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

[Jack Tunney's Ghost]

"Actually, if you go to Bret Hart's offical website You'll learn that the segment with Shawn wasn't scripted at all. Bret notes that he did see shawn earlier, but they didn't talk."

Without sounding too much like a jerk, but, "just because it's on website, it doesn't mean it's true."

I still believe the whole thing was a work, and it wouldn't be above anyone under a WWE contract -- no matter how short term -- to post anything on their "official" website to help advance a WWE story line. It's happened in the past, and it'll keep on happening. It's nothing malicious, it's all about making money.

 

[justinept]

I'd like to congratulate JBS for being the only one on this board to mention the obvious reason Bret Hart hasn't been on Raw for the past two weeks - Because in storyline, his appearance was a one-time deal, and he has since been told that he will never be allowed back on Raw.

Now, I'm sure Sid is thinking - Well why would Vince script the storyline that way ... what is the point of keeping Bret off television?

Because by doing it, Vince is explaining the magnatude of the situation. Not all WWE fans know about the MSJ incident. They don't get that it was a huge deal 12 years ago and that it continues to be talked about as one of the most important wrestling moments of the past 25 years. By Vince banning Bret from Raw - and most of the superstars calling out Vince for being afraid to face the consequence of his actions - it gives the audience a sense that this is a huge deal. Think about it, the owner of the company doesn't even feel safe to be near this guy because of how badly he screwed him.

Now, I rememeber last week, a poster on these boards made a comment about The UT confronting HBK's challenge on this week's Raw. "Why would the WWE start this feud so damn early when Wrestle Mania is more than two months away?"

So there were a few WWE fans who complained that the UT/HBK feud was moving too quickly ---- now some fans are complaining that the Hart/McMahon feud is building too slowly.

Exactly where the hell is the perfect in-between, you ask? I don't know. Ask Sidious. He has all the answers.

"Actually, if you go to Bret Hart's offical website You'll learn that the segment with Shawn wasn't scripted at all. Bret notes that he did see shawn earlier, but they didn't talk."

Without sounding too much like a jerk, but, "just because it's on website, it doesn't mean it's true."

I still believe the whole thing was a work, and it wouldn't be above anyone under a WWE contract -- no matter how short term -- to post anything on their "official" website to help advance a WWE story line. It's happened in the past, and it'll keep on happening. It's nothing malicious, it's all about making money.

Happens in "real" sports, too. Baseball teams often float fake rumors to reporters who report them as fact. This is not just meant to swerve other teams from knowing the team's true intentions, but it also works to help them cover their tracks when factual rumors hit the street.

 

[20thCenturyBoy]

Everybody's pretty much summed up my feelings here, except for one minor point. It's in regards to the Michaels/Hart closing a chapter in their lives angle. Judging by what Bret wrote in his book and by what made it on to the DVD that HE produced, that him and Vince have pretty much everything squared away. Basically Bret has been having an amicable business relationship with Vince for quite some time now. The same probably cannot be said about him and Shawn. Personally I think they got it over and done with so they could end that chapter right then and there, probably ending any sustained involvment with each other throughout the course of Bret's current tenure with the company.

Of course the idea of a particularily heated program between Shawn and Bret leaves the mark in me salivating, but I can understand from a company standpoint even why you may want to keep these two people as far away from eachother as possible. Obviously I don't know how Shawn and Bret feel about eachother or how the company feels in regards to an extended storyline between the two, but with all vitrol that's been spewed over the years, it's not outside the realm of possibility that the company and or shawn and Bret decided it would be for the best to just get it over and done with. At least that's how I'm chosing to reconcile the fact that we won't have one final match with the Hearbreak Kid and the Hitman.

 

[wolvdog316]

Ok, I guess some of you STILL don't fucking get.

BRET HART IS A FORMER STROKE VICTIM.

Meaning, he could literally have a stroke again at any moment and die. So IF, and this is a HUGE if, IF Bret can even throw a punch at WM against Vince he won't be doing much else.

So that right there takes away ANY major physical part of the angle. Can't have McMahon hit him with a chair, or shove him down and he hits his head, can't kick him anywhere near his head, so that limits what you can do.

