7 Times Vince McMahon Wrongly Thought His Top WWE Stars Were Finished

3. Bret Hart

Vince might have pushed Bret to the moon in the mid-90s, but by 1997 he was willing to let him go to his fiercest rival, WCW. McMahon had originally offered Bret a twenty-year big-money deal but reneged, claiming the company couldn't afford him and that he'd be better off trying his luck in Turner country. There was, of course, the little matter of Bret dropping the WWE Championship before leaving, which ultimately led to the Montreal Screwjob. Vince and co never apologised (well, at least not right away) for their devious trick and essentially felt as though Bret was behind-the-times and old hat. The WWE went from strength-to-strength in a post-Bret WWE. But how did Bret do? Although his WCW career was mishandled from the get-go, Bret proved that he could still be a top level player and had great matches against the likes of Ric Flair, Randy Savage and Chris Benoit. He also participated in some memorable angles, most notably the 'spear shield' one with Goldberg.