This Wrestler Was ‘The Simpsons’ Heavyweight Champ for 35 Years

Former WWE champion Bret “The Hitman” Hart is a Simpsons super freak. So when producers came calling in 1997 for Hart to voice an animated character, he jumped at the chance. “I was a big fan,” Hart told The Wrestling Classic, “so it was a big honor for me.” 

Hart hoped that he could play a Springfield version of himself, but The Simpsons had other ideas — at least at first. “They said, ‘No, it’s just a part for a wrestler.’ I think my wrestler was called the Mad Viking or something like that. So when I did the voiceover, I was the voice for the Mad Viking. I wasn’t Bret Hart, and it’s a little bit different.”

But wait — that is Bret Hart agreeing to purchase Burns Manor despite the old man stink permeating the hallways. After all, pro wrestlers such as himself appreciate all the closet space the place has to offer. At least he shows Burns some compassion, allowing the old man to keep a portrait of himself that had been hanging in the hallways. “Why would I want a picture of a pitiful, pencil-neck geek?” he spits.

So what happened? When did the Mad Viking (or something like that) become the Hitman? Hart’s generosity with his fans changed everything.

After Hart recorded his lines, he headed to the Fox parking lot where he was met by adoring fans. “They had probably about 300 people in a lineup (for me) signing autographs for them,” Hart remembered. An unnamed Simpsons producer discovered firsthand that the Hitman was incredibly popular. “He came up and he goes, ‘I had no idea you were that famous. We’re gonna draw you in as you.’ So they changed it and drew me in as myself.”

There was only one problem — Hart had already done the voiceover as a generic wrestler, not as Bret Hart. “That’s why when you hear the voiceover, it doesn’t sound like me,” he said. “I was trying to sound like somebody else.”

Turns out Bret Hart impersonating a pro wrestler sounds a lot like Bret Hart, pro wrestler. And while Springfield had its share of fictional grapplers — including El Bombastico, Babyface Palooka and Dr. Hillbilly — Hart was the only real-life wrestler to appear on the show until John Cena turned up as himself in Season 36.

Again, Hart only has himself to thank for getting to appear on The Simpsons as himself. “That’s where it pays off to be a nice guy and sign some autographs.”