Wrestling Observer Rewinder

November 17, 1997

The Montreal Screwjob. Dave says it will go down as the most famous finish to a wrestling match possibly in history and thanks to video tape, it will be remembered for decades, bigger than any star jumping promotions or any record-setting show. Anyway, the layout of this issue is weird, because Dave decides to recap every important date leading up to what just occurred at Survivor Series. I'll go ahead and do it in the same format he does. This is going to be the longest post in the history of these Rewinds. And it's only part 1:
Oct. 20, 1996 - Bret Hart makes the decision to re-sign with WWF, mostly out of loyalty and a desire to cement his legacy in one place, despite Eric Bischoff making him a huge offer to jump ship. Bret signs a ridiculous 20-year contract with WWF which also gives him the option of putting in 30 days notice if he wants to leave at any time and gives him "reasonable" creative control during those 30 days so he wouldn't be buried on the way out.
Mar. 10, 1997 - Vince McMahon asks Bret to turn heel, which he doesn't want to do at first until Vince convinces him. Bret agrees and does the double-turn with Austin and then Bret himself came up with the anti-American angle where he'd be a heel in the U.S and babyface in the rest of the world.
Sept. 8, 1997 - McMahon and Bret have a meeting about his contract. Three months earlier, Vince had told Bret that the company was in bad financial shape and that he may have to defer some of the money from Bret's contract to later in the deal. This time, Vince wasn't suggesting. He told Bret they would have to cut his salary ($30,000 per week) into more than half and then make up for it later down the road. Bret refused to accept that, because what if the financial situation didn't get better? He'd never get the money.
Sept. 20, 1997 - An hour before the UK PPV started, Vince tells Davey Boy Smith that he's losing the title to Shawn Michaels. Smith is shocked because he'd been told all along that he was winning, and of course had dedicated the match to his dying sister. The same night, McMahon also asks Bret to work a match with Shawn Michaels at Survivor Series, but Bret refuses because he said Shawn had never apologized for the "Sunny days" comment and he didn't think he could trust him in the ring, and he assumed Shawn didn't trust him either. But Vince pushed it and they both eventually agreed to work together.
Sept. 22, 1997 - McMahon tells Bret flat out that they are going to intentionally breach his contract because the company can't afford it. He tells Bret that he should contact WCW and make whatever deal he could with them. He gave Bret written permission to negotiate with them. The same day, Vince, Bret, and Shawn had a meeting to plan their Survivor Series match where Shawn told them point blank that he wouldn't do any jobs for anyone (which, as you can imagine, endeared Shawn to the entire locker room when word got out). Vince then came up with a plan for Survivor Series where Bret would face Shawn and Undertaker would interfere, causing a no-contest. At the next PPV on Dec. 7th, Bret would face Undertaker, and Shawn would interfere and cost Bret the title. During the meeting, Bret twice told Shawn that he would be happy to put him over at the end of the storyline, and twice, Shawn flat out told Bret that he wouldn't do the same.
Oct. 21, 1997 - Vince approached Bret about losing the title to Shawn at Survivor Series, but Bret said he didn't want to lose the title in Canada, since he had become such a big hero there. So Vince asked him to lose the title to Shawn at the Dec. 7th PPV, but Bret refused again because he didn't want to do a job for someone who wouldn't do one back. Later that day, Bret, Shawn, McMahon, and Pat Patterson had a meeting where Shawn apologized for saying he wouldn't do a job and said he would be glad to. Bret still refused to lose the title in Montreal. Also, the night before, Hart had been asked to put over HHH by pinfall, but Bret refused and got it changed to a count-out finish.
Oct. 24, 1997 - McMahon had another meeting with Hart and told him the money situation had improved and he wanted to continue to honor Bret's contract. Hart told him that WCW hadn't really made a serious offer yet and he wanted to stay in WWF, but he still was uncomfortable putting over Shawn.
