WCW should have IMMEDIATELY flown Bret to Nitro the following night (paid the lawsuit for having Bret break the no compete) and have Nitro begin with Bret walking through the fans exactly like Scott Hall did in 96, and have him cut on hell of a real life promo on what happened. What did they do????? Have him ref the Bischoff v Larry Zbyszko match at Starrcade..... What a waste.
Another example of how poor a job management orchestrated or handled things in those days. People say the wwe took back the rating wars in 1998 Nah wcw was screwing up in late 97. The Austin era was big for wwe. The hell in a cell with Mankind Was arguably the best thing that propelled wwe over wcw let alone the love and hearts of the audience/fan base being captivated in loving Mick Foley, before his first wwe title reign which was pretty much the icing on the cake and cherry on top that made fans realize how better wwe was at that time over wcw, and if AEW now....now... if AEW ever figures that out, wwe is going to be in trouble. The fan base is already in shambles similar to how it was in the glory years of wcw when it was dominating wwe before the screw job, before hell in a cell, before the curtain call, before the nwo. If AEW figures out the fan captivating formula that wwe once had, wwe is going to be in trouble. And AEW is getting close.
I love your idea of Bret showing up the next night on Nitro cutting that type of promo however in their defence, Bret broke his hand when he punched Vince. He probably couldn’t work a program with that hand being broken if he even wanted to.
I know a lot wanted Bret in the title match as a surprise guest referee or added to the Sting Hogan match as a triple threat but it's making sure not to water down Stings win.
1997 was the most Legit WWF ever been. There were intense fueds. Bret and Shawn was real. N.O.D with the whole racial angle, Stone Cold was at his best. Undertaker became more real than gimmicky. It was my favourite year for pro wrestling
Agree 100% especially since Kane made his debut that year at Bad Blood too.. just overall the best year WWF has ever had in its history. Wrestling was never and never will be the same after the Attitude Era
There was nothing wrong with Undertakers old gimmick. For most of us 'WWF' fans, it was his best. I grew up with it in early 90's (Taker, Macho Man, Warrior - Hogan SUCKED). That's how we WANT to remember him. He just changed it to go with the flow of time. And I mean his 'Western Undertaker style' gimmick - with the gray gloves etc. That was pure Old School Undertaker. I agree Attitude era was TOO gimmicky....but I'd stopped watching by then.
I've always thought that 1997 was the best year for wrestling - not necessarily because that was the best year WWE ever had (there are others you could argue) but it was the one year that you had three major national wrestling promotions in the States, along with WCW and ECW, that were putting out a quality product. I can't think of another year where the same applies quite to that extent.
@@sidious187 That’s one of the more interesting “what if” scenarios in pro wrestling history. If Hogan had come in with the mindset of doing proper business and passing the torch to these two new up and coming superstars, it could’ve made huge money for the WWF, however if Hogan came in with his infamous backstage politicking and the “doesn’t work for me, brother” attitude, it could’ve completely derailed the careers of Rock and Austin, and been disastrous for the WWF long term as far as ratings
@@sidious187 not Austin. Hogan would have to rightly put over Austin and we all know Hogan doesn't do that unless he gets 3 wins in return (Michaels) or a possible future movie role (Rock). Besides, Austin rightfully isn't going to put over Hogan at all since Hogan tried to sabatoge his career.
I found this video hard to get through. I really enjoy Conrad’s work on this channel but, he just needed to let Bruce get through his stories without the constant interruptions.
We dont thank Bruce and conrad enough for frequently doing these podcasts..its the best wrestling pod imo..so thanks guys, from all of us. Keep working hard and giving us the best stories
no, it's just that Bret was surrounded by real stars in WCW. It was like he was in WWF in the late 80s all over again. A solid wrestler good enough to be a mid card performer, but nothing more. If the roid scandal didn't happen, he would have never been the face of the company for the few years he was.
@@weworldwide1348 "Real Stars" lmao WCW was a shitshow, with no real leadership. They cared more about swerving the fans, and let backstage politics take priority over good storylines that would keep the audience invested. Bret was getting so much media attention at the time, if he was booked correctly, WCW could've continued winning or at the very least, stayed tied, during the Monday night wars. They had the NWO, which was white hot, and still ended up completely destroying it, because they had no idea what they were doing. WWE had Vince, who was the one & only leader of the company, WCW never had that.
We Worldwide! Wcw didn’t know what to do with the real worker talent they actually had at that point lol. Let alone Bret. Ive witnessed top tier eddy guererro matches in wcw get talked over and cut with backstage footage. No respect. All to show the next cheap gimmick. Like whos turning nwo next. It is clear to anyone watching back then that wcw was running 130 mph with no end game. It crashed and burned.
Yep, and honestly I hate to say but there was really no room in WCW for Bret and sadly neither heel Bret or baby face Bret works in WWF in 1998-2001. Bret had a great career but That style baby face and that style heel didn’t work in American wrestling and that time. Big Show , when he was the Giant in WCW, His Character Had to change overnight a little after WCW started going through the Monday Night era. He wasn’t acting like animal/Mythical creature anymore. He had to be the cool guy mythical creature anymore. He had to be the cool guy giant in the nWo.
Heres that info (brets contract) that bruce was not gonna speak on....... Bret Hart made approx $250,000 per year as a WWF mid-carder in 1990-1991. His earnings steadily increased as he climbed the ladder and exceeded $400,000 per year by the time he captured his second WWF title in 1994. Two-and-a-half years later, Hart became the subject of a bidding war between the WWF and WCW. Hart, whose WWF contract had just expired, was offered $2.8 million per year by WCW. The WWF countered with a 20-year contract, which would pay him $1.5 million per annum for the first three years and a low six-figure amount for the last 17 years. Hart accepted that offer, and signed the deal in October 1996. It was a decision he would regret. In September 1997, Vince informed Hart that cash-strapped WWF was unable to continue paying his $1.5 million salary, and advised him to strike a deal with powerhouse WCW. Hart reluctantly did so - for $2.5 million per year.
Ze TheGame Hogan technically made less than Nash and Hall as it was in their contract that they had to be paid the highest on a base salary. Hogan made much more than them on other stuff like royalities, and merchandise. When Bischoff was in charge WCW wasted a lot of money. They made so many talent under contract that never used at all. Remember part of Macho Man’s deal was that they hired his brother, or WCW bringing all of Hogan’s friends to created Hogan era WWF. Given all that stuff it’s definitely like something Bischoff would have offered. Especially for a top WWF guy.
@Ze TheGame You severely underestimate Brett Hart's value circa 1996 and the market situation which WCW found itself in. Bischoff wanted to take over the market and wipe the WWF out. Signing Brett was supposed to be the back-breaker. Yes, I think that at moment Brett's value would've exceeded Hogan's just the same way the Minnesota Vikings paid more for Kirk Cousins than the Pats did for Tom Brady.
Yrah yhSt sounds right. Did you get that from PowerSlam? I recall they used to put up salaries. The industry seems to treat Bischoff as a liar on par with Hogan, so out of Bret v Bish, Bret’s word would be taken 999 times out of 1,000.
I think this is about right, and Shawn was making about $750,000 during the time Bret was leaving, which was one of the reasons there was heat between them.
You really hit the nail on the head there. The bottom line was if it was still the cartoonish 1980s then maybe Wilkes could have gotten over and been huge, but he came in during the attitude era and nobody wanted to see what he brought to the table. Kurt Angle did it perfectly with a mix of humor and badassedness
You know guys you are right it’s like Conrad keeps cutting him off always to get his points his belief in what he thinks is the truth without listening to somebody who was there and somebody who actually lived and worked through those times it’s like Conrad has his opinion and no matter what Bruce says he’s going to make it sound like he knows the answer and what he thinks is the truth he doesn’t do it with JR. he doesn’t do it with Tony it doesn’t matter what he does with Eric because Eric constantly lies and constantly make shit up because I truly believe that Erich doesn’t remember anything but you’re right it’s very very frustrating to listen to Conrad constantly cut off Bruce just so he can get his opinion in
Blake Martin You know what buddy I am so overdosed on all these podcasts in the last two years I’m starting to think it’s all just a big work. I was really into it all but it just keeps going round and round and round.
Right. Who the hell is this Conrad guy that he gets to interview and talk to all these wrestling personalities? Really I have no idea. Is he like mae Young's grandson or something lol
It’s still forever baffling how WCW literally FOUND a way to mishandle Brett while he was the hottest commodity since Hogan busted things wide open 10 years prior.
Hogan didn't want to work with Bret Hart, and Hogan and his buddies didn't want Hart on the top of the card despite Bret being the hottest wrestler in the world at the time, WCW was a place were the inmates ran the asylum.
Should have used Brett Hart for a WCW push into Canada. Brett Heart in the USA is big, but 3-5x greater in Canada. WCW could have pushed WWF out of Canada with Brett Hart.
Bret also wanted to work with a lot of the cruiserweights and midncarders. WCW didn't know how or want to use somebody who actually wanted to work. A top star actually working hard was frowned upon by WCW.
If you watch Wrestling with Shadows you can hear audio of Vince that disputes this. Vince told Bret that Montreal would be a DQ and Bret would drop the belt later. He had 30 days left on his contract to do that. Vince showed what type of man he really is both as a personality and a employer. Bret had a contract clause giving him creative control of his last 30 days and Vince broke that contract. If Bret had not had that clause for creative control I could have understood a little better. Having said all this though there was nothing Brisco could show Shawn in 1 day to keep Bret from beating his ass.
