10 HUGE Backstage Fights That Happened After Wrestling Matches

2. Bret Hart Vs. Shawn Michaels - 1997

survivor series 1997 bret hart shawn michaels
WWE.com

A backstage brawl always sounds fun when it ends with somebody yanking a ball of hair from their rival’s head. And that was how the backstage fight between Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels ended.

It was the night after the 1997 King of the Ring, with Bret and Shawn having not said a single word to each other for weeks. Deciding to be the bigger person, The Hitman decided to approach Michaels in order to put their differences behind them. The problem was, The Heartbreak Kid wasn’t ready to bury the hatchet.

A heated exchange of words took place, with Bret still angry about Shawn’s “Sunny days” comment that suggested Hart was cheating on his wife with Tammy Sytch. From there, the general consensus is that punches were thrown by both men, with The Excellence of Execution driving the Texan through a partition wall.

Hart would land on top of Michaels and begin teeing off on his head, as frantic WWE personnel did their best to separate the pair; even after the two were pulled apart, Bret still had hold of a clump of Shawn’s locks.

A bloody Showstopper famously barged into Vince McMahon’s office, declaring that he’d never work for McMahon again. Not only would Michaels continue to work for WWE, it was only six months after this that Shawn and Vince would pull off the Montreal Screwjob.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.