FECS Reviews: Bret Hart/HBK saga

[Viola Moonlight]

Welcome everyone from veterans to noobs, regulars to occassionals... to the next installment of my exclusive thread series known as "FalKon's Epic Cream Scale" Review. Yes, one of the greatest threads that I have created is going to continued its Legacy among the WrestleZone forums & shall resume its operations by bringing forth the greatest rivalries from the world of professional wrestling to be recounted, rated & reviewed. In doing so, will once & for all reveal the final result for how the feud went down in the books.

First, I would like to thank Chill for being the only poster brave enough to voice their own opinion about the matter for my previous review about the HHH/Orton rivalry. Keep up the great work Chill as you are truly one of the greatest posters on here. I wish to also thank those who gave me many praise for my review as well.

As for the thread rules... I make this long-ass post about the feud & how it was played, starting from the absolute very beginning all the way to the very end of the rivalry. I will then rate what I think the feud was worth & give a small review as to why I rated it as I did. It is here that any of those who decide to voice their opinions should post their review for the storyline.

I apoligise to people for the amount of time that it has taken to make the next one in the series & FECS will become a weekly edition to the WZ Forums, being posted up at the start of the week. If anyone has any suggestions for my next review or a possible future one than I am more than welcome to hear what you would like me to review. The hardest part of this job is picking the next feud, so your voices will be appreciated. You can PM me, post a suggestion in this thread or go to my Bar Room thread for future reviews. Here is the link for the Bar Room thread:

http://forums.wrestlezone.com/showthread.php?t=62843​

So far, I have reviewed three feuds. For those that missed them, here are the results for the feuds thus far:

Mickie James vs. Trish Stratus (6 Stars)
Triple H vs. Randy Orton (4 Stars) - Latest Review
The Invasion (3.5 Stars)​

On to business? This is the 4th edition of the FECS Reviews series that will take you down into the depths of one of the greatest rivalries of all time that still is etched into the back of every wrestling fans minds & is deemed to be one of the most famous moments in wrestling history, also known as the Montreal Screwjob. Yes, thats right... I shall be devulging my thoughts on the MS as per thread rules on my behalf. So, get ready to MTFO for this ultimate classic. This weeks FECS review:

Bret "Hitman" Hart vs. "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels​

ONCE UPON A TIME:

A man known as Shawn Michaels was looking to make himself big in the wrestling business. As per all the normal routine for aspiring professional wrestlers, Michaels went through many local promotions to make his name worth something. During his tentures, Michaels found a partner by the name of Marty Jannetty who was also looking to come up from the ranks. Together, they made it to the big time... their second time round... with the biggest American wresting company there was: the World Wrestling Federation. These two would be known as "The Rockers" and entertained many upon many audiences with their high-flying, fast-paced style wrestling & would wrestler together for over three years. "The Rockers" went up against many teams of the day & always gained the support of the crowd... but there was one particular team that set the stone for the feud that would be shrouded in controversy... "The Hart Foundation" was a team formed by Jimmy Hart comprising of Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart that would be one of the teams to represent a classic chemistry pairing of tag team wrestling: The Big Man/Power Wrestler alongside the Technical/Fast-Paced Wrestler.

So, in October of 1990... these two teams were set to face each other for the Tag Team Championships on the line in a two out of three falls match. Two of the biggest babyface teams to square off, who would win? Nobody knew as the crowd were amazed by the talent they see in the ring where two would eventually become the best in the business:

After two years of slugging their guts out, "The Rockers" finally won the championships! However, it was announced that Michaels & Jannetty would return the belts to the Foundation as a turnbuckle during the match collapsed that made any pinfalls inside the ring null & void. This was the kayfabe reason. In reality, Jim Neidhart's contract was coming to a close & was going to leave the company. Soon after the tag team match, it seemed that Neidhart accepted to stay with the company for a longer time & the belts were given back to the Foundation & the match "never existed." Thanks to the wonders of DailyMotion, we can relive these memories... or live them considering I started watching wrestling in 1996-97... Shawn Michaels, in 1991 decided to take out the trash known as Marty Jannetty & take a solo career into superstardom.

