Bret Hart has looked back on the unexpected circumstances that led to his return to WWE, revealing that watching Vince McMahon work with Donald Trump played a key role in shifting his perspective.

The moment dates back to 2007, when McMahon became physically involved with Trump during the build to WrestleMania 23. Their Battle of the Billionaires storyline culminated with Trump flooring McMahon with a clothesline, a sight that caught Hart’s attention while he was away from the business.

Speaking with Inside The Ropes, Hart explained that seeing McMahon take part in such an angle made him believe a return could work creatively, even though he was content with life outside wrestling at the time.

“I called Vince,” Hart said. “I was living in Hawaii at the time and having a pretty good life down there and having a good life and happy and everything. I didn’t need wrestling or anything, but I called up WWF [WWE] and talked to some guy named Kevin Dunn was his name. He’s one of Vince’s right hand guys. I said, ‘Yeah, I’d like to talk to Vince about maybe doing a storyline, an angle, and coming back. I just watched him wrestle Donald Trump yesterday. I could wrestle him.’ I can’t because of my concussion injury that I had at the time, which was very real.”

Hart eventually returned to WWE television in January 2010, ending his long running issues with Shawn Michaels before stepping into an on screen storyline with McMahon. That angle ultimately led to their match at WrestleMania 26, marking a rare and symbolic full circle moment in Hart’s relationship with the company.