10 Fascinating WWE King Of The Ring 1997 Facts

In a book, this would be called "foreshadowing". On June 2, six nights before the King of the Ring pay-per-view, a weary and still-injured Hart had a serious discussion with the boss in regards to the 20-year contract that "The Hitman" signed the previous October. Hart quoted the words, "financial peril" from Vince's state-of-WWE assessment, adding that Vince claimed the next six months would, "make him or break him."

It has since been up for debate just how serious the troubles were (if there were any at all), or if it was a matter of Vince having buyer's remorse in signing Hart to that front-loaded deal. McMahon floated the idea of restructuring Hart's contract, promising to pay him the bigger money later on when WWE would presumably be more financially solvent.

The tip of the iceberg had breached the horizon.