Bret Hart Vs. Shawn Michaels Complete History | Wrestling Timelines

May 19, 1997 - Sunny Days

Sunny Wwe
WWE.com

Supporting his own case from the week prior, Bret doesn’t actually hear the infamous remark. He only learns the gravity of it after the fact.

On Raw, Shawn cuts a promo on Bret. The target is still King of the Ring. Shawn - so addled, according to Bret, that Hunter and his valet/partner Chyna need to carry him out of the building later - implies that Bret is having an extramarital affair with Sunny. “I know you’ve been having some Sunny days lately…”

The hypocrisy is as galling as the insult is transgressive. It’s not true, the accusation, but Bret is a wrestler on the road who sleeps around. The accusation is believable, which could be considered the same thing. Shawn will also remark that Stu Hart is dead, but is still walking around Calgary because his brain hasn’t figured it out yet. This is the sort of shocking, undeniably compelling line with which the rivalry will become entrenched in legend, but Bret, obviously, is no fan.

Bret is so furious, when his son Dallas asks if he’s really seeing Sunny behind his mother’s back, that he considers shooting on Shawn at King of the Ring. He decides against it. He knows it’s not the right thing to do, and besides, he can’t recover in time. This is a pity. The tension, the form both men are in, the recognition that they need to bring their best with Steve Austin on the rise: it would have been the first undeniably great singles match between the two.

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Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!