We have what 12 or more weeks til WM. You can't have a former STROKE VICTIM in the fucking ring every week for 3 months straight without any kind of violence.

So what the fuck do you propose Vince do? Have 12 different sets of promo's explaining what they will do in 12 weeks, then 11 weeks, then 10 weeks, then 9 weeks then yadda yadda.

Everybody is always quick to jump on Vince's ass, but the minute he actually does SOMETHING right for a change, it's still not good enough.

"Thinking about a long term angle? FUCK THAT, thinking about a wrestlers health? FUCK THAT, thinking about us fans and not shoving Bret down our throats, FUCK THAT"

Apparently Vince can't win. Either he shoves Bret down our throats with 30 minute promo's every week, or the is "ruining" the angle.

Anybody stop and use their brain and maybe ask if Bret can even be CLEARED to wrestle? Can he get a license? Maybe laws state if he appears so many times he has to get a license, which I'm very sure he wouldn't be able to acquire. I'm sure Shaq or Mike Tyson didn't need to get a wrestling license, but I'm not sure about every state WWE visits. Maybe the past 2 weeks wouldn't grant Bret a license so he couldn't appear, I don't know.

I know this, Vince McMahon fucks up plenty. You got about 20 choices to choose from. This is NOT one of them. He is actually playing this rather good. So give the man his props and go start a thread attacking for the other useless shit he does that he deserves to get shitted on

 

[Shazam!]

i dont know about all of you but a big reason why i'm tuning in to RAW every week is to see if bret hart is there, or to see how they're carrying on with the story. i for one enjoy the tease. We have a little over two months until wrestlemania so there's no use rushing this instead of slowly, properly building it up.

 

[SickJames]

Well it does make sense, they didnt blow it. The make up made sense because the match will be where the true feud lies, between Vince & Bret, also Vince kept Bret off Raw and said that. So thats a reason, not that the kick hurt.

Also I saw this coming, but Undertaker & Triple H getting involved even just speaking was a good way to go, it makes sense because they were there back then, HHH is with Shawn in DX just like before and HBK wants a match with Taker so I was happy to see Taker confront Vince on it Monday. And really I'll be the first to say I dont think it's over. DX will split over this with HHH/Vince on same terms and Shawn/Bret

and some thing will happen where Shawn will be pressured by Vince to screw Bret to get a match with Taker meaning Shawn wont win the Royal Rumble, thus the make up is vital there for Shawn to have a conflict with himself to do what he said he wouldnt do. If I recall he said it was the right thing but wouldnt do it a second time, but back then would. correct me if wrong, but I see that happening anyhow.

So I just think Vince made it clear he was keeping Bret out of Raw and they are doing fine with this storyline. PPL are lovin it

 

[Live2inspireX386X]

Most people ( like me) have waited 10 plus years for the day that Bret Hart and Vince would be in the same ring again Then the time came and what happens....Vince kicks him in the balls which is pretty much what he did to the fans that night....

Im glad i Went to the Tna show instead of watching that crap!

 

[ForzaItalia]

As samualdude said before about the heel turn would most likely be coming for HHH. I would have never thought of that and it is a wonderful scenario to combine 2 feuds into 1 as said before. I feel WWE is doing all they can with Bret for he suffered from a damn stroke for god's sake limiting his power to wrestle and the guy is mid aged and can only do so much. WWE just brought back Bret so give the storyline time and come RR to Wrestlemania you may be shocked as to what can happen.

 

[wazaveli]

This is the only reason I remember the WWE is on tv, and yeah it has been played out slow as hell, but still done well.

Bret is limited and plus whoever is critical of this feud will still watch the show hoping to see it get played out regardless.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I've got no problem with how the WWE is doing this. I like the fact that the WWE is slowly building up some of this stuff. HBK and the Undertaker are getting a nice, long build up before WM, the WWE is slowly building up the Hart/McMahon angle and I really see no problem whatsoever.