Oct. 31, 1997 - Eric Bischoff makes Bret Hart a huge offer, said to be in the $3 million per year range. Hart wanted to consider the offer.
Nov. 1, 1997 - Hart tells McMahon about the WCW offer and said he wasn't asking WWF for more money to match it, but he wanted to know what his future was in WWF because he was considering taking WCW's deal. McMahon told him he'd think about it and call him back. A few hours later, he called back and said he didn't know what Bret's future in WWF was, but asked him to trust his judgement. But he also once again asked Hart to drop the title to Shawn in Montreal. Bischoff called back later that night and raised his offer, which Bret later said he "would have been insane not to take." He felt bad about leaving WWF and wanted Vince to lay out some scenarios for his future to convince him to stay, but Vince wouldn't commit to anything. That night, Vince called Bret back again and urged him to go ahead and accept WCW's offer. Reluctantly, Bret gave written notice to WWF that night and signed his new WCW contract. He also got everyone involved on both sides to sign confidentiality agreements to keep word from leaking out before Survivor Series, but obviously that didn't happen.
Nov. 2, 1997 - In the ultimate irony, Bret and Vince discussed the plans for Survivor Series. Vince suggested an angle where Bret would get screwed out of the title, and then the next night on Raw, Bret would blame Vince and punch him. Vince even suggested Bret could hardway punch him and try to give him a black eye or bust him open. The irony, of course, being that this is exactly what ended up happening in the locker room after the match. Anyway. Bret refused again. He said he had never refused to do a job before, but he was putting his foot down and refused to lose the title in Montreal or the next night on Raw in Ottawa. He agreed to put Shawn over anywhere else and also said he was willing to drop the title to Vader, Shamrock, Mankind, Undertaker, and even Brooklyn Brawler. At this point, Vince threatened Bret with legal action if he wouldn't lose in Montreal. Bret pointed out the 30 days of "reasonable" creative control, but Vince said refusing to drop the belt wasn't "reasonable." After arguing back and forth, they finally agreed on a DQ finish in Montreal, and then Bret would drop the title to Shawn in a 4-way match the next week on Raw. Then Bret would come out on the Dec. 8th Raw and cut a babyface promo and put over WWF and apologize to the American fans and leave WWF on a high note. But Bret's WCW contract was set to begin on Dec. 1st. So Bret contacted Eric Bischoff and told him the plan and Bischoff agreed to allow Bret to work with WWF until the 8th. Dave then says Bret contacted someone who keeps on top of wrestling news and asked if he thought it was possible to keep the news from leaking before Survivor Series, and was specifically wanting to keep it secret from one person (Dave doesn't say who but....it's clearly him). The guy told Bret that he was sure that person (Dave) probably already knew about it (he did).
Nov. 4, 1997 - Sure enough, the story leaks out through the Observer and PWTorch newsletters. In response, WWF put out a statement saying that Bret was simply "exploring his options" (although at this point, he had already signed a WCW contract). Hart wouldn't comment on it at all.
Nov. 5, 1997 - McMahon tells Bret that he HAS to drop the title at Survivor Series now because he doesn't want Eric Bischoff to go on Nitro the next night and publicly announce that he has signed the current WWF champion. Bret told Vince he would get Bischoff to postpone the announcement but Bischoff was on a hunting trip and Bret couldn't get hold of him. Vince asked Bret to drop the title at a house show in Detroit before Survivor Series, but Bret refused again. He said he would drop the title any time after Nov. 12th, at any house show or TV taping. But not in Canada and not before walking into Montreal as champion.
