Bret "The Hit Man" Hart. A True Living Legend in Professional Wrestling. 7x World Champion and winner of many accolades. He was the Leader of WWF's New Generation Era. Was once The #1 Guy in the WWF and The #3 Guy in All of Wrestling. The dude was Also one of my Wrestling Heroes.
But, not everyone saw him that way, Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan are 2 such people. This Is the Story of How WCW Intentionally dropped the ball with the Hit Man. This Is - Bret "Hit Man" Hart - The Living Legend WCW Refused To Ger Right!
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Chapter 1 - The Unsustainable Contract.
In Late 1996, Bret Hart signed a 20-year contract, but by Mid-Late 1997, the WWF was in a rough financial position and couldn't afford to honor the contract. WWF's financial issues were due to severl stupid decisions that they made back in 1995, such as Diesel's Year-Long Reign as Champion, Making Mabel of Men-on-a-Mission the King of the Ring instead of the Undertaker, And making Bret Hart, The New Generation Era's Leader, a Mid-Carder.
Stupid, Stupid, Stupid!
Anyway, in 1997, Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels were in a heated rivalry, both on and off screen. Hart also had an on-air rivalry with Vince McMahon. A heated ringside altercation between the two led many fans to dislike McMahon, who at the time was being exposed as owner of the WWF more and more frequently on-air.
At that time, Bret Hart Was the #3 Wrestler in the World and The Federation's #1 Guy, but, Stupidly McMahon felt that the value of The Hit Man was beginning to wane, so when it came to light that the WWF couldn't fully honor Hart's contract, McMahon encouraged Him to approach WCW about a contract, hopefully one similar to their original offer.
Bret Hart's reluctance to leave the WWF was strong, and He was willing to re-negotiate his contract. Feeling he had no choice, Hart signed a three-year contract with WCW.
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Chapter 2 - The Screwjob
Now an unofficial member of WCW's Roster, Bret Hart would wrestle his final WWF match at Survivor Series in Montreal against his Shawn Michaels for the WWF Championship. Hart did not want to end his WWF career with a loss to Michaels in his home country, he also didn't want to lose, forfeit or otherwise give over the belt to Michaels in any way.
So a deal was made before the event began. Bret pitched the idea of him winning the match by Disqualification via a run-in by Triple H and Chyna. Then, the next night on RAW, he would with drop the title to Undertaker or make a farewell speech and forfeit it. McMahon agreed to to the plan.
Bret stated to McMahon that he would Never take the WWF Championship with him to WCW. However, Vince McMahon grew concerned that Bret wouldn't honor his word, due to him having flashbacks of the "Madusa/Alundra Blayze" Incident from 1995. Vince's worries were unfounded as Bret Was a man of his word.
Anyway, Shawn Michaels and Triple H got wind of the Match plan and objected. So, behind The Hit Man's back, they changed the plan to get the belt off of him, before he left for WCW. This led to the infamous, Montreal Screw Job.
The match was mostly a brawl, with both men beating the Hell out of each other. As the match continued...there was Vince McMahon. Soon, Mechaels got Bret in his own finisher, The Sharp Shooter. Suddenly, Vince tells the referee, Earl Hebner to "Ring the Damn Bel1!"
This resulted in Hart "losing" the WWF Championship to Michaels. Bret did Not submit to the move and was pissed. He spat at McMahon and trashed the announce booths.
Later Backstage, Hart punched McMahon in front of Gerald Brisco, Pat Patterson, and McMahon's son Shane. Hart also confronted Michaels backstage about the match finish. Many behind-the-scenes events leading up to the Montreal Screwjob were filmed for the documentary Hitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows, released in 1998.
WWE has described the Montreal Screwjob as "arguably the most controversial, most jarring moment in the annals of sports entertainment". It also lead to the birth of the Evil Mr. McMahon character, which I'll talk about another time.
Hart's three-year contract with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) included a salary of $2.5 million per year (a $1 million annual increase from his WWF contract), as well as a light schedule and a minor creative control over his matches.
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Chapter 3 - Bret in WCW
A day after the WWF's Survivor Series pay-per-view, Eric Bischoff, while with the New World Order (nWo), announced that The Hit Man was coming to WCW and will be joining the nWo. Hart made his debut on Nitro on December 15, 1997.
Due to a 60-day no-compete clause from the WWF, he served as the special guest referee for the match between Bischoff and Larry Zbyszko at Starrcade '97. During the Sting versus Hollywood Hogan main event for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, he stepped in at the end of the match, decrying that Sting was screwed over. He then stepped in as an impromptu referee and restarted the match, which Sting won.