I really wish Bret and the Hart Foundation would have beat Shawn's ass in the locker room for real but Bret was trying to be the better man even though Shawn lied right to his face saying he knew nothing about the screwjob. But yeah I've heard this too, Vince screwed Bret yet again just like he did in 93'. If Vince had no faith in Bret he never should have came up with that 20 year contract back in 1996.
You know guys you are right it’s like Conrad keeps cutting him off always to get his points his belief in what he thinks is the truth without listening to somebody who was there and somebody who actually lived and worked through those times it’s like Conrad has his opinion and no matter what Bruce says he’s going to make it sound like he knows the answer and what he thinks is the truth he doesn’t do it with JR. he doesn’t do it with Tony it doesn’t matter what he does with Eric because Eric constantly lies and constantly make shit up because I truly believe that Erich doesn’t remember anything but you’re right it’s very very frustrating to listen to Conrad constantly cut off Bruce just so he can get his opinion in. I posted this on a previous post and I will keep posting it because I agree with everybody can read will not let Bruce finish because I truly believe Conrad has his opinion and refuses to believe that his opinion is wrong
Bret Hart wasn’t really a wrestler who grabbed my attention as a kid and certainly not as the champion. I thought he was very boring but as an adult I can certainly look at his old matches and see what an outstanding ring technician we was.
Read Brets book. He openly admitted in it he started negotiating with wcw in 1992 and wanted to show up on their tv with the IC title thinking it would make him a hot commodity and drive up his guaranteed money.
Bret Hart did a good Davey quote which sounded like him when doing their famous SummerSlam match at Wembley..... at their first wrap up Davey says “I’m fooked” cause he forgot the whole match
You know guys you are right it’s like Conrad keeps cutting him off always to get his points his belief in what he thinks is the truth without listening to somebody who was there and somebody who actually lived and worked through those times it’s like Conrad has his opinion and no matter what Bruce says he’s going to make it sound like he knows the answer and what he thinks is the truth he doesn’t do it with JR. he doesn’t do it with Tony it doesn’t matter what he does with Eric because Eric constantly lies and constantly make shit up because I truly believe that Erich doesn’t remember anything but you’re right it’s very very frustrating to listen to Conrad constantly cut off Bruce just so he can get his opinion in. I posted this on a previous post and I will keep posting it because I agree with everybody can read will not let Bruce finish because I truly believe Conrad has his opinion and refuses to believe that his opinion is wrong
Yes, he's like a baby that yells or makes noises just to hear their own voice. Plus he does like to "correct" People who were THERE instead of just listening to them tell him truth. It makes me wonder how anyone would want to deal with that while doing a podcast.
And I can’t stand his fucking voice. I love the stories from Bruce, Arn and few others he does shows with. I just wish almost anyone else would do the questions. The hilarious thing is I heard him before I seen him, and based on his voice Conrad looks EXACTLY as I imagined him.
Bryan Jacobs You know guys you are right it’s like Conrad keeps cutting him off always to get his points his belief in what he thinks is the truth without listening to somebody who was there and somebody who actually lived and worked through those times it’s like Conrad has his opinion and no matter what Bruce says he’s going to make it sound like he knows the answer and what he thinks is the truth he doesn’t do it with JR. he doesn’t do it with Tony it doesn’t matter what he does with Eric because Eric constantly lies and constantly make shit up because I truly believe that Erich doesn’t remember anything but you’re right it’s very very frustrating to listen to Conrad constantly cut off Bruce just so he can get his opinion in. I posted this on a previous post and I will keep posting it because I agree with everybody can read will not let Bruce finish because I truly believe Conrad has his opinion and refuses to believe that his opinion is wrong
@@frankthenose yup...The only person he doesn't bulldoze over in convos is JR, bc JR won't let him lol. He really does believe he's right all the time, no matter what. I def think Bruce tows the line too much, to stay in Vince's good graces, but Conrad acts like he knows the truth, even though he wasn't there.
"I'll probably never work for WWE again, never say never, but I'll probably never be there again." Never say never is right... he's back and apparently senior VP.
Bret threw out various viable suggestions but since they weren’t anything WWE creative wanted to hear, they simply disregarded them and accused Bret of being “uncooperative.”
You weren't there. I'm sure the truth lies somewhere in the middle of both sides but I have a very hard time believing Bret was this giant victim he makes it out to be.
@@makeshift112000 He's not broke anymore and I'll never understand why people act as if an alcoholic or addict can Never have a good idea in their life before once upon a time, they were addicted to a substance. It's such a stupid, childish argument. Plus, a lot of McMahon's success came from WCW's failures, if they had someone at the helm that actually knew what they were doing....Vince probably would've went out of business.
Anyone remember why Taker wasn't wrestling? He'd had the HIAC the month earlier and I can think of him having a few appearances on Raw in late '97 - brief injury? Simply no match at SurSer?
That's what I try to tell these marks. It was Bret's realism that ushered in the Attitude era. His awesome feud with Austin and getting him over at WM13, his real life feud with Shawn and Bret completely losing his sh*t and going off on McMahon during episodes of RAW made WWF look so real during 1997 and unscripted.
@@kingkold Yeah it's amazing to hear all these stories about how much of an unprofessional prick Shawn was in the 90s but Bruce wants to nit-pick little things about Bret. It's ridiculous.
I have a theory you can sell ANYTHING successfully if you have Bret The Hitman Hart's theme song in the ads. It was basic WWE marketing from 1993-1997.
I caught shawn Michaels at 7 years old on tv so I rented wrestlemanina 12 from blockbuster and from that moment as a mma fighter Shawn Michaels is and was my biggest childhood hero. He was a athlete, showman and a entertainer. He was my hero at 8-9 year olds
McMahon breached Brett's contract. Funny how everyone on WWE's side forget that part. Also Brett was willing to drop the belt after Montreal. Just not in Montreal. Which is also something everyone on WWE's side forget to mention. He was also willing to drop the belt on PPV, if not to Shawn (like Austin). Due to HBK having refused to drop the belt to Hart in a earlier remark.
Bret said himself on 'Off the Record' just a few weeks after Montreal, that he wanted to just hand the belt back to Vince the following night on Raw in Ottawa and give a goodbye speech to fans, which would have been taking a massive dump on the entire WWF/E. He's changed his story several times over the years just to try and justify the fact he didn't want to lose at all. Yes, Shawn Michaels was being an absolute prick at the time, but Bret screwed himself over by lowering himself to Shawn's level.
1997 was a fantastic year and a transitional period where the company was moving away from the 'New Generation' era and starting to lay down the groundwork for what was to become the attitude era. Bret Hart turned heel and was doing some of his best work ever both on the mic and in the ring, Stone Cold was getting very hot and over with the fans, Undertaker was at the peak of his gothic persona and went from being a zombie like figure to a badass rebel with a personality. D-X was formed and were making a lot of noise while HBK was enjoying his best run ever as a cocky heel. Kane made his debut. It was such a fun time to be a wrestling fan and there was so much going on. Nothing will ever come to close this and the best thing about all of it, things were just getting started.
Bret called Philadelphia the toilet bowl of the US...I really think that is the most under rated year in history of wrestling. ( late 96- 97) up til when they brought Tyson is when WWE momentum truly took off so this time period gets over looked but it was really great considering the talent they had .It was magical time because as hot as WCW was WWE was just as hot but had lost people because of the time prior to Mania 12. And being from South Philly also had ECW. I was at In your House Mind Games and the Raw when Vince said to Austin you said you'll beat me with one hand tied behind your bacccckkk!!! So I remember first hand how much better the product got from the house at the spectrum the day before the curtain call, to the First ever PPV at Wells Fargo Center and the Raws and shows that followed to the Montreal Screw Job. I really enjoy your Pod casts Mr. Prichard and I like how you tell how it is and keep it real at all times. Side note I was also at the Smackdown in Philly were you were in a box dressed as Brother Love and Taker beat you up lol. Great performance by you.
Kinda comes off as a double standard to me. They acted like Bret put them in this jam but they allowed Shawn to get away with murder with his diva like behavior and not dripping titles multiple times, they allowed Hogan his creative control but Bret’s the asshole for only using his once that he did sign in his contact
Ok, as great as Bret Hart was in the ring, he was no Hogan lol He didn't sell nearly as much merch as Hogan, he didn't sell pay per views like Hogan & he wasn't a global star, at the same level as Hogan was. I know HH was a politicking prick backstage, but people can't deny what he was to wrestling, especially in the 80s & early 90s. That comparison is just Ridiculous, imo.
@@JoelChavez6121 i also think there was far more politics backstage by the 90s since Shawn and Hunter were well established by then. In the 80s it seemed like the politics came more from the top guy rather than the people backstage. In the 80s Shawn was jobbing in mid south and eventually became a tag team guy in the late 80s. Hunter was irrelevant until he dated the chairmans daughter. Stephanie didn't have a say until she was old enough by the 90s she had a role there. 80s wwf politics were there but it was through the wrestlers. 90s politics got mixed with wrestlers and social interactions which made it far worse. The whole "klik" in the 90s along with Stephanie playing politics made it hard for anyone to combat against them in the 90s.
