10 Wrestling Feuds Where The Bad Guy Won

1. Shawn Michaels Vs. Bret Hart

Stephanie McMahon Triple H
WWE.com

When Vince McMahon screwed Bret Hart at the 1997 Survivor Series, he didn't just take away the pretend prize 'The Hitman' genuinely held dear. He ripped away his love of a family trade.

'The Excellence Of Execution' was partially as good as he was because he respected the game to a fault. He wanted desperately to be the hero he was portrayed as, and upheld a similar reputation amongst his peers thanks to an almost impossible level of professionalism either side of the curtain. Matching his immaculate in-ring game, Shawn Michaels was no such soldier behind the scenes, infamously refusing to put Hart (or just about anybody else) over at a time when paranoia and politics were at an all time high.

Bret wasn't just exercising his contractually obligated right in Montreal - he was enforcing an ethical code, too. He was often prideful to a fault but this wasn't one of those times, nor was it one he was prepared to give Vince McMahon an easy answer for.

Shawn -the on and off screen heel - had been a piece of sh*t, but he was staying put along with the Championship belt. One of the hardest decisions the Chairman had to make was suddenly fairly easy.

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Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett