1 00:00:00,478 --> 00:00:01,868 ♪ 2 00:00:01,914 --> 00:00:04,704 Bret was amazing. By any standard, 3 00:00:04,743 --> 00:00:07,313 Bret may go down as one of the top technicians 4 00:00:07,355 --> 00:00:10,225 in the industry. 5 00:00:10,271 --> 00:00:12,581 Bret took the business seriously. 6 00:00:12,621 --> 00:00:14,191 I think sometimes to his detriment, 7 00:00:14,231 --> 00:00:16,281 he took himself a little too seriously. 8 00:00:16,320 --> 00:00:19,450 Bret believed he was the WWF champion. 9 00:00:19,497 --> 00:00:21,667 On November the 9th, 1997, 10 00:00:21,717 --> 00:00:24,067 professional wrestler Bret Hart had fought and 11 00:00:24,111 --> 00:00:27,071 clawed his way to the top as world's champion. 12 00:00:27,114 --> 00:00:29,684 But in a matter of seconds, he would realize that 13 00:00:29,725 --> 00:00:34,375 those who make you can just as easily destroy you. 14 00:00:34,425 --> 00:00:35,635 Here's the problem: 15 00:00:35,687 --> 00:00:37,817 Bret didn't want to lose his championship. 16 00:00:37,863 --> 00:00:39,693 It's your last night in the company, 17 00:00:39,735 --> 00:00:41,385 we need to crown a new champion. 18 00:00:41,432 --> 00:00:44,742 You know what; we'll just take it from him. 19 00:00:44,783 --> 00:00:46,703 It's like, I remember when I was a kid, 20 00:00:46,742 --> 00:00:49,792 exactly where I was standing when John F. Kennedy 21 00:00:49,832 --> 00:00:51,922 had been assassinated, and I remember 22 00:00:51,964 --> 00:00:55,144 just as precisely where I was when I found out 23 00:00:55,185 --> 00:00:57,095 about the Montreal Screwjob. 24 00:00:57,144 --> 00:01:00,104 Screwing a Canadian hero, in Canada? 25 00:01:00,147 --> 00:01:02,757 How much more evil can one get? [laughs] 26 00:01:02,801 --> 00:01:04,111 And I still feel, to this day, 27 00:01:04,151 --> 00:01:06,281 like I have a neon sign on my fucking head. 28 00:01:06,327 --> 00:01:07,547 "I fucked you, Bret. 29 00:01:07,589 --> 00:01:09,159 Never told you about it, but I fucked you." 30 00:01:09,199 --> 00:01:11,769 I was so mad, I could just really explode. 31 00:01:11,810 --> 00:01:16,210 The Screwjob changed so many things in the business. 32 00:01:16,250 --> 00:01:18,170 The innocence of wrestling changed. 33 00:01:18,208 --> 00:01:20,818 This was one of the worst things in the world that 34 00:01:20,863 --> 00:01:22,693 happened to me in this business. 35 00:01:22,734 --> 00:01:25,094 Say what you want about wrestling; that was real. 36 00:01:25,128 --> 00:01:26,778 He really screwed that guy. 37 00:01:26,825 --> 00:01:29,345 The incident known as the Montreal Screwjob 38 00:01:29,393 --> 00:01:32,923 marks a turning point in the history of wrestling. 39 00:01:32,962 --> 00:01:35,052 Never before had the curtain been pulled back to 40 00:01:35,095 --> 00:01:39,005 fully reveal the behind-the-scenes drama. 41 00:01:39,055 --> 00:01:41,575 A dark plot of betrayal was exposed, 42 00:01:41,623 --> 00:01:44,153 legacies were redefined, and fans would 43 00:01:44,191 --> 00:01:46,761 never see wrestling the same again. 44 00:01:46,802 --> 00:01:59,162 ♪ 45 00:01:59,206 --> 00:02:00,726 You know, it's one thing I always say about the 46 00:02:00,772 --> 00:02:02,822 Screwjob, is that if you go back and you look at 47 00:02:02,861 --> 00:02:06,041 all the facts, my story's never changed. 48 00:02:06,082 --> 00:02:07,692 It's always been the same story right from day one 49 00:02:07,736 --> 00:02:09,296 'cause I tell the truth. 50 00:02:09,346 --> 00:02:11,776 I'm Bret "The Hitman" Hart, the best there is, 51 00:02:11,827 --> 00:02:14,257 the best there was, and the best there ever will be. 52 00:02:14,308 --> 00:02:15,868 I always say I was a real-world champion 'cause 53 00:02:15,918 --> 00:02:19,098 I really traveled all around the world and defended my belt. 54 00:02:19,139 --> 00:02:22,099 This is my history and my life here, all these guys. 55 00:02:22,142 --> 00:02:24,272 Despite everything that's happened with the Screwjobs 56 00:02:24,318 --> 00:02:26,058 and all that kind of stuff, for me, 57 00:02:26,102 --> 00:02:27,802 it's mostly happy memories. 