With Michaels left to fend for himself, he decided upon himself to go after the one singles championship that he could be in contention for at that moment... one of the most coverted championships in the world that had as much prestige, even more than, the WWE title at the time... the Intercontinental Title. In it's heyday, if you held this title you were the #1 Contender for the WWF title essentially & defended against every member on the roster except for the WWF champion. To sum things up, I believe a quote is in order:​

Holding the IC belt is like having herpes. Once you get it, it's on your record forever.

It's not the exact quote, but I tried forever searching for it & my browser stuffed up so many times. This is the reason as to why this review hasn't been put up for a while. Anywayz...

So, for the second major confrontation between Michaels & Hart was for a championship one tier higher than the tag team titles with much more prestige in another stipulation match. This match was set to take place in July of 1992 for the intercontinental championship in the first-ever Ladder match in the history of the WWF:​

Although Bret "Hitman" Hart was the man responsible for introducing this new innovative concept to the company & essentially the father of all WWF/E matches involving the ladder... Shawn Michaels has been dubbed the innovator of the Ladder match & responsible for some of the greatest matches to occur due to his performances... as seen in the Razor Ramon/HBK Ladder match. Another high-profile match between these two that had something behind the match to add feul to the fire. So far, it's a 1-1 tie between the two.

Michaels could not gain the belt off of Bret Hart, but won it from the newly crowned champion the British Bulldog. So, Michaels became apart of one of the most prestigious lists to ever grace the wrestling world at the time. Not even a month after his victory, it seems the Michaels would once again face against Bret Hart again at the 1992 Survivor Series for the championship. However, it was not for the IC strap... but Bret Hart's WWF belt he earned from his match with Ric Flair. Originally, the contest between Hart & HBK were not scheduled for the main event, but due to Ultimate Warrior not being able to team with Savage against Flair & Ramon.​

Back in the days of the old school wrestling generation boys & girls, the WWF title did not automatically constitute to be the main event match of any show. Other matches such as grudge matches, tag team matches & the IC belt were deemed more important to showcase on these shows than the WWF belt as the championship already held enough prestige for wrestling fans to recognise. They knew that a WWF title match would always draw, so the higher-ups decided to play up the other matches in order to gain more Main Event style matches for their events. This was one of the reasons as to why the IC belt, tag matches & storylines were once considered to be prestigious & not so much in the modern days as the focus for the new WWE now is to build up the Main Event scene & WWE/WHC belts.

The debut of a new mini-segment that FECS will be doing from now on throughout these posts. Hopefully these are good enough to warrant me keeping it in here to add some spice to the post.

Back to the match... since Warrior was unable to compete, the WWF title bout was moved up to the main event. This is an epic match that went for at least 25 minutes which everybody should check out. This is probably the only major high-profile match these two had between each other that did not have any negative effects on the rivalry & was purely an awesome contest. The only argumeny I could find valid was the fact that Hart didn't drop the belt to Michaels yet again, but since HBK just won the IC strap not even a month ago it wouldn't have been a good idea to jump Michaels to the main event. So, here is the link to part one of the match. Parts two & three should be located on the side bar:​

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJknhTUzGac​

On the following year, Michaels kayfabe quit from the company under a ruling that being the IC champion you must defend the title in a set period of time between two title matches. The real reason that Michaels is rumored to deny till this day is because of Michaels violating the Wellness Policy & suspended.

His return to wrestling in the WWF would be for the substitution of Jerry "The King" Lawler due to legal reasons. The match pitted him & Lawler's knights against the Hart family consisting of Bret, Owen, Keith & Bruce in a traditional Survivor Series tag team match. Since Michaels was a last minute replacement for Lawler, this match does get a mention from the FECS device however is not technically apart of the Hart/HBK feud. So, for those who would like links to the match:​

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAv-FfENCgA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iU49jyHaTFU​

I would like to officially apoligise for the introduction to the match. I just realised that "your momma" jokes are really old. Hence the reason why this thread is in the Old School Wrestling Section!