The thing is if it wasn’t for the wrestling with shadows documentary no one would have ever known that Vince screwed Bret. Wwe would have made up anything about those events and bad mouthed Bret forever. I’m glad wrestling with shadows aired what the did.
You know guys you are right it’s like Conrad keeps cutting him off always to get his points his belief in what he thinks is the truth without listening to somebody who was there and somebody who actually lived and worked through those times it’s like Conrad has his opinion and no matter what Bruce says he’s going to make it sound like he knows the answer and what he thinks is the truth he doesn’t do it with JR. he doesn’t do it with Tony it doesn’t matter what he does with Eric because Eric constantly lies and constantly make shit up because I truly believe that Erich doesn’t remember anything but you’re right it’s very very frustrating to listen to Conrad constantly cut off Bruce just so he can get his opinion in. I posted this on a previous post and I will keep posting it because I agree with everybody can read will not let Bruce finish because I truly believe Conrad has his opinion and refuses to believe that his opinion is wrong
Ya know, and I realize this is 4yrs old now so not many will see this comment, but I'm rewatching this and it dawned on me. Two things actually. First, Bruce's recollection here of Brett not offering much except no is very similar to Eric's (Bischoff) recollection of Brett's time with WCW. Second, Austin was apparently similar as well, not offering much except no when he didn't like the pitch.
Did Bruce say it was unethical for Bret to wear a wire with the meeting with Vince Mcmahon? The man who in the next 2 hours was going to screw him out of the title? 🤔
Bret was making 1.5 million a year, Shawn 750,000. Bret left to get 3 million a year while McMahon offered him 1 million a year for a much longer term.
Youre an embecile. Vince cant fight. Then its a blatant contradiction. If Im justified in my actions, why would I "let" you hit me?? You guys are so gullible. He tried to run and hide then was forced to face the music and got Koed.
@@brewer921 Bingo! Even if he didn't take the belt over, if Bischoff went on Nitro at the top of the show, following Survivor Series & said "The WWF champ is signed to WCW", then Bret goes out on Raw & vacates the belt, it would've made Vince look weak af & would've buried the WWF championship, anyways. To be fair, Vince had every reason not to trust Eric.
I love Bruce and Conrad and the show but I think it's hilarious that in the Bret Hart 96-97 episode they just casually gloss over and just mention in passing that Vince McMahon decides he will INTENTIONALLY breach the contract he and Bret Hart signed in October 96. As if it's no big fucking deal.
@@Thunderbolt210 He may have been but the argument isn't about who had a guarantee first but whether Bret had one or not. He did. The contract was signed in 96. Same year as Mero
daonlytamjr I don’t know how much more clearer I can be about this. BRET DID NOT HAVE A GUARANTEED CONTRACT. His 20 year contract paid him less but it was set up so that in the later years he would transition into a office role. I.e. become a road agent or switch to creative or etc. Vince was not in the business of doing guaranteed contracts at the time. Marc MERO was the first wrestler Vince ever gave a guaranteed contract to, undertaker was the second and stone cold was third. .before the contract structures changed.
I will always say this was a work until someone can explain to me how Bret was able to clear getting cameras and footage released before, during and after the fact. A masterful work though.
The part I don't understand, is Bret always said he had contractual creative control and they didn't abide by it, but he never sued? He was pissed off, bitter, and went to every media outlet that would listen...but he never even tried to sue? That part never made sense to me.
@beastmode40205 not a work. Bret was being filmed for months leading up to to the screw job for the Wrestling with Shadows documentary. That's why there was footage.
@@kala-hw1ql Bret knocked out Vince and destroyed high priced equipment. Plus despite the circumstances, his new deal was far more lucrative. And its a huge reason why he still lives comfortably to this day.
After all this time, you’re pretty much either on Bret’s side or Vince/WWE’s side. Some probably see where both are coming from. Both had their reasons and did what they had to do. Bret’s relationship to Canada is special. As a Canadian, I can tell you unequivocally that he is a Canadian hero. We aren’t the cultural juggernaut that the United States is, the number of iconic Canadians that have achieved great success both north and south of the 49th parallel is very very small. Bret is apart of that select group. As Canadians we aren’t taught to stand up and be patriotic as often as we should be…but Bret proudly wore the flag and shouted from every rooftop how proud he was, and is, to represent Canada and Canadians. Should he have just done the job to HBK? Bret made his call and Vince made his. But I just wanted to explain why Bret was especially reluctant to drop it in Canada to a fellow wrestler who he felt did not respect him.
Bret had to have known as soon as that bell rang, that HBK was involved. I'll never understand why Bret didn't knock his ass out on air for the entire t.v. audience to witness. It would've completely destroyed Shawn's run as champion and Bret could've walked into WCW like the man (though wcw probably still wouldn't have known how to book him). Shawn never gave Bret a reason to trust him, and considering he lied right to Bret's face before the match, it would've been well deserved. If wwe would've tried to sue or anything ridiculous like that, Bret Hart could've countered for breach of contract (they didn't allow him the creative control that he was promised).
Keep in mind where Bret and Shawn were in the ring when Earl Hebner had the bell rung. Bret was still trying to get up, after Shawn dropped the Sharpshooter, because the bell had rung. Bret could see that Shawn was acting upset, because Bret had never tapped out. Shawn also verified that when the two of them later talked...
Word backstage was that Bret was no pushover, he was a tough fucker and would kick your ass if you had it coming. Even the ROAD WARRIORS went on to say that Bret Would’ve kicked Shawn’s ass if Shawn has admitted to being in on the screw job while in the locker room.
The hard thing about this is if Bret had clocked HBK like that, it would have proved Vince right that they had to strip the belt that way because they feared Bret would be unprofessional.
Bret didn't want to do business so they did it for him. You are on your way out you drop the title doesn't matter to whom or where you are you deop the title everyone does that but bret forgot WRESTLING ISN'T ABOUT WINS AND LOSSES AND THAT IT ISN'T REAL.
So heres a thought I've been having recently that I really makes me wonder. Why didn't they just find some convoluted way to drop it to LITERALLY anybody but Shawn at Survivor Series, then the next night on Raw have Shawn come out and beat that person for the title? Or just go straight to dropping the title to Austin, then start the Shawn/Austin feud early? If Bret's only hangup was dropping the title to Shawn in Montreal, just give him literally any other opponent. I'm sure there are a million different ways they could have swerved on the opponent at the last second. It seems to me at the end of the day there was more incentive to screw Bret from the parties involved than there was to find another way out of the situation.
knightshousegames I see what you’re saying. I read Bret’s book and he stated in his contract that he had creative control at that time in his contract. I do believe Shawn did tell Bret that he’d never drop the belt to him. Shawn did get away with murder back then which is why I do believe him and Vince are bisexual. I do think that Bret should’ve swallowed his pride and drop the belt (time, honor, tradition) but Vince created this toxic situation and he should’ve fixed it because at the end of the day, everyone is rich and ego got in the way of someone’s livelihood being at risk.
Because they already advertised a championship match between Bret & Shawn. Plus, they tried to sell Bret on dropping it before SS, and just have a Shawn vs Bret match but Bret said the Canadian fans expect him to show up as champion.
Keon Alexander fuck that bullshit! If I got creative control and my opponent asshole has been an asshole to me the whole ride to the party then I’m leaving the way I choose to leave.
Da_Hitman Hart Well that’s what happened. He left on his own terms for a company that ruined his career and put him in the ring with a guy who kicked him in the head and caused a stroke that crippled him.
I hate this idea of screwjob. If it was all agreed by everyone and everyone was happy then he got screwed then fine... But lets be honest Bret as the champ went into that match knowing hes leaving the company after the match.. come on Bret tried to fuck the business and just got burned.
This whole situation is a crock of shit. Michaels gave the belt up with a bogus injury, the when he dropped it to Austin acted like a bitch. Making a scene at the press conference. I understand Bret was leaving, but there’s was nothing going to happen on Bret’s part. I don’t see the problem with letting him relinquish the belt on Raw. One thing to Gerry Briscoe who runs his mouth about Bret to this day, if Jack Briscoe the NWA world champ heard his opponent tell him that he appreciate Jack putting him over, but if vice versa the opponent would never drop the title to him, guarantee Jack wouldn’t drop that title to him. Thats exactly what Shawn told Bret. So all these Vince puppets can go shove it.
That's because everything isn't about Bret. Bret was leaving and had to job. He had to job Shawn because they were building Austin Vs Shawn. Bret Hart wasn't drawing like Hogan. They were only loosing money with Bret. Some may not want to admit it. Why blame Nash when Bret was equally a bad draw. But cornette and some veterans have agendas against bad worker like Nash, Warrior, Diesel whom they don't appreciate as a wrestlers. That doesn't make Bret a big star.
Hearing to one or two of his podcasts, i dont think that Prichard is a good story teller. He's just skimmed through it without delving into the specifics
I agree with Vince on this one..I mean sure it could’ve been handled better but he was left with no choice ..as HHH said “ if he doesn’t want to do business we’ll do it for him” 🤷🏽♂️
I know im 5 years late to this party 🥳. But what a fucking gem. Bret hart is one of my favorite wrestlers. But, i gained a lot more respect for what vince did. And it was his business. I loved wrestling with shadows. I even recorded it on vhs 📼. It was very onesided. I want to give it another watch. A lot of great footage 👏
Why hogan could always dictate how his matches ended but Bret hart had to get screwed the math ain’t mathin’ the person giving the interview needs to ask the questions and allow him to completely answer them before you ask another cause you keep interrupting him is not what you do.
