Are Vince McMahon and Bret Hart friends?
After nine years of animosity following the WWE Survivor Series 1997 pay-per-view, Bret Hart and Vince have now reconciled. Although their friendship may not be the same as it was in the '90s, they are on speaking terms as of 2021.
Survivor Series 1997 saw WWE Chairman Vince McMahon legitimately "screw" Bret Hart in the main event against Shawn Michaels. WWE Champion Hart signed with WWE's rival WCW before the match.
McMahon made sure Bret dropped the title by having the bell rang early to end the match. This controversial moment is now referred to as the 'Montreal Screwjob'.
Decades have passed since the incident. Bret Hart recalled reconciling with Vince McMahon on the 'Confessions of the Hitman' podcast:
“I think me and Vince have reached an understanding where we don’t bring up a lot of old, dodgy stuff, and we kind of buried the hatchet. And Shawn Michaels and everyone else, like, I think in the end, I’m still proud of the way I handled myself through the whole Screwjob period. But in all honesty, I think they’re not proud of their conduct; I don’t think. I think they kind of realized now that that was kind of a dumb way to go, and unprofessional way to go, and it caused way more problems than they ever imagined, even though they made money off of the whole concept of what happened. Me and Vince, I think it goes back a number of years – we kind of buried the hatchet.” Bret Hart said (h/t ewrestlingnews)
Bret 'The Hitman' Hart made a triumphant return to WWE in 2006 and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. Hart later faced Vince McMahon at WrestleMania 26. 'The Hitman' made the Chairman tap out to the Sharpshooter in a No Holds Barred match.
When did Bret Hart last appear in WWE?
Bret Hart's last WWE appearance was at SummerSlam 2019. Hart appeared in a backstage segment wishing Seth Rollins good luck ahead of his Universal Championship against Brock Lesnar.
A few months later, Bret Hart appeared at AEW's inaugural Double or Nothing pay-per-view in Las Vegas, Nevada. He inaugurated the brand new AEW World Championship