The Bret Hart Return Should Have Been Done In 2006

[BringThePain834]

Seeing how at the beginning of 2006, Vince did a personal review of the Bret DVD that was released around that time and it was more of Vince gloating than reviewing, which brought Shawn out to say "Let it go". Don't get me wrong, the McMahons and Shawn Michaels feud was great, and from watching some of it back, I think it would have been much better if Bret returned in 2006 as he was on good enough terms to accept an induction into the Hall of Fame that year and him having involvement in the McMahons and HBK storyline would have made a lot of noise, and maybe then the Vince/Bret match wouldn't have sucked as bad.

The point I'm trying to make here is the McMahons and HBK storyline was calling for a Bret involvement right from the beginning and I still to this day don't know why it never happened. Hell, he could have appeared at the post WM 22 RAW or something and instead of HBK's tag partner being "God", it could have and should have been Bret. After WrestleMania, the McMahons and HBK feud was starting to lose steam and went to the religion part of things, which really was just unnecessary. Imagine what Bret coming in could have done for the storyline.

 

[yourdamnluck]

Bret as Shawn's tag partner could have been the greatest moment in pro wrestling. May be vince didn't think of it or may be they had some other problem. Bret may not be very good in the ring then but the fans would have gone crazy as soon as his music was hit.
It's almost as bad as Taker not facing Sting during their prime.

 

[Carpathian Florist]

Vince and Bret may have buried their hatchett by 2006, but I don't think he was ready to get over his issues with Shawn by that point. I think he was even distrustful of him after they met on Raw in 2010 and he had to wait to see how that played out on Shawn's side before he'd settle.

 

[Lord_Frish]

I apologise for not having a source, but when Hart returned he said that the thing that started the healing process between him and HBK was Wrestlemania 25. Hart sent HBK a text congratulating him on the match he had with Undertaker. According to Hart this was the first time they talked since Montreal. So it was another 3 years from HBK vs Vince and Shane before the two were even talking.

I don't think Hart was quite ready to return in 2006, the idea you laid out would have been great though. Hart and Michaels in a Tag Team would have been one hell of a PPV seller.

 

[The Brain]

The point I'm trying to make here is the McMahons and HBK storyline was calling for a Bret involvement right from the beginning and I still to this day don't know why it never happened.

It's pretty simple really. Bret didn't want to do it. There's nothing more to it than that. From what I've heard Vince wanted Bret to be the special guest referee for his match at WM22 and then have the tag match with Bret & HBK vs. Vince & Shane at Backlash. Bret was cool doing the HOF but he wasn't going to come back on tv for any storylines. He didn't even want to be introduced during the HOF role call at mania. Vince wanted it. He just couldn't get Bret to agree to it.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

Hard to say but don't forget that Bret's return was used in part to counter TNA as Monday night competition. Granted that TNA fucked things up just fine on their own and quickly ran with their tails between their legs but it was good for Vince to have that bullet left in his chamber for that night. Why switch to Monday night during WM season TNA? Why?

Regardless, Hart may have filled in well to the Vince v HBK storyline. It is hard to say. I can't imagine Bret was much of a competitor in 2006.

 

[agentmichaelscarn]

I agree that it definitely should have then but obviously Bret wasn't ready or didn't feel comfortable. I don't think it was all to do with him not forgiving Vince or Shawn, I think a big part of it was him not fully recovering from his stroke yet.

He was always a little introverted to begin with(which is why he wore sunglasses during his promos for years) and timid on the mic. After his stroke it made it that much harder for him. I remember he cut a promo at some indy show in like 2004-05 and I remember him saying how hard it was for him to do that because of his confidence issue.

So being involved in a major storyline that may involve physical activity(when his motor skills still weren't near 100%) probably was something that he was scared of, which is why he didn't come back. I think he only came back for the HOF speech cause it was a relatively small crowd and infront of many peers. Totally different environment than performing in front of 20K rabid fans.

 

[Jonyboyuk2]

In 2006 Bret had only just recovered from his stroke. Bret Vs Vince would have sucked any year it was done if Vince had booked it, because his ego gets in the way. The Vince V Bret match was awful because Bret had had a stroke!!! But also the booking was terrible.

 

[whoopin' ass]

Bret Hart's return should have been in 2001 when Vince bought Nitro after not screwing him in Montreal.

There were a ton of great times to bring him back but you can't blame Bret for being a bit bitter given what happened. I think Bret's return happened at the right time - certain things needed to happen for both sides to decide it was time to move on and that's what happened. People tend to forget that Bret wasn't leaving because WCW made him a better offer, he left because Vince asked him to leave. It may not seem like much now but Bret's leaving saved WWF millions when they were hurting and Vince never really admitted howmuch that helped. He started playing the evil billionaire and Bret was just another deal. I think it took Bret's stroke for both sides to realize just how much they owed each other. Without that, any return would have come off as lame.

 

[MrMojoRisin]

Bret's return honestly should have been back in 1999 before he reupped his WCW deal.

Austin and Rock had control of the dressing room instead of Michaels and Triple H. He'd experienced first hand how bad it was in WCW. He had already admitted he was feeling that being in WCW was a mistake and he was missing working for Vince. And he could still go.

