WWE News: Vince McMahon thought "Bret-Screwed-Bret" was a babyface promo
What's the story
You heard that right folks! The WWE Chairman and CEO comes clean in regards to the "promo" he cut on Bret Hart following the infamous "Montreal Screwjob" in November 1997.
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In case you didn't know...
Unless you have been living under a rock or a new wrestling fan unfamiliar with the history of the business, then you are most likely familiar with the Montreal Screwjob that occurred at WWE "Survivor Series" 1997.
To make a long story short, Bret Hart's contract was up and set to expire the day after the Survivor Series. After previously negotiating a twenty year deal with WWE, Vince could no longer honor his commitment and chose to let Bret out of his contract so he could sign with WCW for guaranteed money.
There was one problem; Bret Hart was still the WWE Champion. Therefore, Bret had to drop the title before leaving the company.
Due to the tumultuous relationship Hart shared with Shawn Michaels, his opponent for the Survivor Series, he refused to drop the title to Shawn, plus he didn't want to drop the title in his hometown of Canada.
Hart and Mr. McMahon came to an agreement for a DQ finish, resulting with the Hitman leaving the WWE the next night on RAW and vacating the title. All seemed well and good, until...
The heart of the matter
As revealed by former WWE producer and host of Something to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard, he talks about Vince honestly thought the promo came across more as a sympathetic babyface promo than one of the greatest heel segments of all-time:
“There was so much backlash from a certain segment of the audience and audience members that probably wouldn’t normally speak up were speaking up about this and it was a peek behind the curtain of the business. Vince felt it was important to address it and to address the television audience and talk about, ‘Hey guys, this is what happened,’ and come out for the first time in his mind as the owner of WWE and he made this decision to kinda put the heat where he thought it should be.”
“I know Vince felt this was a babyface promo 100%, 100% Vince looked at it as a babyface promo on his part because he was explaining to the audience, ‘I did this for you. I did this for all the Superstars fo the WWE and I did this for you, the audience who support us. Bret didn’t wanna do the time-honored tradition and do what was right.’ So in Vince’s mind he’s telling the audience, ‘Hey guys, in order to continue to bring you the entertainment we do every week, this is why I had to do what I had to do, but Bret made me do it.”
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What's next
Vince McMahon will be launching the XFL in 2020. Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels have reconciled and continue to work on/off for the WWE in recent years.