Bret Hart Vs. Shawn Michaels Complete History | Wrestling Timelines

July 24, 1995 - A Dangerous Alliance

Bret and Shawn, in a dark match subsequently released on DVD, team up to fight Eli and Jacob Blu.

There is absolutely nothing to the story nor the action. This basically exists so that you can go home and tell your friends that, if you go to see WWF live in person, you see matches that won’t air on TV. You get to see unimaginable dream teams coming together for one night only. The babyfaces win, obviously. There’s nothing interesting about the match - but the post-match rewards the more forensic viewers.

Shawn and Bret share a hug that is far more awkward than celebratory. No eye contact is made; if anything, they take great care to avoid looking at one another. They part. Shawn points both fingers at Bret, to visually endorse him. Bret, at the exact same time, looks away and places his hands on his hips. You can almost see Shawn telling himself, “Well, I tried, who cares?”

So what’s happening?

The Kliq is what’s happening. Backstage, Shawn has buddied up with Razor Ramon, Diesel, and the 123 Kid - they’ll be joined by Hunter Hearst Helmsley - and they are, according to endless locker room testimonies, an insufferable, power-mad, mean-spirited group of saboteurs. They want the top spots. Vince is obsessed with them, Shawn in particular, and they often get what they want. What they want to do is extinguish the threat of anybody who might one day be good enough to challenge their supremacy. Many of these wrestlers are guys that Bret has developed a personal bond with and or professional respect for. The Kliq are not stupid enough to torment Bret directly - they know he’s a powerful asset capable of making them look good - but Bret is for the boys. He won’t even entertain the idea of a private locker room. He shouts up in meetings to defend and make conditions better for those who are rightly afraid for their jobs.

Bret is a good guy, but he’s not entirely altruistic. Shawn is getting the big babyface push. Bret hasn’t always held onto it - Vince couldn’t help himself but try out Lex Luger and Diesel - but it always comes back to him.

There’s a sense of professional jealousy very much in play now.