WWE blew it again-- Bret Hart's return has been completely ruined.

[Ambiguous Turd]

EDITOR'S COMMENTS (Lord Sidious)

If any poster who wants to sob and whine about how fragile and what a cripple Bret Hart is that he will just shatter to pieces if he is touched the wrong way as a reason for why he can't do anything more than take a kick to the gut, I encourage you to please participate in this thread in Wrestling Spam, as well:

http://forums.wrestlezone.com/showthread.php?t=93475


Frankly, some of you disgust me with your absolute ignorance in thinking Bret Hart can "just barely" take a kick to the gut, and that's about all he supposedly can take. I have no idea how some of you honestly expect him to be able to have a match, if he is as absolutely fragile as some of you claim.

One has to ask themselves, "how could WWE honestly Fuck up this badly"? Seriously. This company just has a real knack for spoiling great things, and where has some things may be obvious to us on how they should book certain angles to provide the most entertainment, it apparently goes completely over their heads.

The end result is that this company has completely sucked the life and all intrigue out of Bret Hart, one of two people involved in the most controversial angle in WWE history, and his return to the company.

They start this by bringing Bret Hart on Raw on January 4th. They barely feature him throughout the night. However, instead of teasing dissension with Shawn, they have the two make up in the ring and get that completely out of the way. What a blown opportunity. Great TV moment, but truly a blown opportunity.

Then, to make matters worse, when dealing with Vince, which the confrontation was hyped all night .... what's the best thing WWE can come up with? Oh, let's kick Bret Hart in the gut. First of all, who couldn't see Vince turning on Bret? Everyone did. But how lame is it that all Vince does is kicks Bret in the gut?

So while that took some life out of the angle in the way this show was lamely booked, to make matters even worse, Bret Hart isn't even there on Raw next week. Apparently that kick was so devastating that Hart had to spend time home recovering. However, Bret Hart actually stood up in the ring at the end of Raw to look at Vince after he was kicked. So clearly, he was fine.

And to top it off, Vince does probably the worst, lazy promo he has ever done in his history of the Mr. McMahon character by talking for basically a minute saying absolutely nothing other than "I screwed Bret" before walking to the back.

Now if that still isn't bad enough, Bret Hart was AGAIN not on this week. Vince speaks a few words about it to open the show, and that was it from there.

And when Triple H spoke to Vince later in the show, they had no idea when Hart was going to appear again, so it appears he is off Raw for the forseeable future.

So basically, Bret appeared on the 4th for the first time in 12 years and after the most controversial angle in WWE history, got nothing but one lame kick from Vince, made up with Shawn to kill any intrigue there .... hasn't appeared again, and Vince has been dropping the ball in trying to spark any intrigue at all in this entire feud.



So that leads me to my questions and discussion points to you.


1) How could a company honestly screw something so huge, up this badly? And for those that don't agree that Bret's return has been ruined, feel free to disagree and state why.


2) What is your perception on what the Casual WWE fans feel about this feud at this point in time?


3) How do you feel WWE can pick up the pieces from this, and try to re-create interest in this program amongst the fans, after so much life has been sucked out of the program already?

 

[Mighty NorCal]

Firstly Sid, maybe get a clue. THe guy is a fucking stroke victim who hasnt had serious physical abuse in a decade. Maybe running him over with a car or a chair shot full of wrath to the face may not have been the best course of action the first night out yea? So, a kick to the gut is quite fine enough, its the symbolism that matters here anyhow. Dont blame the WWE for that, blame the human body. THey can only do soo much with this guy, safely, for right now.

Why are you acting like you dont know anything about anything? Of course he didnt show up the next week, um, fucking hello, were has he been for the last 12 years? Refusing to come on programming. If Vince screws hom over the first chance he can after he comes back, why the fuck would he ever come back again after that? Its perfectly logical to not have him come back for a while.

Then of all people, The Undertaker comes and speaks like the ghost of fucking Christmas past, telling Vince he will be paying for his sins soon enough. That promo was epic.

