

Bob Cook believes Bret Hart had a bigger ego than Shawn Michaels during the height of their WWE rivalry in the 1990s.

Cook wrestled for WWE in 1995 after previously appearing in WCW. During that time, it was well known that Michaels was difficult to deal with behind the scenes due to his arrogant behavior.

In a recent interview on the Insiders Edge Podcast, Cook made it clear that he never had any issues with The Heartbreak Kid in WWE. However, he could not say the same for Hart:

“People like to talk about Shawn Michaels," said Cook. "Shawn Michaels was cool as heck to me back then personally. He was just happy-go-lucky, laid back, fun to hang around. You know who wasn’t that way? Bret Hart. Bret Hart was the Shawn Michaels people think Shawn Michaels is, in my opinion, when I was there.” [31:15-31:33]

In 1996, Michaels defeated Hart in an Iron Man match in the main event of WrestleMania XII. A year later, the real-life animosity between the legendary superstars led to the infamous Montreal Screwjob incident at Survivor Series 1997.

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Why Bob Cook disliked Bret Hart in WWE

According to Bob Cook, Bret Hart had more attitude problems than Shawn Michaels due to his belief that he was better than everyone else.

The former WCW star added that The Hitman was “miserable” and could often be seen “moping in the corner” by himself at bars:

“He was always walking around like he was better than everybody, always walking around like he was miserable, kind of like he is today, and that’s my opinion of Bret Hart," Cook continued. "We’d go to the bar afterwards, Bret would be sitting by himself. All the rest of the boys – Shawn, everybody – we were having fun. Bret’s off moping in the corner.” [31:33-31:50]

Hart and Michaels have put aside their differences and reconciled in recent years. Both men became two-time WWE Hall of Famers in 2019 when The Hart Foundation and D-Generation X received their inductions.

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Please credit the Insiders Edge Podcast and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.