One thing I keep hearing about wrestling these days, and there is some truth to it, is that enough time isn't taken to really build up feuds, to really get people interested, keep them anticipating and intrigued to the point where they absolutely cannot wait until it all goes down. It can be hard to do that with monthly ppvs and I understand that. But, the WWE is doing exactly that with Bret Hart and Vince McMahon. But, here are two great examples of the WWE building up two highly anticipated matches for WrestleMania, which is still several months off.

Bret Hart's return hasn't been ruined at all. All last night, I was sitting and watching and wondering "Is Bret Hart gonna come out tonight?" And, when he didn't, I was disappointed for all of about 10 seconds because I knew that the WWE is building this up. Maybe they'll bring Bret Hart out by surprise next week or the week after without announcing it beforehand. Maybe they won't. Either way, I'm intrigued and can't wait to see how it's going to go down.

 

[Y2J_Havok]

I'm sure others have said this, but why would you even want Bret to be there week after week so it could get stale. They are building up to a possibly match at Wrestlemania which isn't for another 2 months, so give it time before you say WWE ruined something, when it hasn't really started yet.

 

[Tastycles]

It's pretty obvious what is being done here. The payoff between them is obviously going to be at WrestleMania, which is more than ten Raws away. By having Hart make up with Michaels early on, it made it seem that Hart truly had buried the hatchet. The additional thing to that is that there is obviously no plans for Hart and Michaels to face off at any point in the future, and people will be wondering why they aren't facing off all the time, detracting from whatever programme the two men are actually in.

Onto Hart and McMahon, the situation is a slow burner. Sure, McMahon could have attacked Hart with a chair, but kicking him in the gut was a lot more personal. A single act of aggression is far more memorable than a beatdown. Hart in storyline hasn't been on the programme because McMahon doesn't want him there. Admittedly, McMahon's promo last week was poor, but this week he was much better, and more importantly the storyline was referenced by both Undertaker and HHH, two of the biggest stars on the show. Bret Hart wasn't there because he didn't need to be. They're selling Vince as a coward, that wouldn't work if Bret Hart was there, because Vince would have vetoed his appearance. It's a classic slow burn storyline, and Bret's appearances will get more numerous in time for WrestleMania.

 

[Dagger Dias]

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.

I don't think his return was ruined. The only thing I found bad about his return was that they remixed his song, they should have kept his original version because Bret is a legend and his fans would have loved to hear the old song. I think that getting kicked by Vince was ok because they are probably only going to do one actual match with Hart during this return. That segment was meant to begin the feud, which it will have succeeded in doing once Hart makes his next appearance.

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

The casual fans meaning those who didn't get to see Bret during his original run in WWE 12+ years ago? They probably think that Vince should have let bygones be bygones like Bret was trying to do in the storyline. "HBK was able to become friends again, why couldn't Vince?" I think the casual fans probably had thoughts along those lines. They probably don't go to sites like this one since they are only casual fans, which means they probably don't know that this might lead to a match between Hart and Vince.

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?

I'm sure enough interest is there. The problem is that Hart is old and had already suffered career-ending injuries. Aside from one match (maybe a couple of matches) they probably won't do much more, to avoid the risk of Bret getting his injuries worsened. What they need to do is keep mentioning his name until he makes his next appearance, confront Vince, and officially set the feud in motion. I'm looking forward to Bret confronting Vince once again and this feud hasn't lost my interest because I'm a huge fan of Hart. I'm NOT a huge fan of Vince's matches though and honestly hope they find a different opponent and just have him represent Vince rather than have Bret face Vince, but either way I'm still rather interested. WWE will do fine with this storyline if they just keep mentioning it and begin to build it up soon with Hart making more appearances.

 

[Blade]

I think you're being far too critical. Perhaps Bret and Shawn just hugging was a missed opportunity, but what was supposed to happen? Was Shawn supposed to superkick Bret, a man who can't even take the slightest knock to the head anymore? And same with Vince, was Vince supposed to punch him? Was Vince supposed to go get a chair and bring it into the ring? Hmm, I'm quite sure Bret would've found that mildly suspicious.