Bret will come back for revenge, soon. Remember, the mans health is going to make him limited for action, and you can only drag so many promos out of this leading to a payoff. Its coming, its just a slow burner. Stop acting like a child throwing his toys out of the crib just becuase there are a few commercials on before your favorite cartoon.

 

[samualdude]

I personally am very intrigued by where the Vince/Bret angle will go to at Wrestlemania but i feel that due to last night, a Triple H heel turn may be coming. It appears to me that HBK will eliminate HHH during the Rumble and HHH will in turn cost HBK the rumble causing the swerve. The angle will involve Bret and Vince each choosing someone to represent them in a match at Wrestlemania weaving the 2 fueds into 1.

As far as the Bret/Shawn angle goes, i can see Bret calling on Shawn for help but thats for another post. The moment they buried the hatchet was magical, You could feel the weight on both men's shoulders had been lifted. That moment made me proud to be a WWE fan witnessing such a beautiful legit moment between 2 men involved in Montreal.

 

[BurntReality]

I feel the WWE is handling this situation very well. They are actually letting it build and plus like NorCal said the dude is a stroke victim he can't perform like he use to. I for one and very excited to see where the go with this.

 

[RMA Morrison]

I'm actually kinda glad that they are going slow with this. The days of the long lasting feud are over. The fact that there is at least one recap on all four shows and then weekly on raw a little is added could result in overkill by WM if they were to go full boar with it now. I think that slowly building momentum over the 2+ months before WM works best so that the feud is not stale when the match finally takes place. I trust that by the time WM rolls around the majority of Wrestling fans will be satisfied and we'll only have the poor wrestling between the two to complain about, but the overall feud should end up to be one for the ages.

 

[wolvdog316]

Because Sid, while WWE hardly ever does anything right anymore, they know how to build storylines. Your used to watching TNA and their clusterfuck crap feuds that end for no reason, start for no reason, has no middle, no ending.

This is going great. Milk the crowd. MAKE them want to see Bret. Don't just shove him down our throats. Appearance here, appearance there, and then when he returns it will mean something. Then leading up to Wrestlemania maybe a month before have Bret appear every week. But there's no reason why Bret needs to be on TV every week for 12 weeks. That would be overkill

 

[The Roid Rage]

The guy is a fucking stroke victim who hasn't had serious physical abuse in a decade. Maybe running him over with a car or a chair shot full of wrath to the face may not have been the best course of action the first night out yea?

My thoughts exactly. There wasn't too much you could do with him. That may have hurt the segment a bit due to expectation and wanting more from it, but it served it's purpose I think.

So, a kick to the gut is quite fine enough, its the symbolism that matters here anyhow. Dont blame the WWE for that, blame the human body. THey can only do soo much with this guy, safely, for right now.

I like the point being made here about the symbolism. This is one of the main reasons I think they actually did quite well. McMahon gives this heartfelt speech of appreciation to Hart, celebrates their mending of the fence, and WHAM! I Screwed Bret! Not a bad way to get a feud going. It obviously left you anticipating what was going to happen enough, and what we have seen since has been a let down to you, it seems like they did a better job of selling to you than you are acknowledging. I think it sucks that they couldn't have done more with it, but you can't really be mad at it because it's only because of Bret's health. You know if Bret could have, he would have gave us more but he can't. I am actually pretty concerned about how he and Vince are supposed to have a match or a fight of any kind. How much can Bret really endure?

Then of all people, The Undertaker comes and speaks like the ghost of fucking Christmas past, telling Vince he will be paying for his sins soon enough. That promo was epic.

Ditto. I thought they played it off well, The Undertaker was great, and it added nicely to the ongoing story. The segment with Triple H was even better when he was talking about the McMahon's and stuff, the way they went on together was great. I have been watching and I think that they have given it an appropriate amount of time, considering the absence of Bret Hart. This is all great build up in my book, and I think once the Hitman shows up, you will feel different about it. That's when they're really going to strike it up, and when this feud is going to get really interesting.

