Bret Hart gives thoughts on Bad News Brown WWE Hall of Fame induction
Bret Hart was happy to learn that former Stampede Wrestling star Bad News Brown has joined the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2026.
It was announced last week that Bad News Brown (real name Allen Coage) is posthumously being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame during WrestleMania 42 weekend. During an interview with Studio 1 Sports, Hart found out the news and gave his reaction.
“You know, I didn’t know that he got inducted. So that’s news to me,” Hart said. “I’m always happy for him. You know, to me, he’ll always be a Stampede wrestler — one of my dad’s guys. Bad News was maybe not my closest friend, but I always had a respect for him. He was a pretty intense guy. Like, he was not a stupid man. He was a pretty well-educated, disciplined guy and was really, I think an honorable guy. He was the kind of guy I would say never told a lie in his life, you know, that kind of thing. He always spoke his truth.”
Brown represented the USA in the 1976 Olympics and won a bronze medal in judo. After that, he broke into pro wrestling in Japan and later had runs in Canada with Stampede Wrestling and the United States with WWF. Hart noted that, because Brown learned wrestling in Japan, he never developed the kind of psychology that Hart was familiar with. Hart described him as a “meat chopper” — someone who just wanted to beat the hell out of their opponent and get their hand raised.
“He was very limited. Like, you couldn’t hit him in the head,” Hart said. “He was very touchy about what you did to him. And he was not the kind of guy you could mess with. He was a very tough man — arguably maybe one of the toughest men that ever put on a pair of boots in pro wrestling. A legitimate badass, tough guy that was more than capable of fighting anybody.”
Hart described Brown as “fearless” and said he was not afraid of anyone, anywhere. Though he personally had difficulties working with Brown because of his Japanese-style psychology and refusal to sell in their matches, Hart gave Brown a positive recommendation when Vince McMahon wanted to bring him into WWF. Hart urged McMahon not to put them in a program together because of their in-ring differences, but McMahon did not end up listening, having them as the final two in the WrestleMania IV battle royal that Brown won.
In the industry, Hart believes some people saw Brown as “a bit of a racist” because of how outspoken he was about his Blackness. If they weren’t in the same business, Hart believes he would have been a big fan of Brown because of how honest he was. Summing up his final thoughts, Hart called Brown a “great guy” who he just couldn’t do business with in the ring.
Brown passed away at 63 years old in 2007 due to a heart attack. He is part of this year’s WWE Hall of Fame class alongside Stephanie McMahon, AJ Styles, Demolition, Dennis Rodman, and Sid Vicious.
Last year, Hart was honored with his WrestleMania 13 match against Steve Austin being inducted into the Hall of Fame. It was the first match ever inducted. Hart is already in the HOF individually and as a member of The Hart Foundation with his brother-in-law Jim Neidhart.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.