Interesting question for me, this one. It’s one that has been rumbling around for a decade and a half. I should mention that I’ve been a wrestling fan since 1992 (specifically, a World Wrestling Federation fan), when I first saw Wrestlemania 8, then several PPV’s from before that on video.
I originally supported the Ultimate Warrior, with a slight leaning toward Hulk Hogan. Within two years though, I was a Bret Hart fan through and through.
My love for the WWF was fatally wounded on the ninth of November, 1997. Don’t know what happened on that date? Obviously never heard anything about professional wrestling then. After that date, the WWF went from the absurd to the ridiculous as far as I was concerned. A title reign that lasted a full month was an oddity and there were more titles than wrestlers to hold them. Gold was cheap and rather pointless.
The thing that killed it totally for me was the brand split, after WCW/ECW went out of business. I did and do think it was ridiculous to split the one company into two brands. I couldn’t reconcile the thought of one company having two world titles, plus the US title, IC title, two versions of the tag team titles and two different women’s titles (not to mention the Hardcore title which seemed to change hands upwards of a dozen times a night, every Raw, always mysteriously ending up back with the person who had it to start with). The stories had become ridiculous and pointless, the titles worthless. The currency of professional wrestling was permanently debased.
I occasionally search for things on Youtube concerning wrestling. I like occasionally to relive the old days before D-X/The Clique cornered the market in being selfish, self-agrandizing, talent murdering assholes (I’m loathe to admit it, but I prefer the American version of that word to the British when I’m angry) and trying to turn the WWF into what WCW became before it died.
A couple of months ago I searched for “Bret Hart” and was amazed beyond words to find that he had returned to the WWF at the start of this year.
Even given that he had been on proper speaking terms with Vince McMahon since 2005 or 2006, I never expected to see him because of the complications regarding his stroke. Now he had not only returned, but had… fought a fucking street fight at Wrestlemania?!?!?!? How the feckity feck fecking feck had he managed that? It turned out it had been a ten-minute potato-fest of a squash match, that looked like Vince McMahon was desperately trying to avoid being sent to hell by letting Bret paralyze him. A truly shit match judged on its merits, but worth watching for its historical value. The only reason I bought the Wrestlemania DVD actually.
I Youtubed myself to death for a couple of days finding out that he’d come back for a night to be a guest announcer on Raw. When he came out to the ring and started talking about how he’d wanted to come back and say hello for years, but had not been able to because Vince had always stopped it, I realised the entire thing was a work from the start, because Vince had been trying to get Bret back for years and Bret had been the one who hadn’t had it in him to come.
So what was he going to say now he was in the ring with a mic in his hand? He’s calling out Shawn Michaels?!?!?!?! Wah-fucking hey, let’s not waste any time, eh?
Sadly, I knew by now that Michaels was facing his retirement match against Taker, so no long-term angle was going to happen here. And let’s face it, without being able to take so much as a bump, a match between these two was never going to be worth contemplating. Still, I desperately wanted to see Bret kick Shawn in the bollocks, instead of shaking his hand, and I’m fairly sure he wanted to himself because that “You deserved what happened to you, because disrespected me and you disrespected this business” line looked like a flat-out shoot to me, judging from the expression on what is left of Bret’s face.
Then Shawn teases us with a second of looking like he’s going for a super kick before fully embracing Bret and leaving him in the middle of the ring.
It’s nearly a decade and a half since the Montreal Screwjob and in that time I’ve read both Shawn Michael’s autobiography and Bret’s. I’ve also listened to a bazillion interviews and read a bazillion articles about it.
I have a number of strong opinions about the matter (does this surprise anyone who knows me?) which are of course, worth nothing to anyone except me. I wasn’t there and I’ve never personally met anyone who was. I am strictly piloting an armchair on this one.
My stance on the whole Montreal thing, is that I am on Hart’s side. I understand a little bit about the wrestling business, having once dabbled in it a very little myself and followed it for many years. I’m a Smark, if you will.
I’ve heard professional criticism of Bret for not wanting to put Shawn over clean in Montreal, but none of them are ones that I haven’t heard convincing refutations of. Most bitching I hear against Bret has either been from Ric Flair (of whom I’ve long held the opinion that he is a complete ****, and even longer held the opinion that he is massively over-rated as a performer) or people who looked like they were trying to climb the McMahon greasy pole, like Paul Wight.