Its coming, its just a slow burner

Exactly. As I said above, I think as soon as Bret comes back things will heat up, and you'll see a good feud between them. I can't speculate too much as to how they are going to do it. With them taking their time to get to it though, I get the feeling they are going to do something pretty big with the whole thing and I'm pretty excited for it. I'm just glad to have Bret Hart around at all, and to know that after all this time I have what I have to look forward to. I never actually thought that we would get to this point, and so I can't see how they could mess it up. Really, it's a miracle that Hart isn't dead let alone able to take a kick, or have a match.

In his book he talks about recovering from one of his strokes and he was saying he had to learn how to do everything over again. All the stuff we take for granted everyday like picking up a news paper and reading it without having a migraine, or being able to hold a spoon and feed yourself, go to the bathroom, walk, all of that. I think we are so fortunate to still have the guy around, we should maybe not put our standards so high, and just sit back and appreciate the moment.

I've answered the first question, and since I mostly disagree with the original poster, answering question 3 is not necessary. So, on to question 2.

2) What is your perception on what the Casual WWE fans feel about this feud at this point in time?

Form what I can gather, people are just waiting for everything to happen. No one I know seems to be disinterested quite the opposite, and are just anticipating Bret's return to see what happens next. We are all tuned in, following the story, and anxious for the fight. I think the way it's been handled has been received rather well overall, and that the majority of people are patiently waiting just as I, and most people I know are. I haven't until now heard too much negative feedback on the situation, people are interested and most are aware that this is all just the build up. Until everything comes to pass I'm not going to call it good or bad, there is too much left to be seen.

Going back to the original question "How could they fuck it up?" The only way I could see them doing that is if Bret pulls a Randy "The Ram" Robinson on everyone and dies during his final match or something. That would sure shit on the parade. Outside of that I think the fact that it is happening at all is big enough in and of itself to make it a success. I like the way it has been handled and carried along, and I think once the smoke clears, everyone else will too.

 

[wrestlingfan2]

The WWE has not ruined everything at all! It's called "building up" a storyline. WM is March 28, plenty of time to build up and have Bret show up on TV. He's coming back very soon. As for Vince's promo's, what else do you want him to say?! He's made his points and sets up the upcoming events. His promo last night with the Undertaker was great! Banning Bret wasn't a bad idea. It sets up his return. And what did you want Vince to Bret, hit him with a car? Of course we knew he'd turn on him. It once again "builds up" the story. People today want instant gratifcation and I'm happy to see WWE is taking its time with this. So, you may want to settle down and let things play out.

 

[dmacizdman]

wasn't there a news article about this? it specifically said they are purposely keeping him off television to build it up. i am sure they will make some mention of hart every chance they get - ala last night with the undertaker.

i expect it to get more attention after RR.

if they kept bringing hart back every single week, the storyline would get stale quick.

 

[El AlcoHALLic]

The WWE has not ruined everything at all! It's called "building up" a storyline. WM is March 28, plenty of time to build up and have Bret show up on TV. He's coming back very soon. As for Vince's promo's, what else do you want him to say?! He's made his points and sets up the upcoming events. His promo last night with the Undertaker was great! Banning Bret wasn't a bad idea. It sets up his return. And what did you want Vince to Bret, hit him with a car? Of course we knew he'd turn on him. It once again "builds up" the story. People today want instant gratifcation and I'm happy to see WWE is taking its time with this. So, you may want to settle down and let things play out.

That. Well said sir. We do live in an era of instant gratificattion. For me the best part of wrestling was the cliffhanger endings on Raw Nitro etc that led up to the "big match" at the PPVs. I'm happy WWE is taking it's time (for once) and not rushing.

 

[RawIsRamsey]

This angle has all the greatness of an old-school build and burn. Vince is going to keep coming out, talking up Bret and how he screwed him...Bret will continue to have people come out and support him, garnering the crowds involvement because, hey, if John Cena says he's a huge Bret Hart fan, maybe the guy is important? So, that gets people interested in Bret, picking up the DVD or finding matches on YouTube, and discovering more about the Best There Is, the Best There Was, and the Best There Ever Will Be.

Now the people will REALLY want to see Bret come back and kick Vince's teeth down his throat, all in enough time for...oh...a street fight at Wrestlemania?

