10 Things We Learned From Bret Hart On Stone Cold’s Broken Skull Sessions Podcast

8. It Took Vince Five Minutes To Turn Him Heel

Shawn Michaels Vince McMahon Bret Hart 1997
WWE.com

It shouldn't be hard for anyone to grasp why Bret was hesitant to turn heel in 1997. He was raking it in with bumper monthly merch checks, and all that love being showered down upon him from fans around the world had to be addictive. Screw that, Vince thought - it was time to turn Hart heel.

He told Bret he'd only need five minutes to convince him over the phone, then flew out to meet the babyface hero at his home in Canada. McMahon didn't come alone. He brought two separate lists with him, and one hell of a pitch. One list had five guys Bret could work with if he remained face, and the other had five others he could wrestle as a heel.

It was a no brainer when Hart scoured the names.

Vince was also the one who suggested that Bret play baby in his native Canada, and a few select markets elsewhere, but turn against fans in the United States. The 'Hitman' told Austin he thought that was genius. Besides, he didn't really want to work with the super-stiff Vader again anyway.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.