Nov. 7, 1997 - Thanks to the internet, the news spread like wildfire and rumors of why Bret was leaving went wild. Later that night, Bret Hart appeared on TSN's show Off The Record and danced around the issue and talked about his problems with the WWF product and with Shawn Michaels (for some reason, I can't find this episode). Vince McMahon eventually responded in a letter published on WWF's AOL page stating:
"Over the past few days I have read certain comments on the Internet concerning Bret Hart and his "alleged" reasons for wanting to pursue other avenues than the World Wrestling Federation to earn his livelihood. While I respect the "opinions" of others, as owner of the World Wrestling Federation I felt that it was time to set the record straight. As it has been reported recently online, part of Bret Hart's decision to pursue other options is "allegedly due to his concern with the "direction" of the World Wrestling Federation. Whereby each and every individual is entitles to his, or her, opinion, i take great offense when the issue of the direction of the World Wrestling Federation is raised. In this age of sports-entertainment, the World Wrestling Federation REFUSES to insult its audience in terms of "Baby Faces" and "Heels." In 1997, how many people do you truly know who are strictly "good" guys or "bad" guys? World Wrestling Federation programming reflects more of a reality-based product in which life, as well as World Wrestling Federation superstars, are portrayed as they truly are--in shades of gray...not black or white. From what I am reading, it has been reported that Bret may be concerned about the morality issues in the World Wrestling Federation. Questionable language. Questionable gestures. Questionable sexuality. Questionable racial issues. Questionable? All of the issues mentioned above are issues that every human being must deal with every day of their lives. Also, with that in mind, please be aware that Bret Hart had been cautioned--on "numerous" occasions--to alter his language, by not using expletives or God's name in wain. He was also told--on numerous occasions--not to use certain hand gestures some might find offensive. My point is: regardless of what some are reporting, Bret's decision to pursue other career options IS NOT genuinely a Shawn Michaels direction issue, as they would like you to believe! In the personification of DeGeneration X, Shawn Michaels' character is EXPECTED to be living on the edge--which, I might add, Mr. Michaels portrays extremely well. The issue here is that the "direction" of the World Wrestling Federation is not determined by Shawn Michaels, OR Bret Hart for that matter. It is determined by you--the fans of the World Wrestling Federation! You DEMAND a more sophisticated approach! You DEMAND to be intellectually challenged! You DEMAND a product with ATTITUDE, and as owner of this company--it is my responsibility to give you exactly what you want! Personally, I regret the animosity that has built up between Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart, but in the end, it is the World Wrestling Federation that is solely responsible for the content of this product--NOT Bret Hart--NOT Shawn Michaels--NOT Vince McMahon, for that matter. May the best man win at the Survivor Series!"
Nov. 8, 1997 - At the house show in Detroit, tensions were running high and people were discussing the possibility of a double-cross but no one really thought it was that likely. Double-crossing guys to get the belts off them is the sort of stuff that happened back in the carny days of the 1920s, not in the 90s. Regardless, Bret Hart went to the one person he felt he could trust, Earl Hebner, and wanted Hebner to referee the match at Survivor Series because he knew he could trust him. Hebner told Hart he swore on his kid's lives that he'd quit his job before double-crossing Bret. Hebner and Hart have been genuinely close friends for years. The same night, Vince McMahon, Shawn Michaels, Jim Ross, Jim Cornette, and Pat Patterson held a meeting in a hotel room and many people said several of those people looked uncomfortable after the meeting (Dave doesn't mention it but I believe Triple H was in that meeting also).
Nov. 9, 1997 - Survivor Series. The day of the show, Vince and Bret had another meeting to discuss the match and they agreed to a DQ finish. Bret and Shawn were cordial to each other backstage and were discussing how to have the best match possible. Pat Patterson came in and suggested a ref bump followed by Shawn putting Bret in his own Sharpshooter. Bret would reverse the move and Shawn would tap but the referee wouldn't see it. Then the Hart Family members would run in and that would be the DQ finish. Vader and Davey Boy Smith both warned Bret to be careful and not allow himself to be put into a compromising position or to be in any submissions, in case there was a double-cross. But Bret dismissed the warnings because he trusted Hebner.