They haven't blown a minute of this angle...it's been simmering for 12 years as it is, we can wait another two months.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

This angle is FAR from ruined. Like someone said earlier, it is about time the WWE actually started taking their time with a feud. I can't stand that shit when two guys have a feud for two weeks, and then a match at the PPV. Have some build up, make the crowd reallly want to see this. I am glad they are not rushing this like they (and TNA) seem to do with everything else. As for Bret not showing up, I doubt it will end up having anything to do with his health. Remember, Bret Hart was INVITED to Raw. Someone with authority has to bring him back; whether he will be the new GM (he should be) or not is another question. Bret will make his return soon enough. Remember, it is the middle of January and Mania isn't until the end of March. Whenever they decide to bring him back, the intensity will pick right back up.

And as for having Vince and Bret choose guys to wrestle for them...fuck that. If they do that, I will be really pissed, personally. Bret is in good enough shape to do some kind of street fight with McMahon. While Bret teaming with Shawn would be a swerve, it would be a hell of lot better to watch Bret beat the hell out of Vince himself.

As for what the "casual" WWE fans thiknk about this...I don't care. If you didn't watch back when Bret was around, then just shut up. If you don't like it, that's fine, but keep it to yourself. Have enough respect to understand that Bret Hart is one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. During his first appearance on Raw, I saw a sign in the crowd that said "Brett Who?" People like that should just shut the fuck up and keep sucking on Cena's balls.

 

[Miko]

So that leads me to my questions and discussion points to you.


1) How could a company honestly screw something so huge, up this badly? And for those that don't agree that Bret's return has been ruined, feel free to disagree and state why.

Vince McMahon kicked a stroke victim in the gut, the guys gonna feel it. Bret wasnt on RAW because his time as the guest host is over, remember his real life contract doesnt reflect his on screen contract. After Bret's done being guest host Vince just tells security to not let Bret in the building anymore, it's not like Bret could fight past them in his state.

So, apart from Vince's shitty promo, all things are going well.

2) What is your perception on what the Casual WWE fans feel about this feud at this point in time?

Dont know, could be that they are interested due to the history, I bet a lot of them dont even know the whole story there as they are new fans who dont really care about what came before them.

3) How do you feel WWE can pick up the pieces from this, and try to re-create interest in this program amongst the fans, after so much life has been sucked out of the program already?

The programs fine, it's actually quite interesting, Bret hasnt stormed the building and beat McMahon senseless yet, he's not Stone Cold, in kayfabe terms he doesnt even have a WWE contract. I myself am preffering the more subtle approach, like I said, barring McMahons stale old promo, it's really quite good.

 

[NeoSaiyan7]

Since Bret Hart is a stroke survivor, competing every week on RAW wouldn't be the best thing. However, that doesn't mean he can't show up on a weekly basis just for a 3-5 min promo. I think the WWE has slipped a little bit with this Bret Hart project. I've lost any interest in this whole storyline (and I had little interest in it to begin) and believe the WWE could make some interesting promos like on location at Bret's house.

For those who see RAW casually, or for those who don't remember anything about Bret "The Hitman" Hart, I would speculate that they would be confused. Why hype up this return of Bret Hart starting around the Slammy's, show him for one night, and then only mention him briefly the following episodes? Vince McMahon then states to the audience that we will never see Hart ever again. Seems like the audience thought he was full of crap and just wasting time.

To recreate interest, show promos, past and present about Hart. Show how his history with WWE and then show what his thoughts are in a setting such as his house.

 

[AMH]

How could you say that a feud is ruined when it's hardly just begun? Of course he wasn't going to be back the next week or the next week. The reason for this? To BUILD the anicipation of his return and retribution on Mr. McMahon. That's how you create a good storyline. This has to spread out till their much anicipated bout at Wrestlemania, so we very well can't have them brawling out in the parking lot after a measly three weeks, now can we?