Now I usually do better in these sorts of discussions when I’m replying to things other people have said, so for now I’ll shut the hell up and let y’all chime in with what you think.
I originally supported the Ultimate Warrior, with a slight leaning toward Hulk Hogan. Within two years though, I was a Bret Hart fan through and through.
My love for the WWF was fatally wounded on the ninth of November, 1997. Don’t know what happened on that date? Obviously never heard anything about professional wrestling then. After that date, the WWF went from the absurd to the ridiculous as far as I was concerned. A title reign that lasted a full month was an oddity and there were more titles than wrestlers to hold them. Gold was cheap and rather pointless.
The thing that killed it totally for me was the brand split, after WCW/ECW went out of business. I did and do think it was ridiculous to split the one company into two brands. I couldn’t reconcile the thought of one company having two world titles, plus the US title, IC title, two versions of the tag team titles and two different women’s titles (not to mention the Hardcore title which seemed to change hands upwards of a dozen times a night, every Raw, always mysteriously ending up back with the person who had it to start with). The stories had become ridiculous and pointless, the titles worthless. The currency of professional wrestling was permanently debased.
I occasionally search for things on Youtube concerning wrestling. I like occasionally to relive the old days before D-X/The Clique cornered the market in being selfish, self-agrandizing, talent murdering assholes (I’m loathe to admit it, but I prefer the American version of that word to the British when I’m angry) and trying to turn the WWF into what WCW became before it died.
A couple of months ago I searched for “Bret Hart” and was amazed beyond words to find that he had returned to the WWF at the start of this year.
Even given that he had been on proper speaking terms with Vince McMahon since 2005 or 2006, I never expected to see him because of the complications regarding his stroke. Now he had not only returned, but had… fought a fucking street fight at Wrestlemania?!?!?!? How the feckity feck fecking feck had he managed that? It turned out it had been a ten-minute potato-fest of a squash match, that looked like Vince McMahon was desperately trying to avoid being sent to hell by letting Bret paralyze him. A truly shit match judged on its merits, but worth watching for its historical value. The only reason I bought the Wrestlemania DVD actually.
I Youtubed myself to death for a couple of days finding out that he’d come back for a night to be a guest announcer on Raw. When he came out to the ring and started talking about how he’d wanted to come back and say hello for years, but had not been able to because Vince had always stopped it, I realised the entire thing was a work from the start, because Vince had been trying to get Bret back for years and Bret had been the one who hadn’t had it in him to come.
So what was he going to say now he was in the ring with a mic in his hand? He’s calling out Shawn Michaels?!?!?!?! Wah-fucking hey, let’s not waste any time, eh?
Sadly, I knew by now that Michaels was facing his retirement match against Taker, so no long-term angle was going to happen here. And let’s face it, without being able to take so much as a bump, a match between these two was never going to be worth contemplating. Still, I desperately wanted to see Bret kick Shawn in the bollocks, instead of shaking his hand, and I’m fairly sure he wanted to himself because that “You deserved what happened to you, because disrespected me and you disrespected this business” line looked like a flat-out shoot to me, judging from the expression on what is left of Bret’s face.
Then Shawn teases us with a second of looking like he’s going for a super kick before fully embracing Bret and leaving him in the middle of the ring.
It’s nearly a decade and a half since the Montreal Screwjob and in that time I’ve read both Shawn Michael’s autobiography and Bret’s. I’ve also listened to a bazillion interviews and read a bazillion articles about it.
I have a number of strong opinions about the matter (does this surprise anyone who knows me?) which are of course, worth nothing to anyone except me. I wasn’t there and I’ve never personally met anyone who was. I am strictly piloting an armchair on this one.
My stance on the whole Montreal thing, is that I am on Hart’s side. I understand a little bit about the wrestling business, having once dabbled in it a very little myself and followed it for many years. I’m a Smark, if you will.
I’ve heard professional criticism of Bret for not wanting to put Shawn over clean in Montreal, but none of them are ones that I haven’t heard convincing refutations of. Most bitching I hear against Bret has either been from Ric Flair (of whom I’ve long held the opinion that he is a complete ****, and even longer held the opinion that he is massively over-rated as a performer) or people who looked like they were trying to climb the McMahon greasy pole, like Paul Wight.
Now I usually do better in these sorts of discussions when I’m replying to things other people have said, so for now I’ll shut the hell up and let y’all chime in with what you think.