Bret couldn't wrestle for like 60-90 days because of a WWF non compete clause in his contract. I wonder if he would have been more agreeable to dropping the title if that clause had been waived. Maybe not but that just popped into my head.
He didn't have the clause in his contract, nobody did back then. The clause was implemented later. That's why Jeff Jarrett jumped ship so many times after this.
And we know it's BS that Bret didn't give any ideas about dropping the title. He has said many times he offered to drop to Austin or taker or even Shamrock. Things got nasty and Shawn became unprofessional with him so that's why he didn't want to drop it clean to Shawn in Montreal, and Bret HAD creative control in his contract! The company was the party being unreasonable.
Bret has made it very clear multiple times, he was willing to lose the belt to Shawn and he was willing to lose in Canada but NOT BOTH AT THE SAME TIME because it would kill his character after spending a year in a VERY heated and personal feud as a Patriot and Representative of Canada. If you hurt the credibility of a character then you hurt his ability to draw money, it's not petty and it's not personal, it's BUSINESS.
That's not true lol He said he wouldn't drop the belt to HBK bc Michaels said he wouldn't put Hart over, like a year prior. That's not business, that's personal & it's a weak excuse. He's talked about it multiple times.... I'm not defending HBK, he was a massive dbag back then, but Bret was letting petty crap get in the way of business, bc he was bent that Vince chose Shawn over him.
@@sese6227 Yes it is. I've followed it since it happened. Bret doesn't always mention that part but he has said he put on the table losing to Shawn but not in Canada because it kill the character he'd spent a year building.
Paul Heyman talking about this said it best " My title, my TV time, my company, my ass [on the line]" I don't think they thought Bret would screw them over on WCW TV it was what Bischoff would do. Bret may never say a word but all Bischoff has to do is say look there is the other company's champion. Don't forget it was after all this they gave away the Foley title win. It backfired but still showed they would play dirty.
Maverick512000 The Foley situation came way after. The Madusa thing was probably on their minds and you're right in them thinking Bischoff would say something like that. But let's not forget what Vince did with the NWA title back when Ric Flair entered the WWF. That set the precedent of this mess years before.
Green Reaper Vince really didnt do anything with flair and the wcw championship.. they blurred it out and on top of it they didnt shit on that belt. They used that belt to give ric a boost by calling him " the real world champion"... totally different than shitting on the wwf belt and throwing it in the trash
J A They blurred it out only after a lawsuit from WCW forced them to return the belt. Bobby Heenan displayed it on TV claiming it as the "Real" World Title and that "The Real World's Champion" Ric Flair was now a part of the WWF. Which in turn is saying what? The current WCW is a fraud cause Flair never lost the belt. Look it up on TH-cam.
Green Reaper Bobby was claiming ric was the real world champion and Hogan wasnt.. so basically shitting on their own champion lll I dont think in any way it was to shit on wcw and I dont think they did even of they tried. i think you're reaching there.
Green Reaper I think they basically just tried to give validation to ric in case some fans didnt know who he was. So now fans know this guys gotta be good since he was the real world champion lol
1. its the Kliq get it right 2. Shawn never said he did it for everyone in the locker room Vince said he did it for everyone in the locker room 3. there was no Kliq in wwe by this time as nash, hall and kid was in wcw
@@ajsgaming83 regardless the point I’m trying to make is still true. Shawn did that shit cuz he’s selfish. He never cared to put the business first. He wasn’t the first guy to do it and wasn’t the last.
97 was the build to the Attitude Era. Truly iconic year to watch on the network
Too bad most of it isn’t on Peacock :(
@@JB-qt3wo I'm watching every episode of the Monday night war and the only thing I notice is some editing
WCW should have IMMEDIATELY flown Bret to Nitro the following night (paid the lawsuit for having Bret break the no compete) and have Nitro begin with Bret walking through the fans exactly like Scott Hall did in 96, and have him cut on hell of a real life promo on what happened. What did they do????? Have him ref the Bischoff v Larry Zbyszko match at Starrcade..... What a waste.
Typical wcw fucking clueless.
I don't think there is a better example of why WCW failed than their complete bungling of this red hot opportunity.
Another example of how poor a job management orchestrated or handled things in those days. People say the wwe took back the rating wars in 1998
Nah wcw was screwing up in late 97.
The Austin era was big for wwe.
The hell in a cell with Mankind
Was arguably the best thing that propelled wwe over wcw let alone the love and hearts of the audience/fan base being captivated in loving Mick Foley, before his first wwe title reign which was pretty much the icing on the cake and cherry on top that made fans realize how better wwe was at that time over wcw, and if AEW now....now... if AEW ever figures that out, wwe is going to be in trouble. The fan base is already in shambles similar to how it was in the glory years of wcw when it was dominating wwe before the screw job, before hell in a cell, before the curtain call, before the nwo.
If AEW figures out the fan captivating formula that wwe once had, wwe is going to be in trouble.
And AEW is getting close.
I love your idea of Bret showing up the next night on Nitro cutting that type of promo however in their defence, Bret broke his hand when he punched Vince. He probably couldn’t work a program with that hand being broken if he even wanted to.
I know a lot wanted Bret in the title match as a surprise guest referee or added to the Sting Hogan match as a triple threat but it's making sure not to water down Stings win.
1997 was the most Legit WWF ever been. There were intense fueds. Bret and Shawn was real. N.O.D with the whole racial angle, Stone Cold was at his best. Undertaker became more real than gimmicky. It was my favourite year for pro wrestling
Cause you're a bitch
2000 was better
Agree 100% especially since Kane made his debut that year at Bad Blood too.. just overall the best year WWF has ever had in its history. Wrestling was never and never will be the same after the Attitude Era
There was nothing wrong with Undertakers old gimmick. For most of us 'WWF' fans, it was his best. I grew up with it in early 90's (Taker, Macho Man, Warrior - Hogan SUCKED). That's how we WANT to remember him. He just changed it to go with the flow of time. And I mean his 'Western Undertaker style' gimmick - with the gray gloves etc. That was pure Old School Undertaker. I agree Attitude era was TOO gimmicky....but I'd stopped watching by then.
I've always thought that 1997 was the best year for wrestling - not necessarily because that was the best year WWE ever had (there are others you could argue) but it was the one year that you had three major national wrestling promotions in the States, along with WCW and ECW, that were putting out a quality product. I can't think of another year where the same applies quite to that extent.
Are we not gonna talk about Bruce’s impression of Bulldog?? 🤣☠️
16:45
ignore me, I’m just here to time stamp Bruce’s Bulldog Impression so I can come back and watch it every day forever. Feel free to use
Cannot imagine Austin and Rock being happy at the thought of Hogan coming back over around 1999
This was ‘97.
Or, they’d get super stoked about working with the most successful WWF Star ever at that point...
@@sidious187 That’s one of the more interesting “what if” scenarios in pro wrestling history. If Hogan had come in with the mindset of doing proper business and passing the torch to these two new up and coming superstars, it could’ve made huge money for the WWF, however if Hogan came in with his infamous backstage politicking and the “doesn’t work for me, brother” attitude, it could’ve completely derailed the careers of Rock and Austin, and been disastrous for the WWF long term as far as ratings
@@sidious187 not Austin. Hogan would have to rightly put over Austin and we all know Hogan doesn't do that unless he gets 3 wins in return (Michaels) or a possible future movie role (Rock). Besides, Austin rightfully isn't going to put over Hogan at all since Hogan tried to sabatoge his career.
@@sidious187 You’re only looking at half of the perspective, Hogan would not want to put anybody over. Hence the comment.
Man, loving this show. The details/ perspective really paints a picture of the backstage feel. Thanks guys, definitely found a fan here.
Jacob Pointon agree
You're gay
@@jhot2477 ...and if he is?
@@jediknightgeo than hes a disgrace & not a man
@@jhot2477 i got your BACK (in a sexual wayno homo)
Wrestling with Shadows is the BEST Wrestling Documentary ever made
"They fooked him!" 🤣🤣
I found this video hard to get through. I really enjoy Conrad’s work on this channel but, he just needed to let Bruce get through his stories without the constant interruptions.
Pretty much every video with Conrad I skip through him to hear the other person talk.
to be fair, you could tell at times Bruce was b.s.ing some shit
He's gotten at lot better at keeping his interjections to a minimal
To be fair, Conrad tries to keep Bruce honest.
Problem is, Bruce is a cagey fucker. It's like pulling teeth to get something honest out of him.
We dont thank Bruce and conrad enough for frequently doing these podcasts..its the best wrestling pod imo..so thanks guys, from all of us. Keep working hard and giving us the best stories
On top of everything else Vince was right about WCW. They had no idea what to do with Bret Hart.
no, it's just that Bret was surrounded by real stars in WCW. It was like he was in WWF in the late 80s all over again. A solid wrestler good enough to be a mid card performer, but nothing more. If the roid scandal didn't happen, he would have never been the face of the company for the few years he was.
@@weworldwide1348 "Real Stars" lmao WCW was a shitshow, with no real leadership. They cared more about swerving the fans, and let backstage politics take priority over good storylines that would keep the audience invested. Bret was getting so much media attention at the time, if he was booked correctly, WCW could've continued winning or at the very least, stayed tied, during the Monday night wars. They had the NWO, which was white hot, and still ended up completely destroying it, because they had no idea what they were doing. WWE had Vince, who was the one & only leader of the company, WCW never had that.
