EmpireWF
Giants in the Super Bowl
One of the few moments in the modern pro wrasslin business that had such a profound impact on the business at the time but in hindsight, is absolutely nothing short of comical.
By now, the deal has been talked about, written about and certainly WWE has choked that bitch whenever they're bored. At least they were FINALLY able to (apparently) blow their load with the Bret/HBK DVD release last year (I think) which was fucking awesome and surreal.
Anyway....allow me to write a little something about it for anyone who ventures into the MMA/Wrestling section that doesn't know.
Context
We're talking about 1997 pro wrestling in the United States. At the time, the WWF (Vince McMahon) was in a HEATED war with WCW (Ted Turner) and getting their ass kicked every Monday night in the ratings war. Vince was in a bit of financial trouble while Turner obviously had an endless amount of $$$ to spend.
Major Players
1. Vince McMahon -- Owner, main creative mind for WWF. Leading up to November 1997, he was still more or less the on-air play-by-play man on Monday Night Raw. In 1996 and into 1997, they began to subtlety note that he was the boss in storylines such as when Bret Hart came back from time off after Wrestlemania in 1996. They teased he would leave for WCW, but when he announced he was staying, Vince acted like a kid in a candy store...that sorta thing.
2. Bret Hart -- At a point when many of the top stars from years earlier had left for WCW and their HUGE money deals, Bret was one of the few (along with Shawn Michaels...and the Undertaker, basically) who stayed. Bret was the top guy heading into Wrestlemania in 1996 and dropped the belt to Michaels. After time off, he came back to begin feuding with Stone Cold Steve Austin (before he blew up). Eventually, Bret turned heel in 1997 because there was more money in the match-ups for him against top good guys than vice versa. He signed a 20-year contract to stay in WWF.
3. Shawn Michaels -- He was the yin to Bret's yang. They came up in similar ways (as tag team wrestlers ---> singles wrestlers and had to bust their ass to be taken seriously because they weren't gigantic like Hogan) and were generally friendly until 1996. He became champion for the first time in 1996 but his run didn't do too well. He regained the title in January 1997 at the Rumble. The plan was for him to drop the belt to Bret at Wrestlemania in 1997....Shawn came up with a knee injury and "considered retirement" so he vacated the belt in February. All the while, he was a pain in the ass to deal with backstage and he was finding himself to have increased political power.
4. Eric Bischoff -- He ran WCW with Turner's checkbook and was giving guaranteed contracts to anyone and everyone. He wanted to bring Bret in bad. Vince despised him and vice versa.
-----------------
Fast forward to the summer of 1997.
Bret, as the top heel, wins the WWF Championship at Summerslam. The big match is booked for Survivor Series, Bret vs. Shawn...in Montreal.
Long story short....Michaels was a major dick. For example, on a U.K. show around September, he main evented a card with the British Bulldog with Bulldog's european belt on the line. Bulldog had a family member who was seriously ill and promised he would dedicate the match to her. At the last minute, Shawn changed the finish of the match and beat Bulldog....letting everyone know, including Bret, he was the most powerful guy because he had Vince's ear.
Months earlier, Bret and Shawn got into a legit brawl backstage at a TV taping.
Essentially, McMahon played both off each-other because it was better for business. It ended up biting him in the ass...in the short term at least.
With finances in the shitter, Vince came to the realization that he couldn't afford Bret's monster 20-year deal. He voided the deal and allowed Bret to negotiate with WCW for however much he could get. Bret ended up getting a multi-year, about $3 million/year deal which was the best deal for anyone at the time.
Bret's WWF contract was going to conclude in late November or into December. The problem was, he was WWF Champion (at a moment when the belt was important). Vince wanted the belt on Shawn, but Bret exercised his creative control to refuse to lose to Shawn in Montreal (Shawn months earlier went on a tirade backstage saying he was done putting anyone over...Bret took that as an offense and decided if Shawn refused to be professional, he wouldn't lose to him).
Bret volunteered scenarios which would see him lose the belt to the Undertaker or Ken Shamrock or anyone besides Shawn in the week leading up to the Survivor Series in November 1997. He even offered to have the match with Shawn end in a disqualification allowing him to appear on RAW the next night and give up the belt and say goodbye.