So, for the next couple of years... Shawn Michaels stayed well away from Bret Hart concerning matches. However, Michaels debutting bodyguard from a while back also known as Diesel would go to face Bret Hart for the championship where Shawn Michaels would interfere for Diesel to win. With aid of Neidhart, Hart retained the title. Apart from this little confrontation, nothing would amount to fuel the fire between Michaels & Hart.

During the mid-90's, Shawn Michaels became one of the members of the most controversial backstage presence ever to set foot within the WWF ever. This group was responsible for creating some of the greatest stables to grace the professional wrestling world such as the New World Order & Degeneration-X & became household names for their respected promotions... driving their own creativity & skills to develop the wrestling world. This group consisted of Michaels, Paul Levesque, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall & Sean Waltman with honourary member Justin Credible... coined "The Kliq" by Lex Luger. These guys where the main men to influence the booking staff on how they were booked, with one main instance being Shane Douglas winning the IC title from HBK due to forfeit yet losing it later on to fellow member Hall cleanly.

Why do I mention the "Kliq" during a time when the relationship between Michaels & Hart were not of yet to Epic Arch Nemesis proportions? Let FECS explain:​

According to Bret Hart... the whole saga between HBK could not have happened between each other as Hart was offered to become a member of the powerful backstage faction the "Kliq." However, Hart declined the offer.

Source: Bret Hart's autobiography "Hitman"

Near the end of 1995, Michaels took time off to completely heal from an injury he had sustained. He returned at the 1996 Royal Rumble & won the event to challenge for the WWF Championship. On the same night, Bret Hart regained the title & the two would compete against each other once again. This would be the second WWF title match between the two where Hart & Michaels would once again create something special. I am talking of course about the 60 minute Iron Man match between Hitman & HBK for the title at WrestleMania XII. Due to the fact that this match goes for a long duration, I will post the link to the first match. This particular series is a seven parter, so if you have the time to watch it, here it is:​

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mE13jiLVuKs​

Now, this is where the feud starts to get interesting. During a special edition of RAW known as Thursday RAW Thursday, Shawn Michaels made a speech on the program about how he had acquired another injury that required himself to vacate the WWF championship. On Michaels side of the story, he was infact injured & did need the time off to heal the injuries he had sustained, even getting surgery for it. Bret Hart suggested that the speech & the injury was a ploy for Michaels not face him in a title rematch so HBK did not have to drop the belt to Hart. Michaels also claimed that Bret did attack him about the matter on live television. So, the seeds have been planted for the real-life feud between the two.

Michaels returned to TV to be the official in the match between the Undertaker & Bret Hart for the WWF championship at SummerSlam. It is in this match where Michaels & Undertaker would be set-up to face each other in one of the most sadistic matches ever created... the Hell in the Cell. Hart won the encounter with Taker due to a steel chair shot given by HBK as Michaels was provoked with Hart spitting in his face. The chair shot was originally meant for Hart, but got Undertaker instead. So, Michaels as the referee was forced to give Hart the title & raise his hand in victory.

After the HIAC match, both Michaels & Hart created stables. Hart reformed the Hart Foundation whereas Michaels introduced one of the greatest stables of all time to the scene involving Hunter, Chyna & Rick Rude to form D-Generation X, being one of the driving forces in the WWF Attitude Era. Michaels then began to feud with Hart once again & his stable where Michaels took various shots at the Canadians... & their national flag. This is something that Canadians are still angered about to this day, as well as the following match that would take place between Bret Hart & Shawn Michaels. The match that was contested for the WWF title in Hart's home country of Canada where the initial script was to drop the belt to HBK to signify Michaels as the next Hart. However, something else backstage occurred:​

WWF was having financial difficulties during this time when the rival brand WCW was gaining momentum & the F could not got through with the contract Bret received that would make him the highest paid superstar ever & be secured for 20 years. So, Vince told Hart that he would be best be going to the rival company WCW if he wished to continue wrestling with financial security. Hart agreed to the proposition & would return with the company once Vince had the money to pay Hart the amount he would need to secure him for the future. A worked script was planned for Hart to retain the title at Survivor Series against HBK for WWF to gain the support of the Canadian fans. He would then go on to drop the belt on American soil within the next few weeks & jump ship to WCW.

