It was recently announced that it will air a much talked about the match between former WWE champion and two-time Hall of Famer Bret ‘Hitman’ Hart and former wrestler Tom Magee in what was an untelevised match in Rochester, NY in 1986. The match is set to air after Monday, May 13th after Monday Night Raw goes off the air.
Much was made about the match as it was speculated that this match signaled the second coming of Hulk Hogan. In a fascinating article by our good friends at ProWrestlingStories.com, interesting notes are highlighted about the matchup itself. “Did you know? The match between Bret Hart and Tom Magee on October 7, 1986, is blacklisted in the WWF archives, and footage of the obscure bout was lost to history for over thirty years”.
Magee’s relationship with Hart goes back some time as he was a former trainee in the Hart family dungeon under the late Stu Hart. In fact, it was with the encouragement of Stu that Bret helped to bring Tom in as mentioned in his book Hitman My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling.
“[Stu] asked me to tell Vince about his latest pet project, a kid he wanted him to look at named Tom McGhee [sic], who was one of the world’s strongest men. It was just like my dad to try to ensure that Magee would have a bright future with Vince even though he knew what losing a top star would do to his own business.
The match is also set to be a topic of discussion during Starrcast II’s face to face with Bret Hart and Tom Magee with Conrad Thompson. The decision to air this match on the network comes after it was announced that the match would air for the first time at the showcase.
Madison’s Mindset: The much talked about match has fallen into the ranks of folklore or urban legend as all record of its whereabouts had been believed to be lost. It will be interesting to see how fans react to the matchup as the build up of its greatness is now over 30 years in the making.
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