If I was still a casual fan, I'd be quite into this. After seeing Bret get kicked by Vince and Vince "banishing" him, but Bret not coming back the following week or even th week after.... Well, I'd be dying for Bret to come back and kick Vince's ass. The thought that I don't know when Bret's coming back, but he will obviously come back would keep me tuned in every week until he did make his return to beat on Vince. But hey, that's just my logic.

Apart from Vince's weak performances, there is absolutely no problem with this angle. Bret's still fragile so he can't take bumps. And having Bret come back the next week surely would've been predictable, and isn't that what you hate oh so much, Sid? So unless you're suggesting that WWE research a surgery that makes stroke victims good as new, then this angle is going as well as it could.

 

[dmacizdman]

Most people ( like me) have waited 10 plus years for the day that Bret Hart and Vince would be in the same ring again Then the time came and what happens....Vince kicks him in the balls which is pretty much what he did to the fans that night....

Im glad i Went to the Tna show instead of watching that crap!

are you saying that vince should have did the handshake and left it at that? that would destroy vince's persona and would have basically ended any storyline creative came up with.

 

[psykohurricane]

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?

So let me try to answers your questions

1) I don'T think that Bret'S return has been ruined and here why. First the Shawn Micheals was done so that Micheals can concentrate on is own storyline going into Wrestlemania with the undertaker. I first one thought i was the right move for the storyline to evolve. You don't need HBK involve in this storyline. Secondly, Bret Hart is in very bad shape physically and cannot take any major bump because of the concussions and he had a heart attack a couple of years ago so the only thing that Vince could do physically to bret was that weak kick to the gut. Finally, this story has to go all the way to Wrestlemania so not having Bret on T.V. the last until after the Royal Rumble makes sense. That way you can advance the storyline until the ROyal Rumble without Bret and then after the Rumble you cant have Bret come back and by the time Wrestlemania come around, people won'T be sick and tired of seeing Bret.

2) i don't think the casual fan cares one way or the other about this feud because let's remember that most of the casual fans weren't around when the Montreal Screw Job happened so to them, it just another Hall of Famers trying to beat up Mr.Mcmahon.

3) Like i said in answer no.1, i don'T think any momemtum was lost since the feud started. Last monday'S promo by Mr. Mcmahon and The undertaker help move this feud along without having Bret being there. The HHH backstage promos also help. So i don't think this feud lost steam at all and when the Rumble is Over, you probably going to see Bret come back.

Let'S face it, if you are hoping to see Bret HArt every Week on Raw until wrestlemania, keep dreaming. I don't think that Bret hart'S health will permit him to be on every Raw until Wrestlemania but having other people cutting promos about the situation help this feud to move along when Bret isn'T there. like i wrote before, just wiat after the Rumble, the feud with pick up steam again.

 

[Dexter]

I'm going to side with Sid on this one. They did blow the Bret return. I differ with Sid in that I think his return on the Jan. 4 show was good... the bromance was a bit much and yeah, we all saw the Vince thing coming, but it was still fun to watch.

What they've blown is the aftermath. I didn't expect Bret to be in attendance at every Raw from then on. That's not realistic. But I did expect them to keep the story hot, and they just haven't. The best we've gotten was, as Sid pointed out, a half-ass Vince promo and as NorCal pointed out, an Undertaker promo which I personally found to be lame as well. Not to take anything away from Undertaker, but a Smackdown performer coming over to Raw to act as Vince's conscious doesn't do anything for me. He's not a part of the angle and using him to build some kind of pseudo-ominous "we'll deal with it later" scenario is a cop out.

There was a ton of heat behind the Bret return at first. They built up to it well, they pulled it off well on the 4th, and I appreciate that. But that heat is all but gone now. Yeah, I want to see him back, but only because it's Bret Hart. It has nothing to do with any kind of storyline they've set up around his return, and that's the failure.

 

[Ambiguous Turd]

I think you're being far too critical. Perhaps Bret and Shawn just hugging was a missed opportunity, but what was supposed to happen? Was Shawn supposed to superkick Bret, a man who can't even take the slightest knock to the head anymore? And same with Vince, was Vince supposed to punch him? Was Vince supposed to go get a chair and bring it into the ring? Hmm, I'm quite sure Bret would've found that mildly suspicious.

