Bret Hart reveals how Vince McMahon convinced him to turn heel in WWE
If there were a Mount Rushmore or a Top 10 of greatest pro wrestlers of all time, it wouldn't be a surprise if Bret Hart was in every one of those lists. The man brought legitimacy and realism to professional wrestling in the 1990s and helped lead WWE during a downturn in the business.
For the majority of his time in WWE, he was one of the top faces having great matches with the likes of Shawn Michaels, Owen Hart, Ric Flair, British Bulldog, Kevin Nash, and Yokozuna.
So, it was a bit of a surprise when he did turn heel in 1997. On the Broken Skull Sessions with Stone Cold Steve Austin, Hart revealed he didn't want to turn heel as he felt it would affect his merchandise sales. This turn came about at the time when Hart was going in the famous 'Double Turn' match with Austin at WrestleMania 13.
Vince McMahon thought otherwise and promised that he could convince The Hitman in five minutes. He showed Bret a list of five people he would work as a heel and five that he would work as a face. It suffices to say that the heel list won out as Hart was intrigued and agreed to the turn.
It must be said that Hart's heel turn was pretty good as it helped reform The Hart Foundation. Though the heel run ended with the Montreal incident, it will always be remembered for the right reasons.