The Match - Vince McMahon suspiciously wasn't there to do commentary. The crowd was rabid, to the point that there was concern that it could be dangerous for Shawn. Some of the crowd knew Bret was leaving and he got some boos from the Canadian fans, which bothered him. But there were also a lot of backstage agents at ringside, and Vince was out there as well. About 8 minutes before the match was scheduled to end, Bruce Prichard ordered more security to ringside.
The Double-Cross - Hebner took his bump. Shawn put Bret in the sharpshooter. And then Hebner got up, much to everyone's surprise. Shawn glanced back at Hebner, like he was expecting him to get up, which in retrospect led many to believe Shawn was in on it. Hebner ordered the timekeeper to ring the bell. At the same time, Vince McMahon (sitting next to the timekeeper), screamed "Ring the fucking bell!" and the bell rang. Shawn's music played and he was announced as champion. Hebner sprinted out of the ring and straight to the back and hopped into a car that was already running and left. Both Hart and Michaels seemed furious and Bret spat in McMahon's face. Vince screamed at Shawn, "Pick up the fucking belt and get the fuck out of here!" Michaels, looking pissed, went to the back but was ordered by Jerry Brisco to hold the belt up as he was going back.
The Aftermath - McMahon and Patterson and a few others went backstage to his private office and locked the door. Bret, still in the ring, flipped out and began smashing the TV monitors until Owen, Smith, and Neidhart came out to calm him down. Finally, Bret signaled "WCW" with his fingers and went back to the locker room. He first confronted Shawn, who swore he had nothing to do with it and said he didn't want the belt that way and would refuse to bring it out on Raw the next night to prove it. By this point, everyone in the locker room was furious at McMahon. If Bret, who had been a loyal and model employee for 14 years, could be treated like this, how could anyone else trust Vince?
Undertaker in particular was incensed and went pounding on Vince's door. When Vince opened the door, Undertaker told Vince in no uncertain terms to go apologize to Bret. So Vince went to Bret's dressing room, where Bret had just got out of the shower. Davey Boy Smith opened the door and told Vince that Bret didn't want to see him. Vince and Shane McMahon, along with Sgt. Slaughter and Jerry Brisco went in anyway. Vince started to apologize and tried to explain that he couldn't risk Bischoff going on TV tomorrow night and announcing that he had signed the WWF champion. Hart told him he was going to go dry off and get dressed and said, "If you're still here when I get back, I'm going to punch you out." He also called Vince a liar and a piece of shit and said he was a model employee. Vince said in 14 years, this was the first time he'd ever lied to him. Bret then rattled off over a dozen lies within the last year alone, which Vince had no comeback for. Hart got dressed and twice told Vince to leave the room or else. Vince didn't leave and they soon got into a scuffle. Bret threw a punch "that would have knocked down a rhino" and laid out Vince. At this point, Shane McMahon jumped on Bret's back, but Davey Boy Smith pulled him off, injuring his knee in the process. Hart nearly broke his hand on the punch and there was concern that Vince's jaw was broken. Bret then asked if Vince was going to screw him on the money he still owed him and a groggy Vince replied, "No." Bret then told Shane and Brisco to "get that piece of shit out of here" and threatened that he'd beat their asses too if they tried anything. So they picked up Vince and carried him out of the room and at some point, they stepped on Vince's ankle, injuring that too.
At the hotel that night, an unnamed wrestler confronted Earl Hebner, asking him how he could betray one of his best friends, but Hebner claimed ignorance (which is obviously bullshit). Pat Patterson, Shawn Michaels, and Bruce Prichard have also denied knowledge of it, but Dave thinks everyone had to have known. From the production crew going off the air early, to Hebner, to even the ring announcer immediately making the announcement, whoever had Shawn's music cued up immediately, all the agents and extra security around the ring, etc. When Bret realized Hebner was involved also, he was personally crushed because Hebner had been a close friend and the only one Bret had trusted.