I like how they're doing this. I get's you angry not seeing Bret, which in many ways, gets you even more excited to see him when he does return. This is going to be a great feud. Once the Rumble is over, it's a well known fact that the WWE product itself picks up rather dramatically. At least, I hope so after last night. The Hitman/McMahon feud is going to get very VERY personal. Perhaps, instead of deeming the feud a disappointment or saying "WWE did it again" perhaps YOU should practice a bit more patience. It's like HBK said, "Only good things will happen." And that symbolic "kick to the gut" was just the start.

 

[JBSMan]

I'm liking it, it's a slow burner, and I'm fairly confident the ends will justify the means.

"Bret Hart isn't even there on Raw next week. Apparently that kick was so devastating that Hart had to spend time home recovering. However, Bret Hart actually stood up in the ring at the end of Raw to look at Vince after he was kicked. So clearly, he was fine."

Hm? As far as the storyline goes, Bret had a one-time deal with WWE and isn't allowed back on Raw ever again, so why/how would he turn up the next week?

 

[XgringolocoX]

Watching the segment with Vince and Bret left me with much to be desired. While I wasn't expecting, or wanting, them to blow their load right away on this, I wasn't left feeling anxious to see what's next.

Also, many young fans don't have a reason to give a shit about Bret Hart. These 2 weeks could have been used to expose him to them. This isn't about a quick feud rather than a slow burn. Slow burns still need to smolder....
Vince didn't use this to his best advantage. That sound you hear is a ball being dropped.

 

[Tyler44]

1.) Well first of all, what did we expect would happen? This is current 2010 WWE at it's finest: boring and stale to anyone over the age of 14 who have at least watched WWE when they were younger. When this return was coming, I did not set my self up and expect this great mark out moment. Face it, his return was shit and this was expected. The crowd was awful, the emotions stirring up really did not get me into it, and it was very predictable. I feel WWE did not ruin it when he first came out with the HBK promo, I feel the little kids and 12 year hatred between Vince and Bret ruined this promo. Little kids had no idea how big this actually was or who Bret Hart even is, and for them to get this return to happen just took too long because now there's a new fan base at live events full of little children and their parents that got dragged there who don't give off ovations like their used to be. Overall, the atmosphere at the actual event seemed quiet and the only way this event could be enjoyable in that sense would be if this return took place in Montreal.

2.) In my point of view, I am somewhat excited for this feud because I hope WWE will pull of something exciting, but then again I don't want to get carried away. I feel a loud and alive crowd brings out the true emotions of what goes on during a match or promo. For example, what seems a lot more exciting: Jeff Hardy's first world title victory or Eddie Guerrero's first title win against Brock Lesnar (look it up on youtube and hear the crowd)? Eddie's seemed so much more interesting and welcoming because the crowd ate it up and loved it. With that said, I feel nothing right now in WWE will bring out those true emotion's in promos or emotions. If the Rock returns, the crowd reaction will blow so it won't be as good. So with all that said, this feud will just not have that feel of a great moment without an A+ crowd that is into what is being shown.

3.)I am hoping for a great emotion filled battle of words between Vince and Bret, and maybe HBK will still come into this. I don't know what to expect yet, but I just want Bret and Vince to pull off a great rivalry without matches (I would want maybe 1 if Bret is able) that will not grow stale through out the weeks. I can't judge the overall feud yet since nothing has happened, but I'm hoping they pick up with this and make it interesting.

 

[CuddleBuns84]

One has to ask themselves, "how could WWE honestly Fuck up this badly"? Seriously. This company just has a real knack for spoiling great things, and where has some things may be obvious to us on how they should book certain angles to provide the most entertainment, it apparently goes completely over their heads.

The end result is that this company has completely sucked the life and all intrigue out of Bret Hart, one of two people involved in the most controversial angle in WWE history, and his return to the company.

They start this by bringing Bret Hart on Raw on January 4th. They barely feature him throughout the night. However, instead of teasing dissension with Shawn, they have the two make up in the ring and get that completely out of the way. What a blown opportunity. Great TV moment, but truly a blown opportunity.

Then, to make matters worse, when dealing with Vince, which the confrontation was hyped all night .... what's the best thing WWE can come up with? Oh, let's kick Bret Hart in the gut. First of all, who couldn't see Vince turning on Bret? Everyone did. But how lame is it that all Vince does is kicks Bret in the gut?

