Looking at this event through the lens of history, Bret Hart is the only person who didn't capitalize on the events of Survivor Series 1997. After the infamous screwjob, he left for WCW and took that huge chip on his shoulder with him, where he had a very disappointing run before ultimately suffering a career ending injury during a match with Goldberg. Meanwhile, the incident turned WWE into must-see TV and gave birth to the evil Mr. McMahon character, the most successful and effective heel in wrestling history. So all things considered, Vince, Shawn and Triple H - the latter of whom is credited with the idea - made the right decision in "screwing" Bret. But that night could have gone very differently in a number of different ways. If the screwjob had been attempted yet somehow fallen apart, we could have gotten a very angry and bitter unbeaten WWE champion on Nitro. That could have been an absolute disaster. Or Vince could have not had the vision to turn the incident into an angle and run with it, which would have probably allowed much of the ill will incurred by fans to foster, causing them to change the channel in support of Hart who they felt was wronged. It was only the subsequent handling of the incident that kept Survivor Series 1997 from being an absolute trainwreck for the company.
Brad Hamilton is a writer, musician and marketer/social media manager from Atlanta, Georgia. He's an undefeated freestyle rap battle champion, spends too little time being productive and defines himself as the literary version of Brock Lesnar.
