10 Things We Learned From Bret Hart On Stone Cold’s Broken Skull Sessions Podcast
6. What Bret Thought Right Before Punching Vince
Also, dude packed a hell of a punch. Just ask Vinnie Mac.
It's well-documented by now that Bret socked Vince's lights out after feeling betrayed at Survivor Series 1997, but few have ever asked what was running through Hart's head right before he hit the uppercut heard around the world. Austin wanted to know, and Bret, who likely still enjoys reminiscing about cracking the boss, indulged him.
Hart knew he couldn't take a wild swing at McMahon. Gerald Brisco, Shane and others in the room would've leapt on any chance to stop him, so he had to be a bit more subtle. Before throwing the punch, Bret also weighed up what it'd mean. He dropped his right arm "almost" to his foot and let all the sacrifices he'd made for Vince run through his mind.
After thinking about missed Christmas Days at home over the past 14 years, as well as working 300 days out of 365 annually, he went with a punch so hard it broke a bone in his hand. He'd seized the smallest window of opportunity, decked McMahon and he could barely believe it.