Historically Speaking: Hart versus Michaels

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“History isn’t really about the past – settling old scores. It’s about defining the present and who we are.” – Ken Burns

The Opening Chapter
One word.

It’s on every Internet wrestling fanboy’s mind. The conspiracy theories. The pleas to just let it go. The speculation on what will happen this year.

Of course I’m talking about Montreal; the famed Survivor Series screw job is now ten years old this month. We all know the ending and what has happened since then. But what happened between those two men, Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels before that fateful evening? It was a rivalry built up over eight years. It really was the feud of the ‘90s. And some say the vendetta still rages on today, despite the two men not being in the same ring, let alone the same building in a decade.

Enough has been written and philosophized about that groundbreaking night, but this is a little story explaining the build-up to that moment. Eight years of battles, feuds and fights between men we now know as “The Heartbreak Kid” and “The Hit Man.”

The Tag Team Years
Both men started as lighter weight, pretty-boy looking guys working prelim bouts in their respective home areas, Bret in Calgary under the watchful eye of his brothers and father, and Shawn in west Texas under the training of Jose Lothario. They each honed their crafts and finally earned their way to the big time during the late ‘80s.

The pair first came together in the World Wrestling Federation in late 1988, both working in babyface tag teams. Michaels was with Marty Jannetty as part of The Rockers while Hart was paired up with Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart as The Hart Foundation. Their one and only pairing together ever was at Survivor Series ’88 in a 10 team elimination match. But even lost in the shuffle as primarily tag guys, it was obvious that the Federation had big plans for both Hart and Michaels. Hart was given half-hearted singles pushes while Michaels would often outlast his partner in elimination matches and battle royals and was showcased in singles bouts against upper level heels.

Even WWF Magazine ran an article about the two in a spring 1990 issue, chronicling a singles match between the two that was held on a TV taping and planting the seeds for an eventual feud between the two teams. The two duos had a match in the spring of 1990 on Saturday Night’s Main Event that was a draw thanks to Demolition’s interference. Then in October 1990, The Rockers beat The Harts for the WWF Tag Championship at TV taping. Jim Neidhart was in the process of renegotiating with the company and they wanted the belts off of him and Bret in case he left town. Unfortunately for Shawn and Marty a turnbuckle broke during the match and by the time it came to air the match on television Neidhart had re-signed with the company and the higher-ups declared the match null and void. The belts would be returned to Hart and Neidhart and the switch would not be acknowledged by the WWF until many years later.

The two teams would go on their separate ways after the debacle of a match and Bret and Shawn would not cross paths again until they were both mainstays in the singles division.

The Mid-card
Shortly after WrestleMania VIII the two men would start their initial rivalry. Hart had just won the Intercontinental Championship for a second time, and Michaels was fresh off a victory over Tito Santana; the first step of every hot new heel. The pair spent the spring and summer of ’92 feuding over the Intercontinental belt and showed Vince McMahon to the concept of the ladder match. Even though it was Hart who introduced the idea of the ladder match to the WWF, company canon now dictates that Michaels is the originator of the concept.

Their feud went on hiatus in the build-up to SummerSlam ’92. At that pay per view, Hart would drop the I-C belt to his brother-in-law Davey Boy Smith. It was the show’s main event and probably Smith’s best match of his career. Also at that show, Michaels would go to a draw with Rick Martel in a very rare heel-versus-heel match.

Bret and Shawn’s rivalry would pick up again during the build-up to Survivor Series. Only now things had changed for the better for both men. Before the PPV, Hart became WWF Champion and Michaels beat Smith for the Intercontinental Championship. The decision was made to make their one-on-one match at Survivor Series ’92 the main event of the evening, despite early build-up for the show had the match hyped as a non-title, mid-card match. It was a far cry from where both men were just a few months earlier, and probably the first time a major WWF event was headlined by two men both under 250 pounds. It was sign of things to come for both men and the WWF in general. Hart won the match clean as a whistle with the Sharpshooter.