We Worldwide!
Wcw didn’t know what to do with the real worker talent they actually had at that point lol. Let alone Bret. Ive witnessed top tier eddy guererro matches in wcw get talked over and cut with backstage footage. No respect. All to show the next cheap gimmick. Like whos turning nwo next. It is clear to anyone watching back then that wcw was running 130 mph with no end game. It crashed and burned.
Yep, and honestly I hate to say but there was really no room in WCW for Bret and sadly neither heel Bret or baby face Bret works in WWF in 1998-2001. Bret had a great career but That style baby face and that style heel didn’t work in American wrestling and that time. Big Show , when he was the Giant in WCW, His Character Had to change overnight a little after WCW started going through the Monday Night era. He wasn’t acting like animal/Mythical creature anymore. He had to be the cool guy mythical creature anymore. He had to be the cool guy giant in the nWo.
@@weworldwide1348 like Goldberg !🤣🤣🤣🤣
The Canadian USA story line was awesome. Something I’ll never forget as a wrestling fan of 30 years
Yup, still one of the best storylines of all times.
naw, kinda dumb. Let's get the foreigner to shit on the USA and praise his home country. WOW how original LOL
Heres that info (brets contract) that bruce was not gonna speak on.......
Bret Hart made approx $250,000 per year as a WWF mid-carder in 1990-1991. His earnings steadily increased as he climbed the ladder and exceeded $400,000 per year by the time he captured his second WWF title in 1994. Two-and-a-half years later, Hart became the subject of a bidding war between the WWF and WCW. Hart, whose WWF contract had just expired, was offered $2.8 million per year by WCW. The WWF countered with a 20-year contract, which would pay him $1.5 million per annum for the first three years and a low six-figure amount for the last 17 years. Hart accepted that offer, and signed the deal in October 1996. It was a decision he would regret. In September 1997, Vince informed Hart that cash-strapped WWF was unable to continue paying his $1.5 million salary, and advised him to strike a deal with powerhouse WCW. Hart reluctantly did so - for $2.5 million per year.
@Ze TheGame Bischoff is a notorious liar though.
Ze TheGame Hogan technically made less than Nash and Hall as it was in their contract that they had to be paid the highest on a base salary. Hogan made much more than them on other stuff like royalities, and merchandise.
When Bischoff was in charge WCW wasted a lot of money. They made so many talent under contract that never used at all. Remember part of Macho Man’s deal was that they hired his brother, or WCW bringing all of Hogan’s friends to created Hogan era WWF.
Given all that stuff it’s definitely like something Bischoff would have offered. Especially for a top WWF guy.
@Ze TheGame You severely underestimate Brett Hart's value circa 1996 and the market situation which WCW found itself in. Bischoff wanted to take over the market and wipe the WWF out. Signing Brett was supposed to be the back-breaker. Yes, I think that at moment Brett's value would've exceeded Hogan's just the same way the Minnesota Vikings paid more for Kirk Cousins than the Pats did for Tom Brady.
Yrah yhSt sounds right. Did you get that from PowerSlam? I recall they used to put up salaries. The industry seems to treat Bischoff as a liar on par with Hogan, so out of Bret v Bish, Bret’s word would be taken 999 times out of 1,000.
I think this is about right, and Shawn was making about $750,000 during the time Bret was leaving, which was one of the reasons there was heat between them.
Bruce has a tremendous amount of patience during these interviews. I don’t think I could handle the frequent interruptions.
Clubber likes the sound of his own voice too much he makes me fast forward anytime he speaks.
I love that he says he doesn’t work for WWE and likely won’t ever; fast forward 3 years and he is one of their executives. Love this podcast.
LMAO love the Bulldog impression from Bruce at 16:45
Kurt Angle became everything the Patriot wanted to be.
You really hit the nail on the head there. The bottom line was if it was still the cartoonish 1980s then maybe Wilkes could have gotten over and been huge, but he came in during the attitude era and nobody wanted to see what he brought to the table. Kurt Angle did it perfectly with a mix of humor and badassedness
“I’ll probably never work for WWE again” - fast forward 2 years & Brother Love is back in the WWE 😂
Lol!!I was searching for this comment!!😅😂
And is now the Executive Director!!
He said probably not never
@@TheFlyGuy87 he said both
28;15
Wow. Bruce filled in a lot of blanks on this. Excellent!
Cause he knew ALOT more to this than what he's leading on here
Bruce Prichard can't even get through one thought without being interrupted.
Bryan Jacobs I know man. Freakin annoying. Just shut up and listen
You know guys you are right it’s like Conrad keeps cutting him off always to get his points his belief in what he thinks is the truth without listening to somebody who was there and somebody who actually lived and worked through those times it’s like Conrad has his opinion and no matter what Bruce says he’s going to make it sound like he knows the answer and what he thinks is the truth he doesn’t do it with JR. he doesn’t do it with Tony it doesn’t matter what he does with Eric because Eric constantly lies and constantly make shit up because I truly believe that Erich doesn’t remember anything but you’re right it’s very very frustrating to listen to Conrad constantly cut off Bruce just so he can get his opinion in
@@frankthenose you think Eric lies but Bruce is truthful? He's the biggest liar of them all.
Blake Martin You know what buddy I am so overdosed on all these podcasts in the last two years I’m starting to think it’s all just a big work. I was really into it all but it just keeps going round and round and round.
Right. Who the hell is this Conrad guy that he gets to interview and talk to all these wrestling personalities? Really I have no idea. Is he like mae Young's grandson or something lol
I just discovered this channel and can't stop listening.
It’s still forever baffling how WCW literally FOUND a way to mishandle Brett while he was the hottest commodity since Hogan busted things wide open 10 years prior.
Right. The way they mishandled him was insane, such a missed opportunity.
Hogan didn't want to work with Bret Hart, and Hogan and his buddies didn't want Hart on the top of the card despite Bret being the hottest wrestler in the world at the time, WCW was a place were the inmates ran the asylum.
Should have used Brett Hart for a WCW push into Canada. Brett Heart in the USA is big, but 3-5x greater in Canada. WCW could have pushed WWF out of Canada with Brett Hart.
WCW had so many heals too, he could have had some grest feuds.
Bret also wanted to work with a lot of the cruiserweights and midncarders. WCW didn't know how or want to use somebody who actually wanted to work. A top star actually working hard was frowned upon by WCW.
If you watch Wrestling with Shadows you can hear audio of Vince that disputes this. Vince told Bret that Montreal would be a DQ and Bret would drop the belt later. He had 30 days left on his contract to do that. Vince showed what type of man he really is both as a personality and a employer. Bret had a contract clause giving him creative control of his last 30 days and Vince broke that contract. If Bret had not had that clause for creative control I could have understood a little better. Having said all this though there was nothing Brisco could show Shawn in 1 day to keep Bret from beating his ass.
Thanks for that info. That's really good insight
I really wish Bret and the Hart Foundation would have beat Shawn's ass in the locker room for real but Bret was trying to be the better man even though Shawn lied right to his face saying he knew nothing about the screwjob. But yeah I've heard this too, Vince screwed Bret yet again just like he did in 93'. If Vince had no faith in Bret he never should have came up with that 20 year contract back in 1996.
No but he could teach him enough to hold Bret back long enough for Briscoe and other security to get there.
@@mikepeterson764 Briscoe would have got his ass beat as well! He was past it and the scariest thing about him is he had a face like a slapped ass...
@@kb9969 Lol you're such a mark bro
LOVE THESE PODCASTS
Love these shows, but sweet mary, Conrad needs to let Bruce finish his sentences.
Dizzy I know right? Conrad loves the sound of his own voice and won’t let Bruce complete his sentences
Right. Most of the interruptions weren't even for good questions.
You know guys you are right it’s like Conrad keeps cutting him off always to get his points his belief in what he thinks is the truth without listening to somebody who was there and somebody who actually lived and worked through those times it’s like Conrad has his opinion and no matter what Bruce says he’s going to make it sound like he knows the answer and what he thinks is the truth he doesn’t do it with JR. he doesn’t do it with Tony it doesn’t matter what he does with Eric because Eric constantly lies and constantly make shit up because I truly believe that Erich doesn’t remember anything but you’re right it’s very very frustrating to listen to Conrad constantly cut off Bruce just so he can get his opinion in.
I posted this on a previous post and I will keep posting it because I agree with everybody can read will not let Bruce finish because I truly believe Conrad has his opinion and refuses to believe that his opinion is wrong
I get what you mean but i dont even see a point because Bruce is full of shit. They didnt KNOW Bret had a no-compete is the biggest LIE I ever heard.
I love these segments. Love these behind the scenes stories.
Bret Hart wasn’t really a wrestler who grabbed my attention as a kid and certainly not as the champion. I thought he was very boring but as an adult I can certainly look at his old matches and see what an outstanding ring technician we was.
This is the best account of what happened I've heard yet. Thanks, Something To Wrestle With!
Bret would’ve never showed up on wcw tv with the title. That was just an excuse for Vince and his geeks
Pretty sure it was Eric Bishoff that no-one trusted.
Read Brets book. He openly admitted in it he started negotiating with wcw in 1992 and wanted to show up on their tv with the IC title thinking it would make him a hot commodity and drive up his guaranteed money.