Ugh! This Entire Match deserves it's own article, it's quite a stupid tale that should be told. But, that's for the future.
Anyway, In January 1998, his no-compete clause expired, and his first feud in WCW was against Ric Flair, as both wrestlers considered themselves the greatest professional wrestlers of all time. Hart defeated Flair at Souled Out in his first WCW match. After this, Hart elected to defend the honor of WCW against the nWo, defeating members Brian Adams in his debut Nitro match on March 2, and Curt Hennig at Uncensored.
In April 1998, Hart interfered in a Nitro main event between Hollywood Hogan and Randy Savage, helping Hogan recapture the WCW Championship, turning heel in the process. He became an associate of the nWo, but did not officially join the group.
This was the beginning of the Downward spiral. Instead of giving Hart a Title Shot, like he deserves, WCW purposely turned him into a Damn Mid-Carder. It was 1995 All Over Again!!! This, and the fact that Fans were starting to get Sick of the nWo at that point, was a Terrible look for the Company.
At Bash at the Beach, Bret Finally got a Title Shot, though instead of one for the WCW Championship, it was for the Worthless TV Title held by Booker T. He was disqualified after hitting Booker with a steel chair.
Stupid, Stupid Stupid!!! It took WCW Months to give Bret a Title Shot and instead of it Being for the World Title or even the U.S. Title, it was for the Lamest Belt in the Company, The Television Championship!!
WCW was making a mockery of Bret's Legacy...and it was All intentional.
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Chapter 4 - A Victim of WCW's Stupidity!
Bret Main Evented Nitro on July 20th, defeating Diamond Dallas Page for the vacant United States Championship, with assistance from nWo member, The Giant.
This was starting to get disgusting. Why the Hell did WCW Insist on Bret being associated with the nWo? WCW was just Pissing on Bret's entire Legacy at this point. And this nWo bullshit with Bret would continue though out the year.
And Bret would Still be denied a WCW World Title Shot. Bret would eventually win the U.S. Championship 3 more times, and each time less and less memorable.
On an episode of Nitro in March of 1999, Hart called out "franchise player" Goldberg and even taunting Him into giving him the spear. Hart was wearing a metal breastplate under his Toronto Maple Leafs jersey, which resulted in Goldberg being knocked out. Hart then counted his own pinfall over Goldberg's unconscious body and announced over the mic: "Hey Bischoff, and the WCW, I quit!"
In reality, he had sustained a groin injury at the hands of Dean Malenko in November and needed time off for surgery.
If things looked grim for the Hit Man Now? The worst was yet to come.
On May 23rd, 1999, the night before Bret Hart was scheduled to make an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno to hype his imminent WCW return, his brother Owen Hart died in an accident (?) during a WWF pay-per-view. Hart took a further four months off from WCW to be with his family.
He should've just quit at this point and saved his dignity. But, alas, The Hit Man was a glutton for punishment. Thankfully, by This point the nWo was no more.
Anyway, Hart returned to wrestling in September of 1999 and Instead of giving Him a World Title Shot, those Shitheads in Creative put Hart in a tag match with Hulk Hogan against Sting and Lex Luger, further proving that WCW had little to no respect for the Hit Man.
In October on Nitro, Bret Hart defeated Chris Benoit in a special "Owen Hart Tribute Match" at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri, where Owen had died that previous May. Hart challenged for Sting's WCW World Championship on Nitro later in the Month, but lost the match when he was attacked by Lex Luger.
Hart should've won, but I understand the need to protect Sting, since he was the face of the company. But having Luger run-in just made the Stinger look weak and pathetic....just like the company he represented.
Oh yeah, before I forget, Bret Also won the Tag Titles with Goldberg in Early December. It was a short, forgettable, unremarkable run.
Finally, on November 21st at WCW Mayhem, Bret Hart Finally won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. Sadly, like with his other title runs in WCW, This one was not very memorable and ho-hum. Seriously, It took almost 2 Years for WCW to make Bret WCW Champion and They dropped the ball with his title reign...badly.
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Chapter 5 - Forced Retirement!
At Starrcade, Hart defended his WCW Championship against Goldberg. During the match, Hart was struck with a thrust kick to the head, resulting in a severe concussion. Though, Hart was unaware of the severity of his injuries.
