A Look Back at Bret

The WWE recently announced that rather than holding this year's Survivor Series at the Bell Centre in Montreal (formerly the Molson Centre and site of the infamous Montreal Screwjob) as was previously announced, the 10 year anniversary event has been moved to the painfully-neutral American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida. The fall out from the screwjob was so great that the WWE did not host another event in Montreal until a SMACKDOWN taping in 2001. And now, ten years later, the animosity remains so strong that the WWE felt the need to change the assignment of a PPV for the first time in recent memory. Behind all the stories and behind all the controversy...is Bret "The Hitman" Hart. The story of the Montreal Screwjob usually follows the line of Vince screwing Bret. However, with the help of the MIT Comparative Media Studies department, it becomes very plausible that, as Shawn Michaels says, Bret screwed Bret.

After 14 years, Bret Hart was faced with the end of his career in the WWF. Bret was faced with one last title defense against Shawn Michaels in which he was supposed to drop the championship belt. Bret had no interest in accommodating this request by McMahon. Hart had already dropped the belt to Michaels once and as a final passing of the torch, Hart would have to be beaten once more by Michaels. However, Hart wanted to preserve the character he had built in his head.

Hart portrayed his character as a hero who followed the rules and always did the right thing. He obviously knew how to wrestle, which he prided himself on, and he considered himself to be a role model for young children. Before every match, Hart could be seen giving his glasses to a child near the ring. When Stone Cold Steve Austin and DX gained popularity, Bret felt this as a personal attack towards his good guy character and that wrestling fans were turning their backs on him. With little distinction between Bret the wrestler and Bret the person, it was only natural for him to feel worried about his future in the WWF. Unlike other wrestlers who admit this fear and continue their career until it time to leave, Bret was determined to shape his own legacy on the WWF.

Wrestlers have to remember that the business existed before their arrival and will more than likely exist after their departure, a perspective Bret Hart obviously lacked. Furthermore, wrestlers must let their actions in the ring speak as loud as or louder than their words. Wrestling fans will always remember and appreciate great performances. In the case of Bret Hart, he let the politics of the WWF get in the way of his purpose to entertain. He took on a very selfish approach to wrestling and lost sight of his role as a wrestler. His lack of distinction between his character and his real life was a main cause for his fear of defeat and an unwillingness to drop the belt as he moved on to a rival promotion.

Bret's ego blinded him, causing The Hitman to truly believe what he was saying about being a wholesome character and being a role model that people should follow. This turned him into a modern version of Hulk Hogan, who did not want to lose to anyone and ended up tarnishing his legacy. Ironically, it was the Hulkster who refused to drop the title to Hart (he deemed Hart unworthy).

Vince had asked Bret to drop the title, and with good business reasoning. The women's champion had already shown up on WCW before and trashed the belt on screen. So why not let Bret forfeit the title? Well, Vince already had experience with that when Ric Flair made his first stint with the WWF and ran his mouth about being the real world champion and carried around the belt. Vince did not want to give Bret an angle when entering WCW and have him claim that he was the real champion and that he had never lost the title. Vince had no choice but to ask Bret to lose the title. When Bret did not honor this request, he essentially asked McMahon to take the decision into his own hands.

Myriads of famous stars have lost clean at big events. Shawn Michaels lost to Stone Cold Steve Austin at Wrestlemania XIV, The Rock lost clean to Stone Cold Steve Austin at Wrestlemania XV and he was still hated by the people and then loved again when he turned face. Triple H and Shawn Michaels both lost to Chris Benoit at Wrestlemania XX clean. These superstars put over other wrestlers for the benefit of the business and the people. If Bret had lost to Shawn, even if it wasn’t entirely clean, it would have given the fans something to cheer or boo. It would have allowed the WWF to move in the direction Vince wanted which is what he had asked Bret to let him do. Bret Hart was a great wrestler and provided some great matches but he put himself in the position that allowed the Montreal Screwjob to happen.