Story: Survivor Series 1997 was a famous moment that will stay with Hart forever. It's also something that most people believed to be a real life event, but there are some fans that are adamant that the whole thing was a storyline. There are all kinds of things that happened after it that makes people think it was a work like how Vince McMahon became the top heel in the business. As for Bret, he was out of WWE and he also had a substantial raise because he was making $3 million per year in WCW instead of $1 million per year in WWE. As a company, WWE grew to enormous heights within a few months after that incident. The other side of things is that all those things just happened to take place as a pure coincidence. It was a very real situation that led to financial success for WWE, but if they could do it again it's unlikely that they would screw over one of their most beloved talents like Bret Hart. Why People Believe It: Because everything mentioned above took place. It was enough to make people think that maybe the whole thing really was some massive storyline. Should We Believe It: No. It was not a work. It was a shoot. The whole thing was a very real situation that WWE wishes they could have avoided. Bret has said that he wishes it never happened, but when it was happening it was really hard to get perspective on everything. It's 17 years later and there are still going to be fans thinking it was a work for the rest of their life. That's just how some people are.
John wrote at WhatCulture from December 2013 to December 2015. It was fun, but it's over for now. Follow him on Twitter @johnreport. You can also send an email to mrjohncanton@gmail.com with any questions or comments as well.
