"He was high out of his mind" – WWE veteran on Shawn Michaels going off-script in controversial moment (Exclusive)
Former WWE writer Vince Russo believes a comment from Shawn Michaels on the May 19, 1997, episode of RAW ultimately led to the Montreal Screwjob.
Bret Hart initially agreed to lose the WWE Championship to Michaels at Survivor Series 1997 in Montreal. However, the Canadian changed his mind after his rival said he would not do the same if the roles were reversed. With uncertainty surrounding the finish, Vince McMahon booked Michaels as the winner without informing Hart.
Six months before the match, Michaels incorrectly implied during a RAW promo that The Hitman was having an affair with WWE Diva Sunny. On Sportskeeda's The Wrestling Outlaws show, Russo claimed that The Heartbreak Kid's "Sunny days" comment was a pivotal moment in Hart and Michaels' real-life feud:
"He [Shawn Michaels] was high out of his mind. He'd tell you. Obviously he's a different man today. He was high on whatever, bro, painkillers, whatever these wrestlers take. He was high out of his mind, bro, and he just said it and he didn't give a cr*p. That line right there led to the [Montreal] Screwjob. Absolutely, without a shadow of a doubt, that line started it all." [7:59 – 8:32]
Watch the video above to hear more from Russo about Sunny's role in the Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels rivalry.
How Vince Russo felt about Shawn Michaels' "Sunny days" promo
The memorable moment occurred during a live episode of RAW. Although Vince Russo produced the segment, he could not do anything about Shawn Michaels' decision to suddenly go off-script.
On This Day in Wrestling History - The boyhood dream came true as Shawn Michaels defeated Bret Hart to become WWF Champion 27 years ago today at Wrestlemania XII (3/31/96) https://t.co/i6dKv0YORs
Russo compared Michaels' comment to the famous moment where Sycho Sid tried to start a promo again, prompting Jim Ross to say, "It's live, pal."
"I was there when Shawn cut the promo that set it all off. I was the producer of that. The problem was, Chris [host Dr. Chris Featherstone], it was live and Shawn knew it was live, so I can't [do anything]. Remember Sid with the do-over? There was no do-over and he said it. Bro, that started everything because Bret was like, 'Bro, my freaking wife watches this show.' That really set everything off." [7:15 – 7:53]
Russo also spoke about the time when a WWE Diva threatened to sue the company over the use of her image on a magazine cover.
What did you make of Shawn Michaels' "Sunny days" remark? Let us know in the comments section below.
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