It wasn’t until a year later at Survivor Series ’93 when the two would cross paths again. Hart was set to captain a team of his brothers against Jerry “The King” Lawler and his team of “knights,” but fate intervened. Lawler was charged with a case of statutory rape and was pulled of TV immediately. Michaels, who was stripped of his Intercontinental Title and was pulled off TV either due to suspension or contract renegotiation, was hastily brought back and put into Lawler’s spot. The build-up and booking now didn’t make much sense but they relied on their past history to salvage the storyline. Bret’s team ending up winning the match and the two men went their own ways again.

The pair wouldn’t meet each other very much on screen throughout 1994 and 1995, but backstage it seemed that their bad blood continued to grow. It is thought that as “the Clique’s” power grew through 1995 their influence made sure Hart stayed in the mid-card, battling dead end characters like Hakushi, Isaac Yankem DDS and Jean-Pierre Lafitte. Meanwhile Michaels battled in main events and semi-mains against his buddies.

The Main Event
The rivalry would pick up on-screen again at the turn of 1996. Michaels had won the 1996 Royal Rumble and guaranteed himself a WWF Championship match at WrestleMania XII. Hart had defeated Davey Boy Smith, Undertaker and Diesel in the months leading up to WrestleMania, and the stage was set for the two old rivals to meet again. This time it would be on the biggest stage of them all, for the biggest prize of them all, and in the biggest match of them all – a 60-minute iron man match. The weeks leading up the event showed the two rivals training in each man’s own unique way. The event hype really made the match seem like a big deal and legitimate contest. To a twelve year old like me, the match seemed like a “pick ‘em” and was really more interested in Ultimate Warrior’s return than the main event anyways. At the py per view itself the ending seemed telegraphed from the onset as Hart, the champion, walked out the usual way, while Michaels zipcorded his way into the arena to much fanfare. According to Michaels’ book, each man booked half of the match on the fly while they were in the ring. It, of course, would be Shawn’s night. He walked as Champion thanks to overtime and a couple of Sweet Chin Musics. He then eloquently told Bret to “get the fuck out of his ring” as he celebrated his “boyhood dream coming true.”

After the match Bret took a hiatus from the WWF while Michaels and his buddies ran roughshod over the WWF both on-screen and off-screen. By the time Bret came back to action in the fall of ’96 the backstage heat continued to grow between the two men. It’s often rumored that Michaels faked his knee injury in early ’97 to get out of his proposed rematch with Hart at WrestleMania 13. Of course as things turned out the way they did, Steve Austin got the match with Bret and led down his road to mega-stardom.

It was finally in the spring of 97 when the pair began their on-screen bickering again. Hart was a tweener character leading The Hart Foundation as heels in America and faces everywhere else, while Michaels was a tweener in America and pretty much a heel everywhere else. The on-screen interviews between them began to get more brutal and insider, as the pair threw veiled shoot comments at each other. Bret talked about Shawn being a homo for being in Playgirl magazine while Shawn alluded to “Sunny days” in regards to Bret’s supposed affair with Tammy Sytch. The pair was scheduled to finally have another singles match at King of the Ring ’97 but a legit backstage fight between the two caused the match to be cancelled. Bret stayed off the show while Michaels fought Steve Austin instead.

At SummerSlam ’97 Michaels refereed the WWF Championship match with Hart and Undertaker. The stipulation was that if Michaels attacked Bret or favored Undertaker, he couldn’t wrestle in the US again. Likewise, if Bret attacked Shawn, he couldn’t wrestle in the US forever. The ending saw Michaels accidentally hit Undertaker with a steel chair, allowing Bret to win the WWF Championship. This transitioned into a first-time ever feud between Michaels and Undertaker that saw the formation of DeGeneration X and the introduction of Hell in a Cell. Meanwhile Bret, as Champion, was down in the mid-card feuding with The Patriot in a US versus Canada fight.