If I was still a casual fan, I'd be quite into this. After seeing Bret get kicked by Vince and Vince "banishing" him, but Bret not coming back the following week or even th week after.... Well, I'd be dying for Bret to come back and kick Vince's ass. The thought that I don't know when Bret's coming back, but he will obviously come back would keep me tuned in every week until he did make his return to beat on Vince. But hey, that's just my logic.

Apart from Vince's weak performances, there is absolutely no problem with this angle. Bret's still fragile so he can't take bumps. And having Bret come back the next week surely would've been predictable, and isn't that what you hate oh so much, Sid? So unless you're suggesting that WWE research a surgery that makes stroke victims good as new, then this angle is going as well as it could.

You know, I was trying to stay away from this thread, but you crybabies brought me back, and I just can't stand seeing some of the bullshit that I am seeing in this thread.

You may notice that Mr. Eko started a thread in the Bar Room with the topic being that "Bret Hart IS NOT MADE OF GLASS". So, for all you marks that want to spout of your BS about how even the slightest tap is going to make Bret Hart a cripple for life, just please ... knock it off. This same BS was tried with Austin and given as the excuse on why he couldn't come back because he was such a "cripple", and low and behold, he even denied those rumors on a Canadian talk show.

If all Bret Hart can do is simply a "kick to the gut", then I sure as Hell don't know people like you Blade, honestly expect him to compete in a match at Wrestlemania, since he can't take bumps with him being so crippled and all.

They could have done so much more with Shawn Michaels, unless Bret Hart and perhaps even Shawn Michaels (in this day and age) are such crybabies that they can't distinguish between kayfabe on a TV show and reality. And I think they both had this problem back in the 90's as well.

Both of them were Egomaniacs and perhaps still are. Shawn thinking he was indispensable to the WWE, and Bret Hart thinking he was a National Hero in Canada (although this is partly the Canadians' fault for making him think he is and encouraging him with that mentality).

So much history between these two, and they meet for the first time in 12 years ... and POOF! Ruined in the blink of an eye with a simple handshake and embrace.

And for everyone saying this is building .... bullshit. They let it fell flat by Bret not appearing the next week. That is deflating interest in the storyline ... not building it. All Bret Hart took was a kick. He didn't take anything that would have put him out of action for weeks. So he has been off TV now for two weeks, and it looks to be at least 3 weeks now.

If they weren't ready for Bret to get involved in the Vince program for Mania and Bret couldn't commit to doing Raw for the next couple weeks, they should have held off on putting him on Raw on the 4th. They could have found something else to load that show with, and it still would have beaten Impact, if that was the concern.

So now, that Bret has been off TV because of a simple kick .... a kick that he got up from after a few moments that same night, and by him not appearing for revenge, that has made him out to be nothing more than a coward. And in turn, interest in the story is going down, despite their efforts to keep it alive with Vince (who made an awful and short promo the week after) and Taker's promo on Monday. Bret is the one that needs to appear, not others talking about him.

 

[Chill]

The following is from Wrestlezone UK and I suggest people have a read, as it discusses Bret's WWE return, Wrestlemania possibilities between he and Vince and Hart's physical limitations (which seems to be one of the main driving points behind this thread). I'm showing this for the purpose of providing some for food for thought, that's all:

Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter​

- Bret Hart first contacted WWE in February of 2009 to let them know that he was open to returning for a storyline. Hart's girlfriend was going to school in Calgary and he would be based out of Calgary for a few years instead of Hawaii, where he had been. Bret was getting bored with retirement and thought of getting back into wrestling.​

Bret notes that there were times when WWE seemed interested and other times when they really didn't seem interested in his return at all. He told them a few times that if they weren't that interested, he was fine with that and then he would always hear immediately back from them with interest. Talks for this year's WrestleMania angle got serious last September.​

There is a storyline in place through WrestleMania between Hart and Vince McMahon with hope for some sort of street fight or at least a showdown between the two at WrestleMania. Due to concussions from the past and his stroke in 2002, Hart is very limited to what he can do in the ring. He can't take a traditional flat back bump. Obviously challenges like these could affect what happens between Bret and Vince. The original script for the RAW angle a few weeks back was for Vince to slap Bret in the face. Because of the concussion issue, they changed it to a kick in the stomach. It actually ended up being a kick to the groin from Vince, a miscue that Bret felt made the segment better.​