The problem was......Eric Bischoff was out on a hunting trip or some shit and was not by a phone. Seriously. Vince wanted Bret to get a signed paper saying that Bischoff WOULD NOT go on Monday Nitro the night after Survivor Series and say he signed away the WWE champion (Bischoff was infamous for going on his LIVE show and giving away taped RAW results). So, Bret couldn't get ahold of Bischoff and Vince was scared his business would be shot in the head if Bischoff pulled one of his tricks. (Of course, this was likely all for naught since WCW had been sued in court and lost on a couple occasions in the past for different things in which they were violating WWE intellectual property).
The week of the big match....Vince and Bret went over a slew of scenarios that could bring a peaceful end to their stalemate. Bret went into the match with the understanding the match with Shawn would end in a disqualification when Bret's group (brother Owen, and in-laws Bulldog and Jim Neidhart) and Shawn's group (DX, Rick Rude, HHH & Chyna) interfered. Plus, Bret's friend, Earl Hebner was going to be the ref and he promised Bret nothing would happen.
In the days leading up, Vince had a phone conversation with Shawn Michaels and HHH (HHH was something of a nobody at this point, but he was friends with Shawn so he did have a voice). HHH was the voice saying why the fuck should we lay over for a guy who's going to the competition? With that, the three agreed they would implement a screw job and keep the belt on Shawn in Montreal.
Stories from their preparations are almost comical....
-Shawn going to a hotel room to learn a few shoot holds from old-school guys like Gerry Brisco (just in case)
-Vince and whomever else went to Earl Hebner just before he walked out to work the match and told him what was going to happen. With his job on the line, Hebner had no real choice. They had a car waiting in the back to get Hebner right to the airport after it was done.
-Bret was warned by Vader (possibly others) to look out for certain things...Ie. don't leave your shoulders on the mat for a quick pinfall
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AFTER THE MATCH
-Shawn claimed ignorance...Vince tried to take all the heat. After being spat on, Vince went to the back and locked himself in his office. Shawn went into a crying mess.
-After tearing up ringside, Bret went into his locker room. Shawn went in, while crying, to claim he had been fucked over too. Bret said we'll see, Shawn promised he had nothing to do with it and said he wouldn't say anything bad about Bret the next night on TV.
-Undertaker is the guy who told Vince he owed it to Bret to speak to him. So, Vince made his way to Bret's locker room with Sgt. Slaughter and Gerry Brisco by his side.
-Bret told Vince to get the fuck out of his locker room, he would take a shower and if he wast still there, Bret would kick his ass.
-After getting out of the shower, Vince tried to explain himself. He said he never lied to Bret but Bret quickly off the top of his head spit out a slew of lies over the years. Eventually, they got into an altercation and Bret punched Vince (McMahon rolled his ankle in the process and Bulldog fucked up his knee, too).
-In the hallway, Bret's wife yelled at HHH who said he didn't know anything and looked like a child who got in trouble.
Of course....the next night on TV, Shawn ran down Bret with the help of a midget. Behind the scenes, a small group of talent (among them, Mick Foley) refused to work that night feeling that if Vince could screw a guy like Bret (who busted his ass to the bone for two decades), why bother working for Vince? That week, cooler heads prevailed and after talking with Bret, those guys realized they couldn't just walk away.
Meanwhile, on Nitro...
Later on, Vince would issue the infamous 'Bret screwed Bret' promo and would become the hottest heel in the company. With that, 1998 would see a turn to huge profits on the back of the Austin vs. McMahon feud (Shawn retired for 4 years, months later due to a broken back).
The British Bulldog, Jim Neidhart and Owen Hart all requested their release. Vince granted it to Bulldog and Neidhart (they would resurface with Bret on Nitro....down the road, Bulldog fucked up his back taking a bump on a trap door in the ring that was set up for the Ultimate Warrior and his career was never really the same). He refused to let Owen go and he returned to television on PPV in December attacking Shawn Michaels in what started out as a red hot angle. Of course, Shawn and his cronies quickly buried Owen and he was back to the mid-card in no time.
Bret went to WCW and they had no clue what to do with him. In 2001, he was kicked in the head by Goldberg and suffered a serious concussion that forced him to retire. A couple years later, Bret suffered a stroke due to a bicycle accident and made a tremendous recovery.
Shawn recovered from his injuries and his demons (pills, generally being a dick), married and became a born again Christian. He returned to the WWF as a wrestler in 2002 and went back to be one of the best in the world for years until his retirement last year.