Vince was worried that Hart, although promising it would never happen, that he would take the belt over to WCW & bury it. Despite a planned ending that involved Hart winning the title, Vince was determined to let Michaels win the title at all costs to secure the future of the WWF. For those who wish to learn more about the situation, here is a link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montreal_Screwjob

As FECS as just revealed, the most infamous indecision of professional wrestling history occurred in Canada to which many fans have dubbed it the Montreal ScrewJob. If you wish to watch the whole match, here is the link right from the start... including the video package before the match:​

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLWRtwTi1l4​

For the purposes of the feud, here is the Montreal Screwjob & how it went down:​

This is where the feud on-screen ends. The rest of the backstage hatred between Hart, Vince & HBK are all history where everyone knows what happens. Although I could keep going with the off-screen rivalry, the FECS reviews the on-screen feud only.


THE RATINGS REVIEW:

Everytime these two great performers of the industry went toe-to-toe, these guys put on nothing short of a classic... whether they needed tag team partners of not. All the matches they touched instantly became golden. If these guys were the best of friends & Hart joined the "Kliq," this feud would have gone on to become the GREATEST FEUD OF ALL TIME. Yep, I said it... these two, if they resolved their differences could have become the best feud ever hands down. Nothing could have replicated this rivalry. Maybe some matches in some rivalries could have matched it, but the feud as a whole would have been put 1st on my list. However, due to the match ending & how it took away from the specialness of the whole feud... this saga is going to receive:

5.5 STARS​

As apart of the whole FECS Review, my job is done. However, upon request by some viewers of the thread series... I will be lighting a flame for my wooden torch, walking down the stairs into the darkness & the disguisting filth to yonder into one of the most sick, dirty & down-right perverted vaults of professional wrestling history to discuss my opinions on the matter that has been briefly touched on in the review. I have braced myself to enter somewhere that I do not like to venture into as it haunts & terrifies me to even mention outside the facts. It is at this point of the ride where people can get off if they are not willing to follow me into the unknown. All those that dive down with me, I warn you... I will be doing this as a one time deal only to go into the depths of my mind to discuss my opinions of the Montreal ScrewJob. This FalKon will not be the happy, cheery person that has destroyed the hate, anger & depression of the Bar Room... but a more serious FalKon that makes Lance Storm's in-ring character seem fun to talk too whom will be making hate remarks. So, here we go:

MY THOUGHTS OF THE MONTREAL SCREWJOB:

I am going to side with Bret Hart for the matter. The main reason being that he was innocent during the whole thing. From what I have researched, witnessed & interpretated to form my own opinion... Vince McMahon screwed Bret Hart at Survivor Series. Hart & McMahon had a talk about the match backstage to discuss the way it should end. Hart proposed a very fare deal to McMahon by allowing himself to retain the championship in his home country & drop the belt to Michaels at a later date on American soil. This was a win-win situation for everyone. Bret Hart would do his homecountry proud by keeping the title around his waist & making the match ending that much more special for Candians around & Bret. When Michaels would have eventually gained the title in America, his homecountry would have been proud & made the match that more special. Hart could have ended the whole bad relationship with Shawn, given the title in the hands of Vince & leave to WCW for better financial security... no harm done. But Vince's attitude & arrogance did not allow that to happen did it? NO, EVEN AFTER BRET PROMISED VINNIE MAC THAT HE WOULD GIVE THE BELT BACK TO THE WWF AS HE RESPECTED THE COMPANY TOO MUCH TO TAKE THE TITLE THAT MADE HIM WHO HE WAS & LET IT GET DISGRACED ON THE RIVAL PROMOTION. It had to be Vince's way or nothing...