So while that took some life out of the angle in the way this show was lamely booked, to make matters even worse, Bret Hart isn't even there on Raw next week. Apparently that kick was so devastating that Hart had to spend time home recovering. However, Bret Hart actually stood up in the ring at the end of Raw to look at Vince after he was kicked. So clearly, he was fine.

And to top it off, Vince does probably the worst, lazy promo he has ever done in his history of the Mr. McMahon character by talking for basically a minute saying absolutely nothing other than "I screwed Bret" before walking to the back.

Now if that still isn't bad enough, Bret Hart was AGAIN not on this week. Vince speaks a few words about it to open the show, and that was it from there.

And when Triple H spoke to Vince later in the show, they had no idea when Hart was going to appear again, so it appears he is off Raw for the forseeable future.

So basically, Bret appeared on the 4th for the first time in 12 years and after the most controversial angle in WWE history, got nothing but one lame kick from Vince, made up with Shawn to kill any intrigue there .... hasn't appeared again, and Vince has been dropping the ball in trying to spark any intrigue at all in this entire feud.



So that leads me to my questions and discussion points to you.


1) How could a company honestly screw something so huge, up this badly? And for those that don't agree that Bret's return has been ruined, feel free to disagree and state why.


2) What is your perception on what the Casual WWE fans feel about this feud at this point in time?


3) How do you feel WWE can pick up the pieces from this, and try to re-create interest in this program amongst the fans, after so much life has been sucked out of the program already?

Sid Your an idiot, seriously! The storyline is going just fine, and it's better having Little doses of Bret Hart, then having him on the show every week, threatening to fight Vince. It would get boring quickly, and take the Wrestle-mania hype away. It's about selling the biggest pay per view of the year, not trying to compete with your little jack-off wwe wanna be company. Now we all know your going to call everyone on here a WWE shareholder because we called you stupid and hurt your feelings, but TNA sucks.

 

[X]

I think I can say with confidence that Bret Hart's return to the WWE has been one of the single most anticlimactic angles I've ever seen in the company. Here you have a multiple time World Champion, a friggin' living legend, and the guy barely gets 15 minutes of TV time in total before getting kicked in the gut and then disappearing for a few more weeks? Like, not even a fucking montage or update or anything? Christ they made a bigger deal out of 'Taker's return just five or so months ago and everyone and there mother knew he was coming back.

There's still plenty of time for them to redeem themselves, but so far this Hart angle has been monumentally underwhelming. I'm pretty sure Jon Heder got more face time on Raw last night than Bret did when he hosted. Just yet another bumble in a long line of fuck-ups that has been the WWE these past few years.

 

[MoxViolence]

Everything said here is exactly what I have been feeling about this whole angle. Bret makes up with shawn...then later in the night he gets kicked in the gut by vince. then he''s off tv for 2 weeks lol...you gotta be kidding me. when bret hart comes back its not even going to be exciting. i think the fans r upset. and they should be. i dunno how or why vince and creative come to the conclusion that this is good tv. Man we knocked em out the park with brets return..ey? No...i hate raw dammit. for many reasons. and this was another.

 

[Jack Tunney's Ghost]

Well, we ARE talking WWE... the company that managed to blow the biggest, potentially most money making, historic angle of all time -- the purchasing of and "invasion" by WCW.

To this day, I still scratch my head on how WWE managed to screw that whole thing up... and yet, they gone done it! Hell, they even had ECW at their disposal at the time and WWE STILL managed to drop the ball! Sorry to say, but that WCW angle alone EASILY had more potential and was bigger than the Bret Hart angle.

So, yeah, I can understand why Sidious is pointing fingers at this point... while, sure, the Hart angle is still in its infancy, there's STILL plenty of opportunity for WWE to screw up the Bret Hart angle up huge... and given WWE's history record, the odds are GREATLY in favor that WWE will screw this up too.

It's obviously that WWE slowly building this up to WrestleMania (which is weeks and weeks away). I'm loving the slow build, because WWE tends to crash forward with angles at light speed to the point where fans... oops, pardon me, "the WWE Universe" (rolls eyes) have too little time to invest or care about the angle or wrestlers involved.