Keep in mind, Sunny had just went to the WCW with the women's title that they thew in the trash on live TV
Marcus B. Sunny never went to WCW. You are thinking about Medusa “Alundra Blayze”
crashintonickdm how do you know that?
Fast forward a year, plus change & Bruce is back with WWE😂😂
"they fooked 'im" :-D
And that's how Davey Boy would have said it, too...
Love hearing that Lancashire accent when the shock master falls " He's fell on his arse, flat on his fucking arse"
Bret Hart did a good Davey quote which sounded like him when doing their famous SummerSlam match at Wembley..... at their first wrap up Davey says “I’m fooked” cause he forgot the whole match
He was from Golborne, had a cross Golborne/Wigan accent. It was pretty broad. He was very funny in person.
In this picture of Shawn looks like he's about to look into the camera and say he would f*** himself.
Interviewer loves his own voice
Nick Hamilton he does, doesn’t he? He won’t stop interrupting Bruce.
You know guys you are right it’s like Conrad keeps cutting him off always to get his points his belief in what he thinks is the truth without listening to somebody who was there and somebody who actually lived and worked through those times it’s like Conrad has his opinion and no matter what Bruce says he’s going to make it sound like he knows the answer and what he thinks is the truth he doesn’t do it with JR. he doesn’t do it with Tony it doesn’t matter what he does with Eric because Eric constantly lies and constantly make shit up because I truly believe that Erich doesn’t remember anything but you’re right it’s very very frustrating to listen to Conrad constantly cut off Bruce just so he can get his opinion in.
I posted this on a previous post and I will keep posting it because I agree with everybody can read will not let Bruce finish because I truly believe Conrad has his opinion and refuses to believe that his opinion is wrong
Yes, he's like a baby that yells or makes noises just to hear their own voice. Plus he does like to "correct" People who were THERE instead of just listening to them tell him truth. It makes me wonder how anyone would want to deal with that while doing a podcast.
And I can’t stand his fucking voice. I love the stories from Bruce, Arn and few others he does shows with. I just wish almost anyone else would do the questions. The hilarious thing is I heard him before I seen him, and based on his voice Conrad looks EXACTLY as I imagined him.
@@frankthenose Shut the fuck up
Conrad needs to let Bruce talk
Bryan Jacobs You know guys you are right it’s like Conrad keeps cutting him off always to get his points his belief in what he thinks is the truth without listening to somebody who was there and somebody who actually lived and worked through those times it’s like Conrad has his opinion and no matter what Bruce says he’s going to make it sound like he knows the answer and what he thinks is the truth he doesn’t do it with JR. he doesn’t do it with Tony it doesn’t matter what he does with Eric because Eric constantly lies and constantly make shit up because I truly believe that Erich doesn’t remember anything but you’re right it’s very very frustrating to listen to Conrad constantly cut off Bruce just so he can get his opinion in.
I posted this on a previous post and I will keep posting it because I agree with everybody can read will not let Bruce finish because I truly believe Conrad has his opinion and refuses to believe that his opinion is wrong
@@frankthenose yup...The only person he doesn't bulldoze over in convos is JR, bc JR won't let him lol. He really does believe he's right all the time, no matter what. I def think Bruce tows the line too much, to stay in Vince's good graces, but Conrad acts like he knows the truth, even though he wasn't there.
@@sese6227 I think it's cause Bruce tries to bullshit sometimes
Bruce is still being careful. Lol. Haha 😂
Meltzer soap boy Confat is the worst and needs to go away.
That title was everything back then. NOW it’s a prop. Means absolutely nothing now.
Am I the only one that thought Bruce Prichard was Gangrel's brother? LOL
ha ha!
Awesome conversation. Listened from beginning to end.
"I'll probably never work for WWE again, never say never, but I'll probably never be there again."
Never say never is right... he's back and apparently senior VP.
I think he meant like they wouldn’t want him back. Not that he personally would never work for them again
@Sir Disney Oh that's definitely how he meant it, but that doesn't change anything.
Bret threw out various viable suggestions but since they weren’t anything WWE creative wanted to hear, they simply disregarded them and accused Bret of being “uncooperative.”
You weren't there. I'm sure the truth lies somewhere in the middle of both sides but I have a very hard time believing Bret was this giant victim he makes it out to be.
Was about to comment this
@@BabysitterSky did you not see the documentary where Brett was mic'd and *did* throw out alternatives that Vince *agreed to* ?
@@DayLateGamerWill Nope. Not that I can remember. Brets a dick. Do what your boss says.
Bret, in his book, claims he suggested to drop the belt to Taker, to Vader, Austin and even Shamrock. They were all denied.
Jake Roberts said it best "I would fired both of them bastards" that would kinda solve it...
That's why Jake is a broke alcoholic & McMahon is a billionaire
Sure.Listen to the sage words of the alcohalic crackhead.
+Richard Bowen say it to Jake Roberts face
Richard Bowen You spell like you smoke crack
@@makeshift112000 He's not broke anymore and I'll never understand why people act as if an alcoholic or addict can Never have a good idea in their life before once upon a time, they were addicted to a substance. It's such a stupid, childish argument. Plus, a lot of McMahon's success came from WCW's failures, if they had someone at the helm that actually knew what they were doing....Vince probably would've went out of business.
For all the yrs I had watch wrestling, I always called Brother Love, Buddy Love. Lol
Brett was awesome, probably one of the top three workers ever. It's a shame he's such a mark for himself.
Anyone remember why Taker wasn't wrestling? He'd had the HIAC the month earlier and I can think of him having a few appearances on Raw in late '97 - brief injury? Simply no match at SurSer?
Hell in a cell against Mankind? He had a broken foot during that time.
@@jayjones9108 no hell in a cell vs hbk a month b4, hell in a cell with Mankind did not happen till kind of the ring 98
I never blamed Bret for not wanting to drop it to HBK, when Shawn said to him he wouldnt do the same for him. Was glad Bret nailed McMahon afterwards.
WILL C like you knew at that time what was going on backstage
No, I just tend to believe Bret when he said it, cant remember if it was Shadows documentary or his book?
WILL C Dave Meltzer corroborated this. Shawn said this to Bret more than a few times.
Bret can only ko 55 yr old men!
Shawn never said he wouldn't do it. Bret just wanted to hear out his mouth that he would
Not ethical ? You know what's not ethical? May 23, 1999. " The show must go on"
The irony here , it was Bret being " unprofessional" that lead to the attitude era. The evil Mr. McMahon
That's what I try to tell these marks. It was Bret's realism that ushered in the Attitude era. His awesome feud with Austin and getting him over at WM13, his real life feud with Shawn and Bret completely losing his sh*t and going off on McMahon during episodes of RAW made WWF look so real during 1997 and unscripted.
@@kb9969 exactly, Bruce passive aggressively knocks Bret,but goes so soft on shawn.
@@kingkold Yeah it's amazing to hear all these stories about how much of an unprofessional prick Shawn was in the 90s but Bruce wants to nit-pick little things about Bret. It's ridiculous.
Shawn did it for Shawn
Why not Bret was for his self as well.
Shawn never ever jobbed in those days, he lost only once, and that was to Sid. every other title he just gave up
He did it.... for the Rock 😐
You wanna know why the Heartbreak Kid doesn't lie down for anybody? Cause he's always bending over.
@@JustinStinoStamosZamora42 😂😂
I have a theory you can sell ANYTHING successfully if you have Bret The Hitman Hart's theme song in the ads. It was basic WWE marketing from 1993-1997.
I used to drive by the sportatorium every day
They Fooked him,they Fooked Brey.pmsl love Bruces Northern English accent.
I caught shawn Michaels at 7 years old on tv so I rented wrestlemanina 12 from blockbuster and from that moment as a mma fighter Shawn Michaels is and was my biggest childhood hero. He was a athlete, showman and a entertainer. He was my hero at 8-9 year olds
McMahon breached Brett's contract. Funny how everyone on WWE's side forget that part. Also Brett was willing to drop the belt after Montreal. Just not in Montreal. Which is also something everyone on WWE's side forget to mention. He was also willing to drop the belt on PPV, if not to Shawn (like Austin). Due to HBK having refused to drop the belt to Hart in a earlier remark.
Okay who cares what shawn says you drop the belt
Bret said himself on 'Off the Record' just a few weeks after Montreal, that he wanted to just hand the belt back to Vince the following night on Raw in Ottawa and give a goodbye speech to fans, which would have been taking a massive dump on the entire WWF/E. He's changed his story several times over the years just to try and justify the fact he didn't want to lose at all. Yes, Shawn Michaels was being an absolute prick at the time, but Bret screwed himself over by lowering himself to Shawn's level.
When you are the champ you don't have the luxury of getting offended you do the damn job period
1997 was a fantastic year and a transitional period where the company was moving away from the 'New Generation' era and starting to lay down the groundwork for what was to become the attitude era. Bret Hart turned heel and was doing some of his best work ever both on the mic and in the ring, Stone Cold was getting very hot and over with the fans, Undertaker was at the peak of his gothic persona and went from being a zombie like figure to a badass rebel with a personality. D-X was formed and were making a lot of noise while HBK was enjoying his best run ever as a cocky heel. Kane made his debut. It was such a fun time to be a wrestling fan and there was so much going on. Nothing will ever come to close this and the best thing about all of it, things were just getting started.