Bret went into the WWE Hall of Fame around 2007 and did not appear on LIVE WWE TV until January 2011 where he made up with Shawn.
By now, the deal has been talked about, written about and certainly WWE has choked that bitch whenever they're bored. At least they were FINALLY able to (apparently) blow their load with the Bret/HBK DVD release last year (I think) which was fucking awesome and surreal.
Anyway....allow me to write a little something about it for anyone who ventures into the MMA/Wrestling section that doesn't know.
Context
We're talking about 1997 pro wrestling in the United States. At the time, the WWF (Vince McMahon) was in a HEATED war with WCW (Ted Turner) and getting their ass kicked every Monday night in the ratings war. Vince was in a bit of financial trouble while Turner obviously had an endless amount of $$$ to spend.
Major Players
1. Vince McMahon -- Owner, main creative mind for WWF. Leading up to November 1997, he was still more or less the on-air play-by-play man on Monday Night Raw. In 1996 and into 1997, they began to subtlety note that he was the boss in storylines such as when Bret Hart came back from time off after Wrestlemania in 1996. They teased he would leave for WCW, but when he announced he was staying, Vince acted like a kid in a candy store...that sorta thing.
2. Bret Hart -- At a point when many of the top stars from years earlier had left for WCW and their HUGE money deals, Bret was one of the few (along with Shawn Michaels...and the Undertaker, basically) who stayed. Bret was the top guy heading into Wrestlemania in 1996 and dropped the belt to Michaels. After time off, he came back to begin feuding with Stone Cold Steve Austin (before he blew up). Eventually, Bret turned heel in 1997 because there was more money in the match-ups for him against top good guys than vice versa. He signed a 20-year contract to stay in WWF.
3. Shawn Michaels -- He was the yin to Bret's yang. They came up in similar ways (as tag team wrestlers ---> singles wrestlers and had to bust their ass to be taken seriously because they weren't gigantic like Hogan) and were generally friendly until 1996. He became champion for the first time in 1996 but his run didn't do too well. He regained the title in January 1997 at the Rumble. The plan was for him to drop the belt to Bret at Wrestlemania in 1997....Shawn came up with a knee injury and "considered retirement" so he vacated the belt in February. All the while, he was a pain in the ass to deal with backstage and he was finding himself to have increased political power.
4. Eric Bischoff -- He ran WCW with Turner's checkbook and was giving guaranteed contracts to anyone and everyone. He wanted to bring Bret in bad. Vince despised him and vice versa.
-----------------
Fast forward to the summer of 1997.
Bret, as the top heel, wins the WWF Championship at Summerslam. The big match is booked for Survivor Series, Bret vs. Shawn...in Montreal.
Long story short....Michaels was a major dick. For example, on a U.K. show around September, he main evented a card with the British Bulldog with Bulldog's european belt on the line. Bulldog had a family member who was seriously ill and promised he would dedicate the match to her. At the last minute, Shawn changed the finish of the match and beat Bulldog....letting everyone know, including Bret, he was the most powerful guy because he had Vince's ear.
Months earlier, Bret and Shawn got into a legit brawl backstage at a TV taping.
Essentially, McMahon played both off each-other because it was better for business. It ended up biting him in the ass...in the short term at least.
With finances in the shitter, Vince came to the realization that he couldn't afford Bret's monster 20-year deal. He voided the deal and allowed Bret to negotiate with WCW for however much he could get. Bret ended up getting a multi-year, about $3 million/year deal which was the best deal for anyone at the time.
Bret's WWF contract was going to conclude in late November or into December. The problem was, he was WWF Champion (at a moment when the belt was important). Vince wanted the belt on Shawn, but Bret exercised his creative control to refuse to lose to Shawn in Montreal (Shawn months earlier went on a tirade backstage saying he was done putting anyone over...Bret took that as an offense and decided if Shawn refused to be professional, he wouldn't lose to him).
Bret volunteered scenarios which would see him lose the belt to the Undertaker or Ken Shamrock or anyone besides Shawn in the week leading up to the Survivor Series in November 1997. He even offered to have the match with Shawn end in a disqualification allowing him to appear on RAW the next night and give up the belt and say goodbye.
