Was Ibn Taymiyyah a follower of Imam Hanbali path? Were Salafis before Ibn Taymiyyah?

Re: Was Ibn Taymiyyah a follower of Imam Hanbali path? Were Salafis before Ibn Taymiyyah?

all imam have been quoted to say something similar to this "if u find an authentic hadith different from my opinion, then stick to the authentic hadith, for that is my way"....

now if someone rejects a hadith because the imam had said something else, then he is not even a follower of the imam....