Bret Hart Vs. Shawn Michaels Complete History | Wrestling Timelines

August 3, 1997 - Boys Will Be Boys

The idea that Shawn Michaels is a self-destructive monster is overstated. In fact, a tender moment unfolds before the cameras start rolling at SummerSlam, when Shawn play-wrestles with Bret’s son Blade as Bret and the Undertaker go through their upcoming match.

August 3, 1997 - Spit

Bret dethrones the Undertaker. The match is good, if a bit overlong, but the finish is one of the greatest ideas from one of WWE’s greatest years. The execution is incredible.

Michaels is installed as the special guest referee - an obvious and overdone contrivance now, but in 1997, the New Jersey fans are very much into the tension between Hart and Michaels. The device is perfect for the dynamic. Bret and Shawn have recently come to blows, and as dirtsheet-savvy readers know, there’s a petty element to the raging, unresolved conflict. Michaels telling Hart what not to do, in his capacity as ref, is perceived as a threat. Literally anything one man does, at this point, is taken the wrong way by the other. Even in the fictional context of SummerSlam, a firm instruction imparted by Shawn scans as a challenge to a fight. The awkward gamesmanship of the Iron Man bore has shifted. This thing is ready to combust, in and out of the ring.

Shawn does the right thing. He wards off the invading Foundation members Davey Boy Smith and Brian Pillman. He makes sure they’ve scampered all the way to the back, but, unbeknownst to Shawn, the Undertaker has Bret beat. ‘Taker is furious, lifting Shawn into the ring by the scruff of his neck.

Informed by several, compelling moments of tension, the finish happens. Bret collapses into Shawn when he attempts his ring post figure four. Bret, sensing an opportunity, grabs a steel chair and blasts ‘Taker in the head with it. A groggy Michaels counts a sensational near-fall before spotting the foreign object. Shawn grabs the chair, and accuses Bret of using it. Bret initially motions to defend himself before the red mist descends, and he spits in Shawn’s face. Shawn also sees red, and swings the chair back at him full-force. Bret ducks. His timing is phenomenal. Michaels cracks the chair right on top of ‘Taker’s head.

Bret immediately covers ‘Taker, demanding Shawn count the three. Shawn does it, taking a tiny, momentous beat in-between to stare a hole through Bret. The second he counts the three, furious with himself, he slides out of the ring.

Bret had told Shawn that he’d aim the phlegm at his chest. It splashes back onto Shawn’s nose. Bret frets that he’ll be accused of playing dumb, but in the subsequent weeks, the tension eases. Bret, though, is disgusted by Shawn’s onscreen antics as part of the emerging D-Generation X stable. There’s no hatred between the two men, as the summer cools, but there’s no trust, either. Bret will later blame Vince, who tells Bret that he’ll deal with Shawn’s unprofessional conduct while, at the same time, telling Shawn that Bret is to blame. In 1997, though, Bret doesn’t see it.

The storytelling, timing, drama, creativity, dovetailing character arcs, convincing acting: the SummerSlam ‘97 headliner is next-level stuff delivered by a rampant promotion energised by the competition.

Bret has the belt. The problem is that, weeks later, Vince wants out of the record deal. He claims he can’t afford it.