Finally the stage was set for the Michaels-Hart rematch that had been in the making since WrestleMania XII. The match would take place at Survivor Series ’97 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, with Bret Hart’s WWF Championship on the line, eerily reminiscent of their match five years earlier at the same event. Only this time the build-up was much more personal, as was the outcome. Everyone knew Hart and Michaels’ legitimate backstage heat, and knew that Hart was leaving for WCW shortly afterwards. Plus the match was in Bret’s home country, where he was treated as a hero. Needless to say the crowd, the viewing public and the entire wrestling world were electric for this match.

Then with four little words, “ring the fucking bell,” it was over.

The Perspective
The battle between Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels raged through the WWF off and on over the better part of eight years. They battled through the tag ranks, through the mid-card and finally as the pinnacles of the profession. They fought for eight in the ring and have continued to fight for another ten outside of it.

To this day people say the famed “screw job” is all a work. It seemed too convenient that Bret was filming his documentary during the build-up to the Montreal match. Bret Hart who always seemed like such a professional, didn’t seem like the guy who would rebuff the time-honored tradition of going out on their back as they leave a territory.

That match and the immediate aftermath have come define both men’s careers and has linked them intrinsically forever. For every Bret follower there is an equal Shawn follower. The two men are almost unparalleled, in psychology, over-ness and in-ring talent. The ripple effects of their feud are still felt today.

I still get caught up a little bit myself in all the hype and mystique surrounding their rivalry. Maybe, just maybe, this whole “SAVE_US” campaign isn’t for Chris Jericho at all, maybe it’ll finally be the night Bret, Shawn and Vince all walk out together and say “gotcha.” Now that would be a screw job.

For this week the vault is closed

Linked to the Pulse
SK talks about TNA’s first year of existence.

SK also gives thoughts on the only Saturday Night’s Main Event he hadn’t reviewed previously.

The Top Wrestlers feature is still going on. Number 68 is a truly a “chosen one.”

Recent History
This is the section where I can ramble through my thoughts on this past week in wrestling, whether it be the television shows, pay per views, or any news that came out. Kinda like Vh1’s “Best Week Ever,” but this should be less annoying hopefully.

I got to hear “hey yo” one more time so props to TNA for that.

I’m a huge mark for The Major Brothers so them getting that much TV on SmackDown! was good in my book.

I’m really digging all the build-up to the traditional elimination match for Survivor Series. All these four man and six man tags make for some interesting and entertaining mid-card action.

Jaime Noble main eventing a WWE prime time show? Against CM Punk? Gimme more please

Apparently Harry Smith failed his drug test before he showed up on TV, but they just waited until after he had debuted and could announce his suspension publicly and pull him off TV right away. WTF?

This Day in History
I figured if we are talking history around here we should pay homage to what has happened on this very day in the years gone by. It will either make you long for the old days or be happy for what we have now.

1983 – Tony Atlas & Rocky Johnson defeated the Samoans for the WWWF Tag Team title
1998 – WWF Survivor Series was held at the Kiel Center, St. Louis, MO
1998 – Rocky Maivia defeated Mankind in a tournament final for the WWF World Heavyweight title
1998 – Sable defeated Jacquelyn for the WWF Women’s title
2000 – Chris Michaels defeated The Masked Maniac for the USA Pro-Wrestling U.S. Heavyweight Title

The Assignment
It’s important to know your history to know where you have come from and where you are going. Back when Nova was in charge of the WWE developmental system he implemented mandatory history assignments for the students of the developmental territories so they would know pro wrestling’s history and they would learn just how many moves Nova created and apparently the best ways to get on-line prescriptions. I feel Nova had a great idea there and every week I will assign a book or DVD for you to check out and learn from. They are not only educational but very entertaining.

Come back next week for my thoughts on Batista Unleashed.

Mark was a columnist for Pulse Wrestling for over four years, evolving from his original “Historically Speaking” commentary-style column into the Monday morning powerhouse known as “This Week in ‘E.” He also contributes to other ventures, outside of IP, most notably as the National Pro Wrestling Examiner for Examiner.com and a contributor for The Wrestling Press. Follow me on Twitter here.