But, the slow build makes me nervous that the WWE will not pay off as much as we would like.

The January 4th Raw was a bit of a turn off for me when Hart "returned" to the WWE.

I don't get the whole Shawn and Bret hugging segment, but, I'm thinking... ok... HOPING that it's a work leading up to a good pay-off involving Shawn. Work (most likely) or shoot (doubtful) it didn't quite work given just how awkward it came off as. The look on Bret's face was more of disgust than "burying the proverbial hatchet."

I know Bret shouldn't be doing anything to dangerous given his head injuries and being a stroke victim, but, McMahon's kick to the gut wasn't that satisfying. Besides Hart half-selling it, but, there could've been something more just to put the scene over a tad more. He didn't have to chair shot the man or anything like that... but maybe cutting a 1 lined promo, or ripped up Hart's signature jacket... just SOMETHING more.

But, Hart's segments, and not Hart's fault, were waaaay OVER scripted. WWE's BIGGEST problem lately is that it's too micro-managed, over booked and waaay over scripted. There was no "passion" in anything Hart was involved with... you can tell everyone was just trying to remember their lines. It was boring television... as with most of WWE's over scripted product these days. It didn't help that WWE was competing against TNA that night, where, TNA was an obvious clusterf*ck in their writing, TNA let their boys have some slack in their promos and the interviews were more intriguing and fascinating to watch... while WWE's overscripted promos were as exciting as watching paint dry.

... and that includes anything Bret Hart up until this point in WWE.

So, to me, so long as WWE continues to slow-build angles results more frustration than anything.

But, WWE can't drop the ball like TNA did with Hogan where they announced Hogan's signing waaay to early and plugged him for too many weeks coming dangeously close to having their fans lose interest the whole thing.

 

[JJYanks121]

I know it's tough to swallow, but because this is a major storyline that will culminate on the big stage at Wrestlemania, it is a long term story and it has to make sense along the way. Every step has to be logical, because if it isn't, the fans will see throught it. For instance, if Bret came back the next week and wasn't guest host, what sense would that make? According to storyline, he was brought in to be a one time guest host. That is why Vince waited until the very end of the show to kick him. The beauty part is that Vince brought him back knowing he wanted to do this (in storyline), milked him along the way, and got the last laugh as he left Bret in pain at the end of the show with no way to retaliate on camera because he's gone. If you are following, you know that Bret would want revenge, but can't get it unless he finds a way to get back, but the man in charge at this point won't let him because he feels he won.

Fast forward to the next week. Yes, Vince's promo lacked in the usual emotion he has and wasn't his best, but it got the point across that he's not letting Bret come back which furthers the idea that he's in charge and he won. It also sparks some of the guys in the back to question Vince and why he won't face Bret. That's where Taker and Trips come in this past Monday. Those two were there in 1997 (other than Shawn I think they are the only ones that were that are still there) and thus, they give perspectives on knowing McMahon the longest. Both Taker and Trips had the job of using different perspectives to get in McMahon's head to change his mind and get him to face Bret like a man. I know that the internet community knows that Bret IS schedule to come back next week, but in the story, does it even make sense to?

At this point, Vince is still "deciding" whether he did the right thing, or whether the points made to him should convince him to let Bret come back and confront him. If it was me, I'd have Bret "invited back" next week and hype it for the day after the rumble. However, if Bret will indeed be back next week, we'll see how that is explained and how it plays out.

I think the problem that you are having Sid is that in a day of monthly PPVs, it's so common for an angle to start one week and by the next week, a match is made for the upcoming PPV. For this reason, often times, feuds are rushed and the payoff is not that anticipated. In this case, the hope is that by the time Wrestlemania rolls around, the people will be so anxious to see the 2 men fight that they will pay to see it cuz um......that's kind of how the business works.