The problem was......Eric Bischoff was out on a hunting trip or some shit and was not by a phone. Seriously. Vince wanted Bret to get a signed paper saying that Bischoff WOULD NOT go on Monday Nitro the night after Survivor Series and say he signed away the WWE champion (Bischoff was infamous for going on his LIVE show and giving away taped RAW results). So, Bret couldn't get ahold of Bischoff and Vince was scared his business would be shot in the head if Bischoff pulled one of his tricks. (Of course, this was likely all for naught since WCW had been sued in court and lost on a couple occasions in the past for different things in which they were violating WWE intellectual property).
The week of the big match....Vince and Bret went over a slew of scenarios that could bring a peaceful end to their stalemate. Bret went into the match with the understanding the match with Shawn would end in a disqualification when Bret's group (brother Owen, and in-laws Bulldog and Jim Neidhart) and Shawn's group (DX, Rick Rude, HHH & Chyna) interfered. Plus, Bret's friend, Earl Hebner was going to be the ref and he promised Bret nothing would happen.
In the days leading up, Vince had a phone conversation with Shawn Michaels and HHH (HHH was something of a nobody at this point, but he was friends with Shawn so he did have a voice). HHH was the voice saying why the fuck should we lay over for a guy who's going to the competition? With that, the three agreed they would implement a screw job and keep the belt on Shawn in Montreal.
Stories from their preparations are almost comical....
-Shawn going to a hotel room to learn a few shoot holds from old-school guys like Gerry Brisco (just in case)
-Vince and whomever else went to Earl Hebner just before he walked out to work the match and told him what was going to happen. With his job on the line, Hebner had no real choice. They had a car waiting in the back to get Hebner right to the airport after it was done.
-Bret was warned by Vader (possibly others) to look out for certain things...Ie. don't leave your shoulders on the mat for a quick pinfall
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AFTER THE MATCH
-Shawn claimed ignorance...Vince tried to take all the heat. After being spat on, Vince went to the back and locked himself in his office. Shawn went into a crying mess.
-After tearing up ringside, Bret went into his locker room. Shawn went in, while crying, to claim he had been fucked over too. Bret said we'll see, Shawn promised he had nothing to do with it and said he wouldn't say anything bad about Bret the next night on TV.
-Undertaker is the guy who told Vince he owed it to Bret to speak to him. So, Vince made his way to Bret's locker room with Sgt. Slaughter and Gerry Brisco by his side.
-Bret told Vince to get the fuck out of his locker room, he would take a shower and if he wast still there, Bret would kick his ass.
-After getting out of the shower, Vince tried to explain himself. He said he never lied to Bret but Bret quickly off the top of his head spit out a slew of lies over the years. Eventually, they got into an altercation and Bret punched Vince (McMahon rolled his ankle in the process and Bulldog fucked up his knee, too).
-In the hallway, Bret's wife yelled at HHH who said he didn't know anything and looked like a child who got in trouble.
Of course....the next night on TV, Shawn ran down Bret with the help of a midget. Behind the scenes, a small group of talent (among them, Mick Foley) refused to work that night feeling that if Vince could screw a guy like Bret (who busted his ass to the bone for two decades), why bother working for Vince? That week, cooler heads prevailed and after talking with Bret, those guys realized they couldn't just walk away.
Meanwhile, on Nitro...
Later on, Vince would issue the infamous 'Bret screwed Bret' promo and would become the hottest heel in the company. With that, 1998 would see a turn to huge profits on the back of the Austin vs. McMahon feud (Shawn retired for 4 years, months later due to a broken back).
The British Bulldog, Jim Neidhart and Owen Hart all requested their release. Vince granted it to Bulldog and Neidhart (they would resurface with Bret on Nitro....down the road, Bulldog fucked up his back taking a bump on a trap door in the ring that was set up for the Ultimate Warrior and his career was never really the same). He refused to let Owen go and he returned to television on PPV in December attacking Shawn Michaels in what started out as a red hot angle. Of course, Shawn and his cronies quickly buried Owen and he was back to the mid-card in no time.
Bret went to WCW and they had no clue what to do with him. In 2001, he was kicked in the head by Goldberg and suffered a serious concussion that forced him to retire. A couple years later, Bret suffered a stroke due to a bicycle accident and made a tremendous recovery.
Shawn recovered from his injuries and his demons (pills, generally being a dick), married and became a born again Christian. He returned to the WWF as a wrestler in 2002 and went back to be one of the best in the world for years until his retirement last year.
Bret went into the WWE Hall of Fame around 2007 and did not appear on LIVE WWE TV until January 2011 where he made up with Shawn.