For example, Hart placed Goldberg on the post in a figure four leglock which ended with Hart hitting his head on the concrete floor when Goldberg failed to receive the move correctly. The sum total of those injuries left Hart with post-concussion syndrome and ultimately forced his retirement from professional wrestling.
Due to this, Hart partially blamed Goldberg for his early retirement and resents Him to this day. Anywhoo, Referee Roddy Piper rang the bell when Hart held Goldberg in the Sharpshooter, although Goldberg didn't submit. Piper simply walked away, leaving both Goldberg and Hart bewildered.
Out of respect for Goldberg, Hart vacated the WCW Championship the next night on Nitro and suggested that he, without the championship advantage, face Goldberg that night to determine the true champion. But in 1999, Nothing was ever that simple Or organized OR Intelligent in WCW
During the match, Scott Hall and Kevin Nash came to the ring looking to attack Goldberg with baseball bats. Hart convinced them to stop, then hit Goldberg with one of the bats. The three continued to beat down Goldberg and were eventually joined by Jeff Jarrett. Hart regained the championship, even though it was Roddy Piper who was covering Goldberg (to try and protect him) when the three count was made.
The nWo was reformed (now billed as "nWo 2000"). Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Thankfully, This version of the nWo didn't last long.
On January 10th 2000, in his final match in WCW, Hart defended the WCW World Championship against Kevin Nash, which ended in a no contest. Hart vacated the title later in the month when he was forced to withdraw from the main event of WCW's Souled Out due to his injuries.
Hart continued to make appearances on WCW television, generally cutting promos. His final WCW appearance occurred on the September 6th episode of Thunder, in a promo where he confronted Goldberg on the injury he sustained nine months prior.
WCW terminated Hart's contract via FedEx letter in October 20, due to his ongoing incapacity, and he announced his retirement from professional wrestling 6 days later on October 26th.
I'll bet WCW didn't give a shit when Bret received his career ending injury. Just sayin'!
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Chapter 6 - The Hit Man's WCW Legacy (..or lack there of!).
Hart and several critics considered his storylines and booking during his tenure to be lackluster. Lackluster Isn't the God Damn Word For It! It was Intentional Carelessness on WCW's part...and maybe some Disdain and bit of Sabotage.
Former WCW wrestler Chris Jericho attributed this to backstage politics and creative mayhem. Hart cited his "steel plate" segment with Goldberg and his tribute match to Owen, against Chris Benoit, as his two worthwhile moments with WCW.
Bret has always looked back at his time with WCW with disdain. And despite admitting that he was glad to have Been WCW Champion, He still regrets joining the company.
Bret has Every Damn Right to Bash WCW. Instead of treating him like one of the Top Guys in Wrestling, They treated him like Fodder. Damn Fodder. Hell, his Title Reigns were both unremarkable and forgettable.
Bret has held The WCW U.S. Title 4 Times, The WCW Tag Titles Once, and The WCW World Heavyweight Title Twice, yet they every single one of those reigns were mediocre..Very Mediocre.
Yes, I'm aware..Well Aware, of Bret's Emotional Baggage that he had thanks to The Montreal Screwjob in 1997 and Owen's Death in 1999. But this Could've been fixed by WCW themselves, by Elevating Him and treating Him with Respect. Instead, WCW decided to treat Bret like Crap. Garbage Creative and a bit of Backstage Politics prevented The Hit Man from having a great, or even good, run.
WCW Should've had Faith in Bret, but instead they intentionally misused him. But Why? Why Would WCW do this? There's no clear answer. However, one theory suggests that WCW wanted to stick it to the WWF by intentionally doing Bret dirty, since the Hit Man Was a WWF Guy to the Core. Why? Because WCW and the WWF were at War. That and Eric Bischoff and the WCW brass were known to be a bit petty.
And then there was Hulk Hogan, who had Majority Control of the Main Event Scene, who didn't want to see Bret as Champion.
Bret's mistreatment, combined with WCW's Stupidity, caused Millions of Wrestling Fans to abandon the company For the WWF. WCW could've made Bret one of their Top Stars, but They Outright Refused to see it.
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And that's gonna do it for this. I plan on doing a special article talking about a What-If Scenario where Bret Hart had Stayed in the WWF. This'll be related to my upcoming article, where I talk about an Alternate Reality where Shawn Michaels jumps ship and joins WCW in 1997.
Bret Hart may be a bit bitter nowadays, but he's still my Wrestling Hero. And I'll always be one of His biggest supporters.
Until Next Time, Punch Nazis, Kick Commies, Resist Modern Attitudes and Stay Gold.
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