Jimmy Hart Claims Jerry Lawler Did Not Think WWE HOFer Would Draw A Dime

Jimmy Hart earned the nickname of "The Mouth Of The South" over his four-decade career. He has never been afraid to speak his mind. Now, he has revealed what Jerry "The King" Lawler first thought of Hulk Hogan when he saw him wrestle in the early days of his career.

"I was doing something with Jerry Lawler for this wrestling thing and he invited me to come by the coliseum one night," Hart said while speaking with "MackMania". "He said, 'You see this big guy in the ring right there?' I said, 'Oh my God, yeah who is he?' He said, 'Terry Bollea. Terry Bollea is what they call him.' I said, 'He's awesome, man.' Lawler swears to me that he never said this, but he said, 'What do you think of him? I have the chance to sign him and get ten percent of him.' I said, 'You're going to do it, aren't you?' He said, 'He won't make a dime in this business.'"

Hart has been a long-time friend of Hogan, with the two of them meeting in Memphis in the late 1970s. Hogan initially thought that Hart would be brought in to be his manager, but Hart was actually being brought in as a heel manager. The two later went on to work together in World Wrestling Federation (now WWE). Hogan went on to reach superstardom as The Real American while Hart went on to manage several top heels such as The Honky Tonk Man, Greg "The Hammer" Valentine, The Hart Foundation, and Ted DiBiase throughout the '80s and '90s.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "MackMania" with an h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.