... & Shawn Michaels... didn't think I'd leave you alone? I respect Shawn Michaels to this day for everything he has contributed to the business & has done everything positive & has remained virtually loyal to the company. Kudos for Shawn in making pro wrestling what it is today & for training the next generation of wrestlers despite their fates with the company. However I will always have lost a little respect for Michaels for his actions at the ScrewJob event. From the source above about the whole Montreal Screwjob in detail, Shawn knew of the decision 24 hours in advance. For someone of the caliber of Michaels, doesn't he have any decency to settle his differences with Hart & inform him of what would transpire? Apparently not as the decision still went through. From what you see in the actual decision after Earl rang the bell to end the match, you see Shawn acting SUPRISED like he had nothing to do with it to protect himself letting Vince take all the blame. Such a cowardace move on Shawn's part. Yea sure, it did prevent the whole arena for causing a riot & attacking Shawn & Vince... but take a look at what happened after the altercation:


YOU LIED TO THE MAN'S FACE? How can you Shawn? Really? For one of the greatest performers & respected men in the back... this was really a low for the man known as Shawn Michaels.​

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -​

Well, that's it for the whole review for this week's edition. Hope to see everyone post & give their thoughts on the matter. It would be much appreciated. Remember, a rating & a review of the feud... not my post. Until next time...​

 

[Mantaur Rodeo Clown]

Wow. So once again you give us a very well thought out and documented look at one of the greatest feuds in WWF history. theres a reason that any thread that has the words Bret Hart in the title will instantly revert to a screwjob thread. There a reason why any mention of Shawn's injuries will instantly revert to his "losing his smile" and "ducking" Bret Hart. This feud has so many twists and turns, so many different accounts and perspectives it's impossible to choose who is right and who is wrong. The only thing you can do is appreciate the body of work that the two men had in the ring and forget everything else.

And what the DID do in the ring together was great. Their styles meshed, Shawn the quick, cocky one, Hart the technical, methodical one. But you've already given some great examples of their matches, so I won't have to elaborate any further. However, I was a bit....lets say disappointed when you didn’t REALLY dive into the personal issues these two had. I think this is what really made the feud between these two. Everyone knows that when Orton and Triple H go backstage they’re mates, Austin and Rock were great friends. But Hart and Michaels didnt have that at all. I would have loved for you to tackle some issues dealing with this. Bret said in his DVD “I knew they wanted Shawn as the new top guy, and I felt a bit cheapened, because I still thought I was the top guy, I wanted my time”. Really documenting the animosity they felt for each other would have been a good way to differentiate this as just another feud, as if the Montreal Screwjob didn’t do this enough.

However, still a great feud review, and I'm going to love to see some of the ones we discussed being reviewed. Keep up the good work.

 

[ssvegita77]

Nice recap, Falkon. 12 years later and I'm still not tired of discussing this topic. Michaels/Hart was one of the best feuds ever, if not the best, and it would not be regarded as such without all the real heat. No matter how good the in ring and on camera stuff was, the feud is always thought of with the behind the scenes stuff meshed in.

However I'm gonna weigh in from a kayfabe POV. What really made this feud was the fact that Bret was really from 92'-96' regarded as the best wrestler in the WWF. Hart believed it, the WWF seemingly believed it and alot of fans believed it. In 1995 HBK got his face push he started gaining momentum and getting over big time. He was having the best match of the night (every night) and was showing his versatility. Gone was the talented but cowardly heel and in his place was a smart, athletic, charismatic and innovative dynamo that would not be denied.

The feud, IMO, drew the heat it did because HBK in the eyes of all the above mentioned parties was a legitimate threat to Bret Hart. Bret's style and matches we're stale, HBK was flying around the ring doing things that nobody in the company was doing. Bret was dull and sounding more and more like a jealous old man when talking about HBK. Bret claimed to be the best and Shawn being as good and fresh as he was challenged that perspective. The legions of die hard Hitman fans (who didn't jump on the HBK band wagon) hated this from the get go. Alot of them didn't regard Shawn as the better wrestler and alot of them hated to admit that he might be. The HBK fans were convinced and captivated by Shawn's ability and charisma. The Hitman was old news and needed to step aside. The feud was based around what the fans beleived. It made them pick a side as battle lines had been drawn. You could like both, but everybody had an opinion on who was really better. This is why the feud worked so well.

