Who remembers Survivor Series 97? It involved possibly the most controversial match in wrestling history between Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart. The Hitmans WWE Championship would be on the line in Canada and being a national hero, Hart was unwilling to drop the belt at the event. The issue WWE had was that The Excellence of Execution had signed a pre-contract with rival company WCW. Obviously, McMahon didnt exactly want their current champion going to his biggest rivals, so would require Bret to lose. Clearly, there was an obvious problem. So, what was the outcome? A screw job! HBK locked Hart into a sharpshooter, which was quickly followed by the referee calling for the bell and Michaels taking the win; only it was clear for all to see that The Hitman didnt at any point give up, leaving Hart livid at the treatment he had just received. So, who was in the wrong? For years fans took sides and debating between Vince screwing Bret and Bret screwing himself. However, was it as straight forward as one or the other? In Shawn Michaels 2005 autobiography, the Heartbreak Kid admitted that the screw job was in fact Triple Hs idea. Whilst in his own autobiography, Bret Hart reflected on his own feelings towards both Michaels and Triple H after that incident in Montreal, stating When I got into the business, wrestling was all about trust and respect and doing the honours meant something. Ill never forgive Shawn or Hunter, for killing the business that so many of us gave our lives for. Although pro wrestling will never truly die, but always morph into something else, the business that I knew and loved and gave all I had to is dead and gone forever.
A wrestling enthusiast, currently educating the youth of Taiwan English; there are now a bunch of Asian kids running around with Yorkshire accents. Read about that trip and others at dragonstravel.com.
