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

7. The Ottawa Explanation

survivor series 1997 bret hart shawn michaels
WWE.com

Things came to a head between Bret and Shawn Michaels when Hart cornered HBK and told him he'd be happy to work with him despite their prior problems. History be damned, he said. He'd happily put Shawn over whenever he was asked to. Michaels shocked his old enemy by saying he couldn't promise the same.

Ouch.

That's when Bret told Vince he wouldn't drop the WWF Title to Shawn, and he certainly wouldn't be doing it in Montreal at Survivor Series '97. Oddly, he offered to drop the belt to Michaels on Raw the next night in Ottawa; jumping in, Austin asked what the difference was. To Bret, it was all about proving he wasn't a pushover.

He told McMahon that he wanted to find out if Shawn would lose to him first before agreeing to put him over properly and with honour. Whether you agree with Hart's staunch defence of his behaviour before the 'Montreal Screwjob' or not, you gotta' give it to the guy for trying to push back against disrespect.

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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.