HBK/Hitman was great because both guys we're top notch, over w/ the fans and arguably the two best wrestlers of the 90's (perhaps ever). It would be hard to replicate this but not impossible. Maybe someday we'll be talking about Punk & Morrison in these kind of terms.

 

[Slam Master]

Good post but you left out a few details such as the shoot interviews they did when the other wasn't around in early 1997 where HBK talked about Bret's family and money. There was another one where Bret went over the time limit and the show went off the air with Hitman dressing down HBK while he stood there looking like an idiot. Thats what sent him over the edge cus he thought Bret did it on purpose, causing him to make the "Sunny Days" comment which resulted in the backstage fight. Bret was running to dirt sheets and backstage politicking that whole time in 1997 before and during the "Lost My Smile" speech. The only thing HBK can be accused of is what he said on live TV...Sure that one interview was over the edge but Bret really was the Hitman 24 hours a day.

 

[jericho3150]

Good post. But I can't believe such a detailed post left out some key points in there hatred..

Like Bret being jealous of Shawn taking his spot even claiming that during his 95 title reign.."everything was about Shawn" .

Bret claiming Shawn told him "Get the fuck out of my ring" after mania.

Bret trashing Shawn in the dirt sheets and the Sun..

Shawn accusing Bret of sabotaging a promo they were in where Shawn was supposed to superkick Bret to end the show but Bret ending up trashing Shawn too long and the last shot was Bret dressing down Shawn in front of the crowd.

Shawn making the "Sunny Days" comment

 

[rajkaregakhalsa]

people tend to take sides on this issue. as mentioned it is a bloody shame that the feud between bret and shawn never continued. i am one that also believes that bret vs shawn wud've been the best feud ever and wud've drawn big... i dunno if bret was jealous of shawn. in my opinion, i think bret was not pleased at having to give up the top spot to shawn- i don't think any wrestler is ever pleased of relinquishing the top spot... i think bret shud've foreseen the screwjob seeing as he was reminded by people such as vader. bret shud've been smarter in that he shud've realizd that vince's main interest was not protecting bret's legacy. if bret was adamant of not wanting to put over shawn at ss97 in montreal and if he wanted to protect his legacy, maybe he shud've done wut the honky tonk man did when he was asked to drop the ic belt to savage- where honky tonk told vince if he is gonna disrespect him, he can come get the ic belt on his mantlepiece in memphis. in other words, bret was pretty naive in this instance and shud've protected himself better if he didn't want his legacy stained w/ the screwjob.

 

[Viola Moonlight]

For those that mentioned all the statements about what these two did too each other that was not included in the review, I left it all out on purpose. I did mention the "lost my smile" interview in there, but the rest was deemed kind of irrelevant as I was trying to focus on the kayfabe feud these two had. Many people know why these two HATED each other & what they did off-screen, so I tried to make light of the situation & review the feud from the wrestling/kayfabe standpoint.

As to what SSvegita77 was saying, he did mention something I forgot to add... how Bret & HBK were supposed to trade positions. Hart at the time was considered the best in the business due to how he executed each move & his wrestling abilties. However, the man did not have the charisma or the innovative offense like Shawn that made him a star. Hart used a plain technical & submission moveset although despite being impressive, its what Shawn brought to the table that would be more successful at holding the role of being the face of the company. This is one factor that Hart didn't like about Shawn taking over his main status role so soon as both wrestlers seemingly grew with the business together as they competed against each other & feuded over basically every main title of the business.

I just wished for the entire situation to have Vince not be the asshole he was & actually think that Hart might be the decent & loyal man he is to not take the belt over to WCW & have him retain the title in Canada & drop the belt to Shawn in America. We could of seen a great match & a great PPV at Survivor Series instead of the ending being the most memorial thing of the night.

 

[Tenta]

Man.... FalKon this is epic man.... Much respect to you man. I've always known you as a great poster, but I believe this is where you have made a name for yourself, man. Every poster has that moment that identifies themselves. I truly feel this one is yours, man. From a kayfabe standpoint, there's nothing I can add to better this thread. So, unfortunately, I'm going to have to nitpick.

