NEWS: |SI| This Saturday, April 1st, Bret Hart will be inducted into the Hall of Fame. The Hitman gave an interview to Sports Illustrated as soon as he landed in Chicago…
- Hart says after leaving WWE, “everything went to s— for [him]” and WWE became a billion dollar company. Hart lost Owen, The British Bulldog, divorced his wife of 20 years, lost his mom Helen and his dad Stu, lost his career when Bill Goldberg kicked him in the head resulting in a massive concussion and then suffered a stroke.
- Hart never wanted to leave WWE, but McMahon realized the new 20 year deal he signed Hart to was a “bad business deal…”
- He believes that if the Montral Screwjob never happened, Owen would still be alive today, he wouldn’t have lost his career (due to Goldberg) and he wouldn’t have suffered his stroke.
- After suffering his stroke, Vince McMahon was the first person to call: “[McMahon] gave me a nice talk, and I found myself in an emotional state and told him that I didn’t want to be forgotten. I didn’t want everything I ever did to be buried in a basement somewhere. It was the first time we really talked since I left the company. He talked to me about the Hall of Fame during the call, and I told him it was something I always wanted to do despite everything that had happened.”
- Vince says that he’s slowly winning Hart’s trust back. Their relationship is not the same as it was, but they do have a relationship now.
- Owen’s widow Martha is not happy that he accepted WWE’s invitation into the Hall of Fame. She thinks he’s doing it for money, but he is doing it because he wants to be remembered.
- His only request is to not see Shawn Michaels. He doesn’t want to speak to HHH, Ric Flair and Hogan, but can tolerate them.
- Hart admits that he’s very nervous about the whole night. His stroke has left him with the difficulty to control his emotions. Hart says even the slightest compliment can turn him into a “blubbering wreck of tears…”
- He doesn’t plan on attending WrestleMania 22 the next night, take part in any storylines, make any cameos or appear for the company in the future.
Bret Hart will be inducted into the Hall of Fame Saturday, April 1st at 11PM EST on the USA Network. Check local listings.
April 1st, 2006: Bret Hart inducted into the Hall of Fame
This whole situation is surreal, Bret Hart is being inducted into the Hall of Fame. Who would have thought?
Unfortunately, this might be the last time Hart is ever on WWE TV again. I say might because I’m hoping I’m wrong, but who knows.
Don’t miss the Hall of Fame, it really will be a historic night.
I hope he does come back eventually even if it is to commentate or something along those lines.. I think he is one of the greatest wrestlers.. even though all that shit happened I bet you he can still kick some ass..
-Spook- Me too. I know he’s said he won’t do anything besides the Hall of Fame. But he also said (I think) he wouldn’t go back to WWE for anything. So who knows, maybe there is a chance he’ll come back.
As long as HBK is around, he won’t come back. I think he’s made that pretty clear.
I’d like to see them bury the hatchet, but I think Hart is just too proud of a guy. I don’t blame him, either.
And yes, that was me, I’m out of it today, lol.
It would be nice if they bury the hatchet, but HBK lied to Bret over and over again. But with McMahon, Bret knew he screwed him.
McMahon hasnt changed at all, he is perfect at screwing people over, kicking them to the curb, and then years later if he has something to gain he kisses their ass to get on their good side. I agree with Harts mom, I wouldnt have accepted the invited. He has nothing to prove, he knows what a superstar he was, he knows hes one of the best to ever step in the ring. He doesnt need a picture of himself in something else owned by Vince. Just once I want to see someone that Vince did wrong stand up and say “fuck you Vince,I dont need your petty invite to be proud of what I done in the ring!”
Yea, that should never be forgetten: Vince was behind the entire thing in Montreal.
-Matt B- I really have a hard time believing that it was more than just an angle. Honestly. Vince knew that Bret was considering WCW, and after what Medusa/Alundra Blaze did with the Women’s belt when she jumped ship to WCW, who could blame Vince for what he did? He was, (as he has and will always be,) a shrewd business man who isn’t known for being the “nice guy;” he is known for making money and being an @$$hole.
Yes, it was likely Vince’s idea. No, it wasn’t right. But it was the right thing for Vince to do at the time. I know that it isn’t right for the place I work at to make people wait 3 days to fix problems they have with us but, its what we have to do in order to stay afloat. Same goes for WWE and any other business out there. They do what needs to be done. Vince sometimes does a bit more than required. The WWE is still around. Paul Heyman couldn’t do it with ECW, Bischoff/Turner couldn’t do it with WCW, and the list goes on and on.
I don’t think what Vince “did” was good or bad; it just needed to be done at the time to protect his business.
-Ray- I can understand your frustration at the way it is perceived that Vince treats his current and former employees, but he does what he has to do. You can’t fault him for that. Bret wants to be remembered. You can’t fault him for that either. This is Vince’s way of “apologizing” to him. He gets to address the fans as Bret Hart, out of character and full of emotion. He, like Sting, never really got a chance to say goodbye. That’s all these guys are after. Nothing more to say about that.
-Everyone- Even if Bret did “come back,” we are looking at the same situation for him as there is for Austin, Hogan, Vader, and a whole host of others. (Ric Flair will be in this club very soon if he keeps bloodying himself.) This is the group of wrestlers from the past that are too old/injured/chemically dependent to wrestle. Bret is near 50 years old and has already had a stroke, how effective could he be in the ring???
Sorry to write a novel fellas, but I wanted to address everyone. Thanks for reading.
If Bret were to come back, I would want it to be a non-wrestling role. His best days, unfortunately, were taken from him.
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-MattDaddy- Well put. Bret said that he would drop the title to anyone at anytime, just not Montreal. Also, Bret said he would have worked it out Vince, but instead Vince decided to do what he did. Yea, it definitely wasn’t right, but I think Vince had other options. Hell, he could have even used his legal team if he wanted to.
But like you said, Vince has done so much to make WWE a billion dollar company and it’s his decision and his right. I just wanna make sure people don’t see Vince as this great guy for giving Hart this opportunity because it goes a lot deeper than that.
Thanks for the great post.