Friday, September 17, 2004

The names of Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels will always be linked together due to their relationship on WWF television and their supposed hatred for eachother out of the ring. Shawn was the man who ended up defeating Bret in what was Bret's last match in the WWF at Survivor Series '97. It was probably the most controversial moment in the history of wrestling. By now, I think every wrestling fan knows the outcome of this match. Shawn had Bret in Bret's finishing maneuver, The Sharpshooter, when WWF owner Vince McMahon told the timekeeper to "ring the f**king bell." The scheduled finish for the match was supposed to see Bret's family members run in and cause a DQ. However, Vince McMahon changed that outcome without telling Bret thus providing wrestling fans with what many people believe to be the "biggest screwjob in wrestling history." The whole thing is detailed on the Wrestling with Shadows documentary.

Whatever role Shawn Michaels played in this match is unknown to this day. The only ones that really know are Vince McMahon, Bret Hart and Shawn himself. In my opinion it really does not matter what role, if any, Shawn played in this whole situation. It was an issue between an employee, Bret, and his boss, Vince. Sure, Shawn could have been in on it but does it really matter what role Shawn played in this whole thing? It is something between Vince and Bret so instead of sitting here and speculating on the behaviour of Michaels I think it would be best if I just moved on.

One thing we do know is that Shawn and Bret did not like eachother during Bret's last year in the WWF. The biggest reason is probably because of the perception that Shawn refused to job to Bret at WrestleMania 13 as originally scheduled. To add heat to an already hot fire, the two men often made shoot (meaning real) comments about one another on camera. The rivalry came to a head in June '97 when Shawn and Bret apparently participated in a pull apart brawl backstage at a WWF show. Although the relationship between the two deteriorated in the summer of '97 it seemed as though they were able to look past their differences. By the time Survivor Series '97 came around they were on good enough terms that they were willing to change in the same dressing room. In recent interviews, Bret has said that he really doesn't blame Shawn for everything that happened because, in Bret's view, everything Shawn did was because of the orders of Vince McMahon. Nobody really knows what the relationship between Shawn and Bret is today but I doubt that any of you will be seeing them having a drink in your local bar. In the battle between Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels I think it's pretty obvious that Shawn was the winner out of the ring AND in the ring.

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