25 Most OUT OF POCKET WWE Attitude Era Moments
23. Shawn Michaels Lashes Out
In December 1997, WCW signed the best and hottest free agent wrestler on the planet.
In July 1998, a wrestler defeated Diamond Dallas Page to win the vacant United States championship which, rich legacy and all that aside, was a midcard title.
This was the same wrestler: Bret Hart.
Eric Bischoff, in his defence, did have Goldberg in place for the World title picture. Even the most ardent Hitman mega-fan would, if it was their money, have booked Goldberg as the top babyface in the company. Still, this doesn’t excuse Eric’s incompetence. Goldberg only really caught fire a few months into 1998. Bret’s late ‘97 roll-out was shockingly bad. He debuted as a special guest referee, for Christ’s sake. That’s not unlike AEW finally convincing CM Punk to return to wrestling and putting him on commentary his first night in. That’s barely even a joke.
Meanwhile, over in the red-hot recognised global leader in sports entertainment, Jason Sensation popped up to help D-Generation X impersonate the Nation of Domination in s skit. Jason brought a wholesome contrast to DX’s more “despicably racist” approach.
Sensation famously wore a prosthetic nose to put his Owen Hart impression over the top, and it was quite rich of Triple H to stand there and laugh along. Triple H’s beak would have made Owen look nervous at the urinal.
A week later, Sensation performed guest commentary. Jerry Lawler asked him to do more stuff. Could he do Bret Hart?
Sensation kept it safe, doing Bret’s “I’m the best there ever was” catchphrase. Shawn Michaels was also at the booth; in response to Jason’s impression, he said “Who in the hell is that, some midcarder?”
Classic Shawn.