Vince McMahon was once lifted "about a foot off the ground" before collapsing "like a starfish" by former WWE Champion
Vince McMahon was once lifted off the ground by a former WWE Champion before he collapsed like a starfish. Bret "The Hitman" Hart opened up about the time he hit the former WWE Chairman with an uppercut after the infamous Montreal Screwjob at Survivor Series 1997.
Before reconciling in 2006, Hart and McMahon were at odds after what happened in November 1997. The Hitman was screwed out of the WWE Championship on his way to WCW. One of the most famous stories from the incident was when the legendary wrestler punched McMahon backstage.
Speaking in an interview on The Wrestling Classic, Hart was asked about what really happened backstage between him and McMahon. He admitted that he only threw just one punch, an uppercut, and it connected so hard that it knocked out McMahon.
"I decided to go for an uppercut and I came right between our arms. I literally, honest to God I'm not exaggerating, I lifted him about a foot off the ground. Knocked him completely out cold like a starfish, his legs and his arms and everything were out like that. He was out cold for about five minutes. We all just stood around looking at him, and I remember I broke my hand but it was the sweetest thing I ever did and I wouldn't change any of it," Hart said. [2:00 - 2:30]
Despite Bret Hart's account of the incident, Vince McMahon refuted it in his Netflix documentary Mr. McMahon. However, one of the people backstage when it happened was The Undertaker, who confirmed the legitimacy of Hart's story.
Original backstage WWE story was Vince McMahon letting Bret Hart punch him in the face
One of the stories coming out of the locker room over the years was that Vince McMahon gave Bret Hart a free shot and that the Canadian took it. However, Hart was not having any of it and called it a lie in the Mr. McMahon docuseries.
"There was no like, 'Vince is going to give me a shot.' Like, I don't where they get that story, because that is such a bunch of bullsh*t. It was Vince and me came at each other, and we actually tied up like a wrestling match. Everybody's ready to pounce on me as soon as we grab each other. I remember going, the only way I can get a shot in, one shot, maybe, is an uppercut," Hart said. [H/T Fightful]
Hart recently returned to WWE, putting over Sami Zayn during his feud with Gunther for the World Heavyweight Championship. McMahon, on the other hand, no longer owns the company and is currently under federal investigation due to Janel Grant's lawsuit.