Original plans for Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart's infamous match in Montreal; backstage events preceding the bout
Shawn Michaels vs Bret Hart in Montreal at Survivor Series 1997 has become one of the most controversial topics in the history of WWE.
For those who don't know, Bret Hart was set to retain his WWE Championship in his match against Shawn Michaels. However, due to a backstage nexus and Vince McMahon wanting to get the title off Bret Hart before he went to WCW, a call was taken to make Shawn Michaels the winner without the knowledge of Bret Hart.
Former WWE referee Mike Chida gave out details about the original plans for the match. He also revealed what Bret Hart had asked him right ahead of his match.
''Bret came up to me that day because he knew I had a run-in on that match. He was very concerned because he knew something was going down and he felt it. He felt it but he didn’t think they might do it in Montreal because he was in Montreal, in Canada.'' (H/t: WrestlingNews)
Mike Chioda further revealed that Bret Hart was anxious as he suspected something was about to happen during the match. It was only when Chioda saw Gerald Brisco speaking to Earl Hebner, who would referee the match, that he started to think that something might be wrong.
The original plan for Bret Hart vs Shawn Michaels in Montreal
Chioda also revealed the original plan for the match:
''I don’t know what I would have done. But, I was supposed to go out, run down, count at least to one, and behind me was Owen Hart who was supposed to slide in, grab me by my shirt and the back of my belt and throw me between the second and third rope, but we never got to that point. I think right after Owen throws me out, Shawn superkicks Owen to get him out of the picture. I would come in and count one, two, and boom, Owen is right behind me and cans me right out of the ring who turns into Shawn Michaels superkick, but it never got to that point. I heard a bell. I was looking through the curtain and Owen was behind me looking at me like, what the f**k just happened. I said, ‘I don’t know.’ I’m looking and Earl is running right out of the arena, right through the crowd. There was a car waiting for him to take him out.”
Bret Hart left for WCW after the incident and only returned to WWE a decade later after burying the hatchet with Vince McMahon and Shawn Michaels.