For those that have added what FalKon missed, I'd say to read his post again. He was doing this from an in ring standpoint. He didn't add the backstage things, in which were really just extra to the feud. They were never acknowledged by anyone other than The Dirt Sheets, and by the FECS standards, you can't do things that aren't portrayed on Television. However, FalKon, I think if you are going to indeed do this thread with these two, you have to at least acknowledge the backstage heat, because like it or not, that did intensify the feud. Before Wrestlemania 12, there was no juice to this feud, really. All it truly was boiled down to two terrific workers going up against one another. Not really a whole lot more to make it a more epic feud. All of those backstage shenanigans are what made this feud so juicy to us, and what made it all the more epic. Without those backstage confrontations, none of the anger you'd see in the promos between these men would be there. Sure, it'd be a great work rate feud without the heat, but it wouldn't be remembered as an all out intense feud. It would be merely two great workers wrestling.

Also, I'd like to add the build up to Montreal. Before that, Shawn had done some pretty vile things to disrespect Canada. Be it humping the flag, sticking it up his nose, or what have you, there were some pretty crude things done. sure, it was entertaining, and added some juice. But there's a fine line between getting heat and being offensive. Some will tell you that line was blurred in The Attitude Era, and maybe they're right. Still, the things done by Shawn to Canada were just a bit disgusting. They, as well, perked up this feud.

As for the Screwjob... I've covered this before, and promised to never talk about it again, as I feel there's nothing more I have to say. I get where you’re coming from, but I feel you don’t do justice from Vince’s perspective. Did he lie? Yeah, I suppose so. But if you read this, you’ll understand where I’m coming from. Keep in mind that the two men I’m talking about are Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan, and the egos that these men had.

However, neither of these men presented as much a threat to Vince to walk out with their championship belt. One has to remember that this was in the midst of the Monday Night Wars, and one perilous mistake by the McMahons could lead to his business going belly up. Vince has to calculate every move he makes on a normal basis, but at this point, he was walking a tightrope of what he could do, and how WCW would react to it. Typically, when a wrestler does leave, he jobs on his way out, and if he holds a championship to his name, he must lose it, or otherwise their stands the risk of that superstar walking to the competition with that title. Ric Flair did it, and to a lesser extent (Yes, I do say lesser, as while it might have been controversial, it was still merely burying the Women’s Division. Vince does a good enough job of that by his own hand, on his own show.) Madusa did this exact same thing. Imagine the pressure of feeling as if your championship belt could wind up on the competition’s show. If there ever would have been a deadly blow for the WWE, this would have been it. I’m still, quite frankly, shocked that the WC W survived the departure of their title, but then again, even when they did see their World Title go to the competition, it would take three years to build themselves back up to the normal status, and within those three years, they managed to sign the biggest name in pro wrestling, Hulk Hogan. It took that to right the ship, after losing their World Title, and embarrassing WCW. And quite frankly, at the rate the Monday Night War was going, and the amount of money Vince was losing, Vince neither had three years to make up that sort of damage, nor did he have the resources to match Eric for any of the big names Eric had purchased under Vince’s nose. Losing the WWE Title was going to be the last thing that could very possibly have killed his company. The very same company in which he and his family have made their living for generation upon generation, and the only type of security Vince actually owned in their world. All of his other chances to explore options outside of the WWE had failed miserably, and this was Vince’s livelihood. Vince had to do whatever he could to preserve his business, and even if that meant screwing over a man that had loyally served him for years, so be it. Vince had done enough to help Bret by driving up the price for Bret, even though there was no way in which he had to do such a thing. He allowed him out of his contract, not only because he couldn’t afford to match Eric’s offer, but because he wanted to allow Bret to succeed. Vince didn’t have to let Bret out of his contract, as he could have kept him there all twenty years, nor did he have to help Bret drive up the cost for his services.

Now, again, I feel that Montreal had no wrong parties, and in some sick way, it was kind of necessary. And that is just my opinion. Overall, this was a terrific read, FalKon. I hope you do more of these.