Both Bret and WWE have laid out the basic details of the storyline and agreed on them. Each side has veto power regarding minor details. Hart is scheduled to return at next week's RAW and is scheduled to be a regular on RAW through February. Bret's contract with WWE is for through April and is only for this storyline. Bret is said to be open to ideas if WWE is interested in using him past that point and is open to signing a longer contract. If no contract would be offered, he is still open to appearing on the occasional show for the next few years while he's mostly based out of Calgary.​

Other sources report that revealing Bret's stroke from 2002 in the storyline has been talked about. Apparently it will be a significant part of the angle at some point. Bret's concussion issue is less likely to be brought up because it's such a sensitive issue right now.​

On the plane trip from Hawaii to RAW, Bret's sciatic nerve in his lower back was acting up badly, causing concern that he would be limping to the ring. Bret rested after the trip and was pain free by the time RAW came on Monday night.​

As for my own thoughts on Bret Hart's WWE return thus far, I think some steam has been lost but not in such a way that his program with Vince feud is damned. I largely enjoyed how WWE handled his return and I feel they did the right thing by having the rivalry focus on the bad blood between he and Vince as opposed to Hart and Shawn Michaels.

Okay, so Bret Hart may not be 'made of glass' in some people's eyes but I do think it's fair to state that he does have limitations as to what he can and can't do out there and so that's why I think it's better that Bret have some sort of brawl with Vince as opposed to a brawl with Shawn. The point here is that Shawn can still wrestle to a very high standard and I think it was a better decision to get him out of this angle quickly, so that his talents may be used for another Wrestlemania attraction match.

As for the feud between Hart and Vince, all I can say is that I expected Hart to show up on the following week's Raw and I was disappointed that he didn't, indeed a kick to the groin isn't enough to keep someone off the show in my view. And to compound matters further, Hart again is not on the show this week. There is only so much Vince can do to drive the feud without Hart actually being there to help out, after all this is a feud between Bret Hart and Vince McMahon and therefore, it's only natural to expect that Bret be there.

In saying that, I wont allow Hart's two week absence to dispel my enjoyment of what could still turn out to be a good wrestling feud. If it can be shown that it sucks after the blow off at Wrestlemania then fair enough but until then I will try and enjoy it (provided Bret actually shows up and gets involved that is).

Overall, I do think Hart should have been at the Raw following January 4th in order to personally help advance this feud and his absence did leave a sour taste in my mouth but despite this, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt as there's still time to develop this angle yet.

 

[twiztid_lestat]

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.

I feel that his return was merely what it was a return to the wwe, in ring, not as a active wrestler, so NO, It was NOT ruined. The shawn/Bret moment was probrably one of the best in a long while for WWE, and it needed to be closed. The part with Vince went the way it should have, he cant close the chapter that literally created the Mr Mcmahon heel persona, so he kept it going.

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

They, if they didnt live as a fan of that era, probrably go with the flow, and pretend to understand just for the sake of being a now fan, rather than the nostalgia of the true hardcore long time fans, and they probrably watched it on youtube and think they know what happened, but really dont

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?

They HAVE created interest, this teased a mcmahon vs Bret type of thing for mania in a way. I dont get how you find negative in this (Besides being a typical internet wrestling fan, where as making negative statements is your forte)

 

[gman]

on the topic
yeah wwe dropped the ball with bret hart
he was brilliant on the mic his promo with shawn was epic!!
i was hoping that bret hart after taking a kick to the gut would fall down on his knees and suddenly "Bam" he would deliver a low blow to vince
but wwe screwed bret once again!!

 

[Uncle Sam]

You know, it's funny. Over the past few weeks I've seen a lot of people - actually, one or at a stretch two - say how they're sure the Montreal Screwjob was "a work all along".

Not that there aren't a thousand other ways to discredit them but I had to point out about how underwhelming Bret's return was. There is no way that they would take all this care to keep it under wraps that, oh my God, it was a work all along and come up with such a non-event.