Bret called Philadelphia the toilet bowl of the US...I really think that is the most under rated year in history of wrestling. ( late 96- 97) up til when they brought Tyson is when WWE momentum truly took off so this time period gets over looked but it was really great considering the talent they had .It was magical time because as hot as WCW was WWE was just as hot but had lost people because of the time prior to Mania 12. And being from South Philly also had ECW. I was at In your House Mind Games and the Raw when Vince said to Austin you said you'll beat me with one hand tied behind your bacccckkk!!! So I remember first hand how much better the product got from the house at the spectrum the day before the curtain call, to the First ever PPV at Wells Fargo Center and the Raws and shows that followed to the Montreal Screw Job. I really enjoy your Pod casts Mr. Prichard and I like how you tell how it is and keep it real at all times. Side note I was also at the Smackdown in Philly were you were in a box dressed as Brother Love and Taker beat you up lol. Great performance by you.
Imagine Hogan & Austin at Mania 14 or even Hart vs Austin II for the title. Would’ve been straight fire.
Kinda comes off as a double standard to me. They acted like Bret put them in this jam but they allowed Shawn to get away with murder with his diva like behavior and not dripping titles multiple times, they allowed Hogan his creative control but Bret’s the asshole for only using his once that he did sign in his contact
Ok, as great as Bret Hart was in the ring, he was no Hogan lol He didn't sell nearly as much merch as Hogan, he didn't sell pay per views like Hogan & he wasn't a global star, at the same level as Hogan was. I know HH was a politicking prick backstage, but people can't deny what he was to wrestling, especially in the 80s & early 90s. That comparison is just Ridiculous, imo.
@@sese6227 that wasn't completely his fault, the business as a whole dropped off and you could argue Bret in Canada and Europe he was more over
@@JoelChavez6121 i also think there was far more politics backstage by the 90s since Shawn and Hunter were well established by then. In the 80s it seemed like the politics came more from the top guy rather than the people backstage. In the 80s Shawn was jobbing in mid south and eventually became a tag team guy in the late 80s. Hunter was irrelevant until he dated the chairmans daughter. Stephanie didn't have a say until she was old enough by the 90s she had a role there. 80s wwf politics were there but it was through the wrestlers. 90s politics got mixed with wrestlers and social interactions which made it far worse. The whole "klik" in the 90s along with Stephanie playing politics made it hard for anyone to combat against them in the 90s.
The thing is if it wasn’t for the wrestling with shadows documentary no one would have ever known that Vince screwed Bret. Wwe would have made up anything about those events and bad mouthed Bret forever. I’m glad wrestling with shadows aired what the did.
You can tell Bruce was irritated several times with the guy doing the interview.
Jeremy Ledbetter that's not the guy doing the interview. That's the host of the show lol they fight all the time
You know guys you are right it’s like Conrad keeps cutting him off always to get his points his belief in what he thinks is the truth without listening to somebody who was there and somebody who actually lived and worked through those times it’s like Conrad has his opinion and no matter what Bruce says he’s going to make it sound like he knows the answer and what he thinks is the truth he doesn’t do it with JR. he doesn’t do it with Tony it doesn’t matter what he does with Eric because Eric constantly lies and constantly make shit up because I truly believe that Erich doesn’t remember anything but you’re right it’s very very frustrating to listen to Conrad constantly cut off Bruce just so he can get his opinion in.
I posted this on a previous post and I will keep posting it because I agree with everybody can read will not let Bruce finish because I truly believe Conrad has his opinion and refuses to believe that his opinion is wrong
@@joshuaa1605 Doesn't take away from the point that he stays interrupting Bruce.
Wait, so you're telling me, "Hey we can't honor that contract we just signed you to recently" didn't go over well? Wow, who would've thought?????
Ya know, and I realize this is 4yrs old now so not many will see this comment, but I'm rewatching this and it dawned on me. Two things actually.
First, Bruce's recollection here of Brett not offering much except no is very similar to Eric's (Bischoff) recollection of Brett's time with WCW.
Second, Austin was apparently similar as well, not offering much except no when he didn't like the pitch.
It's kinda like listening to Bruce talk to himself. Conrad sounds soo much like Bruce.
Did Bruce say it was unethical for Bret to wear a wire with the meeting with Vince Mcmahon? The man who in the next 2 hours was going to screw him out of the title? 🤔
Bret had the coolest music
This show would be so much better w/o Conrad. Get rid of him and just let Bruce tell his stories.
Really wish Vince chose Bret over Shawn. Bret vs Austin at mania 14
Bret was making 1.5 million a year, Shawn 750,000. Bret left to get 3 million a year while McMahon offered him 1 million a year for a much longer term.
McMahon aint want bret on a long term contract because he was trying to get sum sponsors to go public
These two talking have ZERO chemistry.... Jesus Christ
Never has anyone had the balls of Vince McMahon. Man said “let him get one in boys, he deserves it”
Youre an embecile. Vince cant fight. Then its a blatant contradiction. If Im justified in my actions, why would I "let" you hit me?? You guys are so gullible. He tried to run and hide then was forced to face the music and got Koed.
Bret would've never brought the belt to WCW regardless!
No, but they were afraid that Bischoff would have done something similar.
@@brewer921 Bingo! Even if he didn't take the belt over, if Bischoff went on Nitro at the top of the show, following Survivor Series & said "The WWF champ is signed to WCW", then Bret goes out on Raw & vacates the belt, it would've made Vince look weak af & would've buried the WWF championship, anyways. To be fair, Vince had every reason not to trust Eric.
They thought medusa wasn't gonna bring the women's title to wcw but she did.
I love Bruce and Conrad and the show but I think it's hilarious that in the Bret Hart 96-97 episode they just casually gloss over and just mention in passing that Vince McMahon decides he will INTENTIONALLY breach the contract he and Bret Hart signed in October 96. As if it's no big fucking deal.
Branden Leonard ummmmm wrestling contracts were not garunteed at that time so Vince can break a contract whenever he wants.
Thunderbolt210 I'm sure Brets was at the time
daonlytamjr it wasn’t MARC Mero was the first Wwe/Wwf wrestler to get a guaranteed contract.
@@Thunderbolt210 He may have been but the argument isn't about who had a guarantee first but whether Bret had one or not. He did. The contract was signed in 96. Same year as Mero
daonlytamjr I don’t know how much more clearer I can be about this. BRET DID NOT HAVE A GUARANTEED CONTRACT. His 20 year contract paid him less but it was set up so that in the later years he would transition into a office role. I.e. become a road agent or switch to creative or etc. Vince was not in the business of doing guaranteed contracts at the time. Marc MERO was the first wrestler Vince ever gave a guaranteed contract to, undertaker was the second and stone cold was third. .before the contract structures changed.
Vince sounded like Rikishi near the end "I did it... For the Rock... I did it... For the people" lol
Oh shut your mouth you thong wearing fatie!!
I will always say this was a work until someone can explain to me how Bret was able to clear getting cameras and footage released before, during and after the fact.
A masterful work though.
The part I don't understand, is Bret always said he had contractual creative control and they didn't abide by it, but he never sued? He was pissed off, bitter, and went to every media outlet that would listen...but he never even tried to sue? That part never made sense to me.
@beastmode40205 not a work. Bret was being filmed for months leading up to to the screw job for the Wrestling with Shadows documentary. That's why there was footage.
@@kala-hw1ql Bret knocked out Vince and destroyed high priced equipment. Plus despite the circumstances, his new deal was far more lucrative. And its a huge reason why he still lives comfortably to this day.
Lol, Prichard complains, that Bret tapped the conversation with Vince regarding business ethics?
He is such a sucker up to Vince 😂😂😂
After all this time, you’re pretty much either on Bret’s side or Vince/WWE’s side. Some probably see where both are coming from. Both had their reasons and did what they had to do. Bret’s relationship to Canada is special. As a Canadian, I can tell you unequivocally that he is a Canadian hero. We aren’t the cultural juggernaut that the United States is, the number of iconic Canadians that have achieved great success both north and south of the 49th parallel is very very small. Bret is apart of that select group. As Canadians we aren’t taught to stand up and be patriotic as often as we should be…but Bret proudly wore the flag and shouted from every rooftop how proud he was, and is, to represent Canada and Canadians. Should he have just done the job to HBK? Bret made his call and Vince made his. But I just wanted to explain why Bret was especially reluctant to drop it in Canada to a fellow wrestler who he felt did not respect him.
Bret had to have known as soon as that bell rang, that HBK was involved. I'll never understand why Bret didn't knock his ass out on air for the entire t.v. audience to witness. It would've completely destroyed Shawn's run as champion and Bret could've walked into WCW like the man (though wcw probably still wouldn't have known how to book him). Shawn never gave Bret a reason to trust him, and considering he lied right to Bret's face before the match, it would've been well deserved. If wwe would've tried to sue or anything ridiculous like that, Bret Hart could've countered for breach of contract (they didn't allow him the creative control that he was promised).
Keep in mind where Bret and Shawn were in the ring when Earl Hebner had the bell rung. Bret was still trying to get up, after Shawn dropped the Sharpshooter, because the bell had rung. Bret could see that Shawn was acting upset, because Bret had never tapped out. Shawn also verified that when the two of them later talked...
@@marknorth8904 Yeah. I watched it back and Bret wouldn't have had much time to do anything. I forgot how quick Shawn got out of the ring.