Nov. 10, 1997 - The next morning, when everyone realized the full gravity of what happened, Vince became the biggest heel in the locker room. There was also a ton of heat on Michaels. Early in the day, almost everyone in the locker room were planning to boycott Raw that night. But as the day went on, that talk simmered down because everyone realized they still liked being employed. Bret told those close to him not to risk it since they have families and mortgages and not to lose their jobs on his behalf. However, Owen Hart, Davey Boy Smith, Jim Neidhart, and Mankind all flew home and no-showed Raw out of protest and were talking about quitting. They weren't the only ones. Most of the company was upset at how McMahon had treated Bret. Vince gave his side of the story in a speech to the locker room, saying Bret had agreed to drop the title in Montreal then refused the day of the show, which isn't true and no one believed anyway. On Nitro, Eric Bischoff opened the show by announcing Bret Hart had signed with the NWO, and holding Canadian flags. Based on curiosity from the incident, Raw did its highest ratings in over a year (but still lost to Nitro). Shawn came out (with the belt) and talked about running Hart out of the company and also mentioned that Bret beat up a 52-year-old man after the show. On commentary, they acknowledged that Bret was gone from the WWF but danced around the details. The crowd drowned out the Raw main event with massive chants of "We Want Bret!" that continued long after the show went off the air.
Dave examines the whole situation. Bret Hart is THE name that matters when it comes to the Canadian market and WWF just handed him to WCW because they didn't want to pay his contract. Dave thinks the Canadian market is worth much more than what Bret's contract costs and he thinks letting Bret leave for WCW could be just as devastating to WWF as when Hogan went there in 94 (which basically turned the fledgling WCW around and led to them becoming the #1 promotion). If WCW is smart and markets Bret correctly, Vince may have just handed them the key to taking over the Canadian wrestling market (spoiler: WCW was not smart). He says this incident will likely be the defining moment of both Bret and Vince's careers and it shows just how deceitful the business can be. Dave asks some final questions: will Bret be a huge success in WCW or are his best years behind him? Will fans continue to hold this against Vince? Will Bret remain a cult-hero? Will McMahon file assault charges against Bret? And since stranger things have happened, is it possible that Bret and Vince will ever bury the hatchet in the future?
Final epilogue on this story from Dave, as he recounts 2 other possible double-crosses on Vince's watch. In 1983, when Bob Backlund lost the title to Iron Sheik, Backlund later claimed that he had no idea he would lose the match and that Arnold Skaaland throwing in the towel wasn't planned, but most people don't buy that story. Most likely, Backlund is just trying to work people. And the other one took place in 1985, when Vince handed Wendi Ricter a contract to sign over her merchandising rights to the company. Wendi was literally on her way to the ring, and told Vince she would read it after the match and then maybe sign it, but she wanted to read it first. Vince said that wasn't acceptable and demanded she sign it then and there on the spot, but she refused. Then she went out to the ring against a masked opponent named Spider Lady who turned out to be Fabulous Moolah under a mask and she forcefully pinned Richter in the match to win the title. Richter never wrestled in WWF again. Point being, Dave says a leopard doesn't change its spots and although he portrays himself as something else, the reality is Vince McMahon has been this kind of person all along.
Dave lists over a dozen other famous wrestling double-crosses in title matches, dating back to Frank Gotch in 1911, the Antonio Inoki/Bob Backlund incident, and of course, the ECW/NWA title tournament and offers a paragraph about each explaining them.
deep breath
And fiiiiiiiiiiiinally, on to something else other than the Screwjob: the rest of Survivor Series. Of course, the whole show was overshadowed by the finish of the main event, but Dave says it's basically the same as every WWF PPV: slow, plodding undercard with lots of terrible wrestlers (Crush, Brian Lee, The Interrogator, Justin Bradshaw, Kama, etc.) but the show is saved at the end by the main event guys like Shawn, Bret, Austin, etc. Basically the total opposite of WCW, where the undercard is great but the main events are terrible. Goldust didn't do much of anything in his match because he recently broke his hand in 3 places. Kane had his debut PPV match and is getting over big. Rocky Maivia is an excellent heel. Steve Austin vs. Owen Hart was kept short (only 4 minutes) because Austin's neck still isn't fully healthy enough for him to work and this was also Owen's first match back since suffering a severe concussion and he wasn't in great condition either. Basically, neither of them should have been in the ring. And Bret vs. Shawn was turning into a classic match until, well, yanno.