That's not to say I haven't enjoyed bits and pieces. Well, I haven't, actually. But that's just me being me - I've looked at bits and pieces and thought "Oh, other people would probably enjoy that". Personally, I think that Bret was actually pretty weak on the microphone but his return was built up so much it's almost a non-point.

 

[theHeadliner]

The casual fan and younger fans probably don't know that he signed a 4 month contract, and the episode he was on left some things opened. Yes, he could have been involved more, but I'm sure they didn't want to give it all away in his first appearance. I still think there's more to come with Shawn Michaels. If Vince cuts a promo saying Bret won't be back ever, than it would be stupid to have him on that exact show. They've sewn some seeds of curiosity and what's to come with Bret. What will really show if they blew it is his next few appearances. If he is allowed some freedom with his promos, is more involved on camera, and plants some good angles it will be a success. If its similar to his first appearance with sporadic camera stuff and pre written lines then maybe it will bomb. Right now its been fine.

 

[The Mark of Zur-En-Arrh]

Gotta say, i wasn't overwhelmed by any of the mic work on Jan 4th. Even though it's been reported that HBK and Bret's promo was legit, it seemed very forced to me watching on TV, and tbh i didn't expect anything great from the Vince/Bret promo either.

Sid you moan that Bret was barely on Raw that night compared to other returning wrestlers and Guest Hosts, but most of the stuff the guest hosts do, is god awful and involve terrible comedy skits. Bret probably told Vince that he would NOT be a part of any of that crap, and that's why they didn't have him on TV so much. He spoke with Shawn, Jericho and Vince and that was it. Guys he has personal history with. It made sense to see him interact with that select few, and not have guys like Orton come in and demand a title match and threaten him over and over, or have Santino come in dressed as Yokozuna and try and sit on him. As for wrestlers having more hype for their returns, they get that hype, so that we, the audience, are interested in the very first match/angle that they are put in.

Where's he been since? Sat at home doing Bret Hart stuff. His appearance was a (kayfabe) one night deal, so don't expect him on Raw this week either. Expect Vince to call him out for the Raw after the Rumble, because if this is going to be a WM angle, THAT'll be the time to build it up properly.

Bret appearing was going to happen anyway. Bret first appearing on Jan 4th was to combat TNA, and don't say 'Vince isn't scared of them', because why not have Tyson or any of the other Hosts we've had before or since, that night? Why did they schedule Bret's GM spot to be the same night as Hogan's TNA debut if they weren't trying to stop people from channel hopping?

Bret's physical capabilities aren't what i'm concerned about. I'm concerned that it'll just be Bret beating on Vince for 20 minutes a la WM22 w/ HBK, and then everyone hyping on about it as if it were amazing. Like Mark Madden said, this a 60 yr old wrestling promoter, who while experienced in wrestling, hasn't had a full match in like 3 years, fighting a 50 yr old stroke victim (no he's not made of glass, but he's likely to move around the ring as fast as a stoned turtle) who hasn't wrestled in nearly 3 times as long! Does that spell "WM worthy match" to you?

 

[DMBlacklist]

Apparently WWE can't do anything right these days at least from what some people mention. I saw nothing wrong with the Vince/Bret promo at all, in fact if Bret was the return the week after, what would they do, have another confrontation with the same ending? Or suppose Bret beats on Vince, therefore, he got his revenge and the angle is over. That's not the way to do things. This is a perfect set up for Wrestlemania where I think the 'feud' should come to an ultimate end, not on Raw. Giving it a few months build should do the match nicely. Of course we all knew Vince was going to turn on Bret, anyone could see that coming, however, fans have wanted to see Bret beat Vince for a long time and if they just 'shook hands' and called it a day, that would make the rest of us upset that it ended so abrupt.

I mean sure a kick to the gut is a little 'weak' to say the least but Bret needing to be careful with what he does (and still I wonder how he's going to wrestle, unless they're saving that for an angle) since he doesn't want to reinjure himself. I think the segment went well and Hard will most likely now play a role at Wrestlemania.