Posted on by bdamage1
Brian Damage
Jimmy Hart was one of the top heel managers in all of professional wrestling since he debuted in the late 1970s. Hart was the ultimate heel in the Memphis territory in his battles with Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler. More often than not, if you were a top heel in Memphis, you had Jimmy Hart in your corner.
By the mid-1980s, Hart joined Vince McMahon’s World Wrestling Federation and became a nationally recognized heel manager. Hart managed the likes of the Hart Foundation, The Rougeau Brothers, Earthquake, The Honkytonk Man and The Nasty Boys just to name a few. He was known for his flashy jackets, piano key tie and, most notably, his megaphone. An object he wasn’t hesitant to use. Hart managed tag team champions and Intercontinental champions.
By 1993, the pro wrestling landscape was changing. Business wasn’t as profitable as it once was. Babyfaces were starting to be booed and heels were starting to be cheered. Managers were slowly becoming passe and not as regularly used in prior times. Jimmy Hart was himself, becoming a stale character.
During this time period, the WWF’s top star, Hulk Hogan, was taking a “sabbatical” from the company. With business slowly fading, Hulk Hogan decided to return and along with it an idea to reintroduce himself to fans. Hogan gave a call to Jimmy Hart who was more of an acquaintance than a friend to the Hulkster. Hogan asked Hart if he wanted to become his manager. At first, Jimmy was confused because managers were usually used for heel wrestlers. Hogan assured Jimmy he wasn’t turning heel.
Hulk was always a fan of Jimmy’s work and wanted to return to the WWF with a big splash. Hart saw this as a golden opportunity to become the manager of the business’ biggest star. Hart and Hogan went to Vince McMahon and pitched Hogan’s idea. Vince wasn’t convinced that Jimmy Hart would be believable as a babyface manager. Vince asked Hart if he was sure he wanted to go through with the angle and Hart assured Vince it was what he wanted.
In February 1993, Hulk Hogan’s real-life best friend Brutus Beefcake was returning himself to the ring after a three-year layoff after an unfortunate parasailing accident. Brutus was going to be the lightning rod to the angle that would turn Hart a babyface and usher the return of Hulk Hogan. At the time, Hart was the manager of the WWF tag team champions of Money Incorporated (Ted Dibiase and Irwin R. Shyster) Dibiase would challenge Beefcake in his first match back to a wrestling ring.
The match took place on the WWF’s new hit show…Monday Night Raw. Beefcake had control of the match until Dibiase’s partner IRS interfered. IRS hit beefcake in the back with his steel briefcase. Afterwards, Money Inc continued to double team Beefcake with nobody coming to his rescue. It was then that IRS took his briefcase and was ready to hit Beefcake in his surgically repaired face, while Ted Dibiase held him.
Jimmy Hart surprisingly showed concern and remorse for Beefcake and got in the way of IRS from hitting Beefcake with the case. IRS would grab his manager and throw him out of the ring. Shyster then hit Beefcake in the face with the briefcase. As Brutus was writhing in pain on the mat, Money Inc looked to do further damage, but Jimmy Hart ran back in the ring and used his own body as a shield for Beefcake.
The next week, Hulk Hogan returned to the WWF and introduced Beefcake and their new manager, Jimmy Hart. For the very first time in his career, Hart was a babyface. That, of course, led to a very unmemorable run for Hulk Hogan that year. At the end of it all, Hogan left the WWF again and took Jimmy Hart with him as his now real-life manager as Hogan pursued a career in movies.
While the babyface run of Jimmy Hart wasn’t all that good, the angle leading up to it was. It was one of the first times that the WWF broke away from the cartoonish antics they were accustomed to and brought real-life incidents to the table.