50 Greatest WWE Raw Moments Ever
34. Bret Hart & Shawn Michaels Mend Fences (January 4th, 2010)
It scarcely seemed real when a graphic on a December Raw revealed Bret Hart as the show's Guest Host on January 4th.
WWE had tried and fail to land another "never say never" return for most of the 2000s, particularly in 2006 and when a Vince McMahon Vs Shawn Michaels WrestleMania storyline overlapped with the return of Hart to the fold for a celebrated DVD project and Hall Of Fame induction. 'The Hitman' cared deeply for the preservation of his legacy, and in that period, that meant boxsets with matches and promos rather than a rumoured in-the-can documentary that focused on the Montreal Screwjob and trotted out embittered talking heads to shoot on him for having principles. Speaking of which, the McMahon/Michaels storyline didn't work as bait - Hart got inducted in the Hall Of Fame on the Saturday but left Chicago before WrestleMania 22 even started on the Sunday.
As more years passed and, in his own words, Bret wanted to stop carrying around the weight that defined too much of his past, the comeback was at long last on. And though most of it fed into an ultimately disappointing feud with McMahon for WrestleMania 26, the real meat came in the very first moments. He opened Raw, gave a very emotional address to an adoring audience, and welcomed out Shawn for a conciliatory handshake and hug. 'HBK' was mere months away from retiring himself, and for longstanding fans, this was just about as cathartic as his heroic 'Show Of Shows' loss to The Undertaker.
As is often the case, there's some TNA-based gallows humour behind an earnestly profound moment. Hart's return fell on the same day Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff's reign of error began via flawed attempts at rebooting the Monday Night War. TNA stacked and jacked a three hour special edition of Impact, but it was predictably trounced by Hart's historic return.