Word backstage was that Bret was no pushover, he was a tough fucker and would kick your ass if you had it coming. Even the ROAD WARRIORS went on to say that Bret Would’ve kicked Shawn’s ass if Shawn has admitted to being in on the screw job while in the locker room.
The hard thing about this is if Bret had clocked HBK like that, it would have proved Vince right that they had to strip the belt that way because they feared Bret would be unprofessional.
Bret didn't want to do business so they did it for him. You are on your way out you drop the title doesn't matter to whom or where you are you deop the title everyone does that but bret forgot WRESTLING ISN'T ABOUT WINS AND LOSSES AND THAT IT ISN'T REAL.
So heres a thought I've been having recently that I really makes me wonder.
Why didn't they just find some convoluted way to drop it to LITERALLY anybody but Shawn at Survivor Series, then the next night on Raw have Shawn come out and beat that person for the title? Or just go straight to dropping the title to Austin, then start the Shawn/Austin feud early? If Bret's only hangup was dropping the title to Shawn in Montreal, just give him literally any other opponent. I'm sure there are a million different ways they could have swerved on the opponent at the last second.
It seems to me at the end of the day there was more incentive to screw Bret from the parties involved than there was to find another way out of the situation.
knightshousegames I see what you’re saying. I read Bret’s book and he stated in his contract that he had creative control at that time in his contract. I do believe Shawn did tell Bret that he’d never drop the belt to him. Shawn did get away with murder back then which is why I do believe him and Vince are bisexual. I do think that Bret should’ve swallowed his pride and drop the belt (time, honor, tradition) but Vince created this toxic situation and he should’ve fixed it because at the end of the day, everyone is rich and ego got in the way of someone’s livelihood being at risk.
Because they already advertised a championship match between Bret & Shawn. Plus, they tried to sell Bret on dropping it before SS, and just have a Shawn vs Bret match but Bret said the Canadian fans expect him to show up as champion.
Keon Alexander fuck that bullshit! If I got creative control and my opponent asshole has been an asshole to me the whole ride to the party then I’m leaving the way I choose to leave.
Da_Hitman Hart Well that’s what happened. He left on his own terms for a company that ruined his career and put him in the ring with a guy who kicked him in the head and caused a stroke that crippled him.
The issue wasn't dropping the title to Shawn, the issue was dropping the title in Canada. Bret felt like that would kill his gimmick
Pretty sure Undertaker dove over the ring before Ground Zero. Think it was MNR him & Sid vs Vader/Mankind
He did dive onto Vader at the 97 Rumble if I recall correctly.
Yea but ground zero was when it became famous because of how amazing the cameras caught it
I hate this idea of screwjob. If it was all agreed by everyone and everyone was happy then he got screwed then fine... But lets be honest Bret as the champ went into that match knowing hes leaving the company after the match.. come on Bret tried to fuck the business and just got burned.
"It's kind of like mourning a death."
"I don't know what that is."
I think Bruce thought he was talking about a movie or something lol
This whole situation is a crock of shit. Michaels gave the belt up with a bogus injury, the when he dropped it to Austin acted like a bitch. Making a scene at the press conference. I understand Bret was leaving, but there’s was nothing going to happen on Bret’s part. I don’t see the problem with letting him relinquish the belt on Raw. One thing to Gerry Briscoe who runs his mouth about Bret to this day, if Jack Briscoe the NWA world champ heard his opponent tell him that he appreciate Jack putting him over, but if vice versa the opponent would never drop the title to him, guarantee Jack wouldn’t drop that title to him. Thats exactly what Shawn told Bret. So all these Vince puppets can go shove it.
That's because everything isn't about Bret. Bret was leaving and had to job. He had to job Shawn because they were building Austin Vs Shawn.
Bret Hart wasn't drawing like Hogan. They were only loosing money with Bret. Some may not want to admit it. Why blame Nash when Bret was equally a bad draw. But cornette and some veterans have agendas against bad worker like Nash, Warrior, Diesel whom they don't appreciate as a wrestlers.
That doesn't make Bret a big star.
Hearing to one or two of his podcasts, i dont think that Prichard is a good story teller. He's just skimmed through it without delving into the specifics
I think that's why he has the other guy, to ask for details and keep everything flowing.
To be fair, whenever he tried, Conrad just interrupted him.
WWE fans want Brother Love back
Chizzie Lovell They got it because Bruce is back in.
Well they got it
I agree with Vince on this one..I mean sure it could’ve been handled better but he was left with no choice ..as HHH said “ if he doesn’t want to do business we’ll do it for him” 🤷🏽♂️
Awesome macho man impression Bruce I say top notch 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
its not though
@@jakelang806 difference of opinion
Brother love I loooooove yuuuuuuu
I know im 5 years late to this party 🥳. But what a fucking gem. Bret hart is one of my favorite wrestlers. But, i gained a lot more respect for what vince did. And it was his business. I loved wrestling with shadows. I even recorded it on vhs 📼. It was very onesided. I want to give it another watch. A lot of great footage 👏
Why hogan could always dictate how his matches ended but Bret hart had to get screwed the math ain’t mathin’ the person giving the interview needs to ask the questions and allow him to completely answer them before you ask another cause you keep interrupting him is not what you do.
Love this podcast
That is why I RESPECT Vinny Mac
Bret couldn't wrestle for like 60-90 days because of a WWF non compete clause in his contract. I wonder if he would have been more agreeable to dropping the title if that clause had been waived. Maybe not but that just popped into my head.
He didn't have the clause in his contract, nobody did back then.
The clause was implemented later.
That's why Jeff Jarrett jumped ship so many times after this.
He didnt have that in his contract and even if he did it basically wouldve been void since Vince was really the one breaking the agreement
Since Vince breached why couldn't bret
“I don’t work for WWE, I’ll probably never work for WWE again....” Bruce Prichard. #NeverSayNever
Hurt’s House
Vince: Jump.
Bruce: Off which cliff, Sir?
Let the man lie. Interviewer talks too much.
LOL
That's a mean Savage impersonation
no it isnt
And we know it's BS that Bret didn't give any ideas about dropping the title. He has said many times he offered to drop to Austin or taker or even Shamrock. Things got nasty and Shawn became unprofessional with him so that's why he didn't want to drop it clean to Shawn in Montreal, and Bret HAD creative control in his contract! The company was the party being unreasonable.
You can't tell me that Vince honestly thought Brett was going to take the title to WCW.
Well after aludra blaze (Medusa) can you blame him
Bret has made it very clear multiple times, he was willing to lose the belt to Shawn and he was willing to lose in Canada but NOT BOTH AT THE SAME TIME because it would kill his character after spending a year in a VERY heated and personal feud as a Patriot and Representative of Canada. If you hurt the credibility of a character then you hurt his ability to draw money, it's not petty and it's not personal, it's BUSINESS.
That's not true lol He said he wouldn't drop the belt to HBK bc Michaels said he wouldn't put Hart over, like a year prior. That's not business, that's personal & it's a weak excuse. He's talked about it multiple times.... I'm not defending HBK, he was a massive dbag back then, but Bret was letting petty crap get in the way of business, bc he was bent that Vince chose Shawn over him.
@@sese6227 Yes it is. I've followed it since it happened. Bret doesn't always mention that part but he has said he put on the table losing to Shawn but not in Canada because it kill the character he'd spent a year building.
I wonder if someday Conrad will be inducted into the HOF based on his wrestling contributions
Hall of fame for eating
Paul Heyman talking about this said it best " My title, my TV time, my company, my ass [on the line]" I don't think they thought Bret would screw them over on WCW TV it was what Bischoff would do.
Bret may never say a word but all Bischoff has to do is say look there is the other company's champion. Don't forget it was after all this they gave away the Foley title win. It backfired but still showed they would play dirty.
Maverick512000 The Foley situation came way after. The Madusa thing was probably on their minds and you're right in them thinking Bischoff would say something like that.
But let's not forget what Vince did with the NWA title back when Ric Flair entered the WWF. That set the precedent of this mess years before.
Green Reaper Vince really didnt do anything with flair and the wcw championship.. they blurred it out and on top of it they didnt shit on that belt. They used that belt to give ric a boost by calling him " the real world champion"... totally different than shitting on the wwf belt and throwing it in the trash
J A They blurred it out only after a lawsuit from WCW forced them to return the belt. Bobby Heenan displayed it on TV claiming it as the "Real" World Title and that "The Real World's Champion" Ric Flair was now a part of the WWF. Which in turn is saying what? The current WCW is a fraud cause Flair never lost the belt. Look it up on TH-cam.
Green Reaper Bobby was claiming ric was the real world champion and Hogan wasnt.. so basically shitting on their own champion lll I dont think in any way it was to shit on wcw and I dont think they did even of they tried. i think you're reaching there.
Green Reaper I think they basically just tried to give validation to ric in case some fans didnt know who he was. So now fans know this guys gotta be good since he was the real world champion lol
Shawn didn’t do it for everyone in the locker room. He did it for himself and his klick
1. its the Kliq get it right
2. Shawn never said he did it for everyone in the locker room Vince said he did it for everyone in the locker room
3. there was no Kliq in wwe by this time as nash, hall and kid was in wcw
@@ajsgaming83 regardless the point I’m trying to make is still true. Shawn did that shit cuz he’s selfish. He never cared to put the business first. He wasn’t the first guy to do it and wasn’t the last.