I will say though, that I never minded Bret's WWE return. For what it was, and what was possible considering Bret's health, I thought they did a good job with it. Vince did a great job putting over a guy who couldn't take a bump as a legit threat in the buildup, and then when the actual match came? Vince bumped and sold for Bret like a champ. I wasn't a fan of the Hart family being involved at Wrestlemania, but I get it all things considered.

Where they lost it for me was everything that happened after that. Having Bret win the US title? Having Bret as part of the Summerslam match against the Nexus? It should have been one and done for the guy, and then if they wanted, move him to a strictly non-competitive role.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

Bret's return honestly should have been back in 1999 before he reupped his WCW deal.

Austin and Rock had control of the dressing room instead of Michaels and Triple H. He'd experienced first hand how bad it was in WCW. He had already admitted he was feeling that being in WCW was a mistake and he was missing working for Vince. And he could still go.

I will say though, that I never minded Bret's WWE return. For what it was, and what was possible considering Bret's health, I thought they did a good job with it. Vince did a great job putting over a guy who couldn't take a bump as a legit threat in the buildup, and then when the actual match came? Vince bumped and sold for Bret like a champ. I wasn't a fan of the Hart family being involved at Wrestlemania, but I get it all things considered.

Where they lost it for me was everything that happened after that. Having Bret win the US title? Having Bret as part of the Summerslam match against the Nexus? It should have been one and done for the guy, and then if they wanted, move him to a strictly non-competitive role.

I think this is right.

With Bret's health issues, I don't think a return would have been possible, and shouldn't have been risked until it actually happened. The man had a stroke for God's sake, and I'm amazed he ever competed in ANY form of wrestling match again after that. I don't get the criticism of the Hat v Vince WM match, what were people expecting? It was 60 y/o non wrestler vs a man recovering from serious health issues! Even though Bret couldn't take a bump, it was good to see him finally put an end to the feud with Vince after all those years.

I agree, a return should have been in 1999 when Bret was still in great shape would have been great, but 2 years after Montreal simply wasn't enough time for the scars to even start to heal in Bret's mind, especially after Owen's tragic death only occurred in 1999.

If I could have picked an ideal return date for Bret, it would have been in 2001 during the Invasion. With Angle and Austin defecting to WCW (and I'd also have had Big Show or Chris Jericho jump sides too), Team WWF would have been struggling and looking for another big name to help them out. Foley was retired, Triple H was injured....who turns up to offer his help to the company that made him? Bret "The Hitman" Hart.

I know it couldn't have happened as Bret had already suffered the career ending concussion at the hands of Goldberg...but just imagine that pop if the Hitman music suddenly came on on Raw, and Bret walked out to join The Rock, Undertaker and Kane to face Team Alliance.....awesome!

 

[MrMojoRisin]

I'd actually have to re-read it, but the time I'm thinking of in 1999 is right before Owen died.

Bret tells a story in his book about his contract almost being up, feeling very disenchanted with the way WCW had been handling him and was having second thoughts. He decided to go to a RAW that was in Calgary just to visit some old friends. The Rock was the one that told him he should come back and that the locker room had changed if that's what he was worried about. Austin was hitting on Bret's sister. Bret seemed to recall it as the first time in a while he enjoyed being at the arena.

I looked it up on wrestlingdata, and there was a RAW show on April 17, 1999 that had Austin and the Rock on it. Likely the one he's talking about. I really don't know if he could have at that time contractually, but if he was able to, that would have been the time it could have happened. If it's quick enough too, he would have been there to stop Owen from doing that fateful stunt a month later (Bret always said that Owen would come to him about stuff like that and there's no way he would have ever allowed Owen to do it - plus if Bret is on his way back, you don't want to be using Owen as the Blue Blazer anyways... you're building him up to be Bret's right hand man against Vince).

Once Owen died, all bets were off though, and it seemed that the hard feelings about Montreal really began to take hold then (not that they weren't there before, but they went to another level after his brother died). Prior to Owen dying, I think Bret could have been talked into doing business, considering how important his career and legacy was to him. Same with Vince. After Owen died? It took facing his own mortality with the stroke, and Vince facing how things could have ended too, for the wounds to heal (Bret has credited Vince's emotional support being one of the factors that helped him recover - in a dysfunctional way, the two really did have a father/son relationship).

 

[justtxyank]

Wrestlers have a way of "misremembering" reality when they write books and do shoot interviews.

Bret Hart signed a 3 year contract with WCW in November of 1997. He may have been unhappy in 1999, but he couldn't contractually leave WCW until late 2000.

It's also hard to believe that it was true when he was set to return from recovering an injury in 99 and feud with Kevin Nash over the world title.

 

[Kris Benwa]

I think it was Court Bour on MLW radio but I may be mistaken but he said they tried to do the Bret return in 06. He says he and the other writers were on the phone discussing how they'd get from Survivor Series to Mania when Vince called and pitched it to Bret and it seemed like it was going down but for whatever reason (I dont believe Court knew) it didnt materialize and they did HBK vs Vince instead.

Personally i think Bret might have been uncomfortable but also Eddie passed away so they needed a match for Shawn. (Eddie vs Shawn for WM 22 was also discussed on that same phone call)

 

[Just Do It]

Yeah, a Bret return in 1999 would have been something else. But he still hated Vince at this point, and Vince was still being pissy with Bret, going on Canadian TV and calling him a skeleton etc. Frankly, the WWF didn't need Bret at that point, and Bret could make much more money in WCW, despite creative frustration.