As for Shawn Michaels, why do you feel that it's bad that he and Bret made up? Is it not ok for 2 men to get over an issue from 12 years ago? Quite honestly, I think it's ridiculous for a story to be about a 12 year old grudge in the first place, but it wouldn't work if 2 men both held grudges, especially in Michaels case since he believes in a religion that preaches forgiveness and human growth. I think in your mind, everyone has to have ulterior motives and everyone has to turn on everyone to keep things interesting, but it doesn't. Actually, it makes the McMahon story even stronger because it makes it seem like he is the ONLY one who can't let go and it makes him look that much worse.........which is good for a heel.

I think I've answered the first of your 3 questions so let's get to #2. I would think the casual fan who has NO IDEA that Bret has a real life short term contract with WWE is hoping for Bret to return and confront McMahon and they are hoping the excellence of execution can return and be an example, a hero, for at least a little bit. I know the counter-argument has been that the casual CHILD fan may not even know what's going on, but keep in mind that children in kindergarten learn how to use computers, so I think it's fair to think that a child of say, 10 years old can do a quick google search of Bret Hart and learn about who he was. Also, the Bret DVD set isn't' that old, they can watch that and see his matches and such as well as pick up his autobiography. It's a tough, long read, but it's worth it to hear his side of things even if they are a bit biased. My point is, either you remember the situation that is being referenced or you can look it up, but Bret Hart in the wrestling community coming back is like Pete Rose coming back to baseball in a sense. Whoever got you into the game I'm sure has mentioned the name so you can't be utterly clueless. So the casual fan is hoping Bret can find a way to come back and they are hoping to see Bret perhaps get his hands on the boss.

As for #3, I don't think that much life has been sucked out of the program. In fact, I think so much life will be pumped IN to the program when Bret finally returns because this time, he'll appear IN a program and not just as a guest host and thus, he'll be there not to make matches, but to settle scores. The slow build should culminate in hopefully a heated contest at Mania. I do understand that this is the ADD generation and it's possible that it may not go over perfectly, but the HBK/Jericho feud went for months just 2 years ago and it was phenomenal, so I do think the fans can buy a slow built feud and I truly hope they do. We know it wont' be a 5 star match like Bret has had many times in the past, but to have the Hitman on a WM card for the first time since leaving a bloody Steve Austin in the center of the ring would be something very special for everyone, despite the fact that it's not the Hitman of old.

 

[UltraHottie]

In the world of wrestling, if someone has suffered an injury from someone they trust, it usually takes them 3 weeks to come back on Raw. During those three weeks while injured wrestler is away, the heel wrestler will talk about how much they hate that pacticular wrestler and why they did what they did. And then when the injured wrestler does return to strike revenge on who injured them, it is done to the extreme!

This is how it will play out with the Bret and Vince feud. Bret is supposed to be on Raw next week, and when he does return he'll return full force. He'll probably start out by not wanting to wrestle Vince and will black mail him for a while. And then Vince will strike back by injuring a member of the Hart Dynsty, which will make Bret really want to fight Vince. And I predicting that Donald Trump will play a role in this storyline as well.

 

[dansaun77]

They are handling it very well, there blow off wont come until Wrestlemania, and like any decent storyline, there are lots of pieces to the puzzle. Undertaker cutting the promo putting Hart over confirms its not over by a long shot. Shawn may get his rematch, but it wont happen at Wrestlemania. He might pin Taker in Elimination Chamber, but HHH VS hbk IS HAPPENING AT wRESTLEMANIA. Thats a lock. Forget the swerves of Sheamus vs Trips, there is absolutely no buiold up for a match of that magnitude yet, and Mania is just over two months away. As for Hart/ McMahon, a guy earlier said it best. Theres only so many promos hey can cut on each other over a two and a half month period, the blow off isnt for a couple of months, bringing Hart back soon nough will create the slow build. He is supposedly going to be raw this week, the last Raw before the Rumble, so id expect to even see Hart and Taker backstage in a segment of sum sorts. Vince surely cant fuck this up, like he did the Invasion, but the whole storyline is centred around Wrestlemania. If TNA had not gone live and Vince needed a big playeer to match them, I dsuggest their storyline would not have commenced until the night adfter Royal Rumle, but thats a mute point now.