New Japan's J-Crown championship is no more. NJPW has announced that they will be returning 6 of the 7 belts to the owners of them. The timing comes after WWF publicly ordered NJPW to stop using and return the old WWF light heavyweight belt that was part of the J-Crown title. So they returned it, along with all the other various belts, to their rightful owners. The only belt they are keeping is their own IWGP junior heavyweight title.
Dave mentions there were some problems with the Observer Hotline immediately after Survivor Series, possibly due to the record setting number of calls, and apologizes. He also talks about how a lot of the online news during the last week about Bret Hart obviously came from news that was reported on the Observer and PWTorch hotlines. He talks about how he speculated about stuff on the hotline, but then various websites took those comments, spread it around 3rd and 4th hand, and before you knew it, everyone on the internet was taking stuff that Dave had merely speculated about on the hotline and were reporting it as fact. The more things change...
Dave opens up voting for the year end awards for 1997. The categories for Best Babyface and Heel have been dropped and replaced with Best Box Office Draw. He's also getting rid of the Most Unimproved award because there are already enough other categories for people to shit on Hogan and Luger. Also scrapping Manager of the Year since managers seem to be getting phased out these days.
WCW is considering doing a tournament to determine the #1 contender for the cruiserweight title. It would be done in the round robin format that is so common in Japan. Dean Malenko came up with the idea and if they do it, WCW is planning to put him in charge of booking it.
WCW is also considering adding a "tough man division" of some sort, with guys like Benoit, Fit Finlay, Goldberg, Meng, etc. and the division would have its own title.
Gorilla Monsoon's condition has improved and he may be able to get the heart surgery he needs this week.
Phil LaFon was arrested last week for a domestic dispute in Canada. Apparently some guy came to LaFon's house looking for a woman who was there. Turned out both guys were carrying guns. LaFon got his out first and had the guy on the ground with the gun in his mouth while the guy begged for mercy. At that point, the woman came out with a knife and tried to stab the guy on the ground. LaFon dropped the gun to grab the woman and stop her from killing the guy. But the guy got up and they got into a fight and at some point, the woman fired the gun and police were called. LaFon was arrested for assault and the woman was arrested for firing a weapon in city limits.
Eric Bischoff is still pushing for both Rey Misterio and Juventud Guerrera to unmask. WTF was his hangup about that?
WCW's upcoming Thursday show may be called "WCW Thursday Thunder" but that's not definite yet.
On the WCW Hotline, Mark Madden ripped into "a colleague" over the reports that Brian Pillman had died of a cocaine overdose. He never mentioned Gene Okerlund by name, but that's obviously who it was about. Okerlund has still not apologized for making the claim.
Dan Severn got into a weird altercation with Dory Funk after a show, when Funk's wife threw a drink at Severn for some reason. It turned into a big thing and Funk naturally came to his wife's defense. It ended up with both men in the wrestling ring (the show was long over by this point, it was just an empty building and the other wrestlers and crew) and they basically tussled and tried to stretch each other. As you'd expect, Severn more than held his own but eventually stormed out of the ring and left the building. Police were called and showed up just as the whole thing blew over (sounds like a bunch of drunk guys just getting into drunk guy arguments).
Stevie Richards has quit WCW. He had a legit falling out with Raven over something and felt that without being part of the Raven group, he had no chance of being pushed in the company. Word is Richards is looking to open a video arcade in Philly.
Antonio Inoki is looking at running NJPW shows in India and China during 1998.