58 00:02:27,843 --> 00:02:30,153 My name's Jim Cornette. For the past 35 years, 59 00:02:30,193 --> 00:02:32,373 I've worked for every major professional wrestling promotion 60 00:02:32,413 --> 00:02:34,983 in the United States, as a manager, announcer, 61 00:02:35,024 --> 00:02:38,204 trainer, matchmaker... Pretty much done it all. 62 00:02:38,245 --> 00:02:39,415 ♪ 63 00:02:39,463 --> 00:02:42,213 I was actually there. I actually lived it. 64 00:02:42,249 --> 00:02:43,989 I'm giving you my perspective, 65 00:02:44,033 --> 00:02:45,863 it's just because my perspective happens 66 00:02:45,904 --> 00:02:49,214 to be entertaining, and some people... 67 00:02:49,256 --> 00:02:51,036 take exception to that. 68 00:02:51,083 --> 00:02:54,743 I was the executive vice president of talent relations. 69 00:02:54,783 --> 00:02:57,353 I've been a writer, producer, director. 70 00:02:57,394 --> 00:03:00,444 Brother Love is a alter ego of mine. 71 00:03:00,484 --> 00:03:04,184 You name it; I've worn a lot of hats in the WWF, WWE. 72 00:03:04,227 --> 00:03:07,227 Bret "The Hitman" Hart! 73 00:03:07,274 --> 00:03:10,234 The patriarch of the Hart family was Stu Hart, 74 00:03:10,277 --> 00:03:13,847 and Stu was an aged old veteran. 75 00:03:13,889 --> 00:03:15,369 Double tough. 76 00:03:15,412 --> 00:03:18,112 The dungeon was the basement in the Hart family house. 77 00:03:18,154 --> 00:03:20,854 Well, the dungeon is hard to explain. 78 00:03:20,896 --> 00:03:23,936 My dad, 60 or 70-year-old man would go down there and 79 00:03:23,986 --> 00:03:26,676 torture a bunch of football players and body builders. 80 00:03:26,728 --> 00:03:28,948 I don't feel my arms, sir. [groans] 81 00:03:28,991 --> 00:03:30,691 "Let me show you a hold here. 82 00:03:30,732 --> 00:03:32,082 You just take your arm like this..." 83 00:03:32,124 --> 00:03:33,264 You just ease this hand back... 84 00:03:33,300 --> 00:03:34,690 Agh! 85 00:03:34,736 --> 00:03:36,296 The Hart family is one of the most famous families 86 00:03:36,346 --> 00:03:38,476 in the history of our business. The sons were all wrestlers, 87 00:03:38,522 --> 00:03:40,792 the daughters all married wrestlers. 88 00:03:40,829 --> 00:03:44,309 They had a wrestling bear that lived under their porch. 89 00:03:44,354 --> 00:03:47,274 It was like the Munster's house for the people in Calgary. 90 00:03:47,314 --> 00:03:49,324 Stu would invite everybody over and, 91 00:03:49,359 --> 00:03:51,799 and make breakfast. They had a bunch of cats. 92 00:03:51,840 --> 00:03:54,630 And he'd take the thing where he's, he's flipping the eggs, 93 00:03:54,669 --> 00:03:56,319 and he'd flip the cat shit over there, 94 00:03:56,366 --> 00:03:58,756 then go back to flipping the eggs, you know. 95 00:03:58,803 --> 00:04:00,593 Made him tough, is what it did. 96 00:04:00,631 --> 00:04:05,161 And Stu began the Stampede Wrestling Promotion in Alberta. 97 00:04:05,201 --> 00:04:08,121 And, had a very successful company there for a long time. 98 00:04:08,160 --> 00:04:11,690 Hello, hello, hello, and welcome to this, 99 00:04:11,729 --> 00:04:13,169 another edition of... 100 00:04:13,209 --> 00:04:16,429 And Bret Hart was kind of a pale, skinny, you know, 101 00:04:16,473 --> 00:04:18,873 maybe 21-year-old kid or whatever, 102 00:04:18,910 --> 00:04:21,440 but you could tell he kind of knew what he was doing. 103 00:04:21,478 --> 00:04:23,648 And I'm more confident right now than I've ever been, 104 00:04:23,698 --> 00:04:25,048 and there's no reason right now that him and me 105 00:04:25,090 --> 00:04:26,570 shouldn't have those belts right now. 106 00:04:26,614 --> 00:04:28,964 The Harts were very integral to professional wrestling 107 00:04:29,007 --> 00:04:30,437 around the world. 108 00:04:30,487 --> 00:04:32,227 In 1984, Stu Hart is trying to 109 00:04:32,272 --> 00:04:34,712 keep his struggling territory afloat. 110 00:04:34,752 --> 00:04:37,892 The rapidly-expanding WWF strikes a deal to acquire 111 00:04:37,929 --> 00:04:39,759 the entire promotion, 112 00:04:39,801 --> 00:04:44,331 along with Stu's main star, his son, Bret. 113 00:04:44,371 --> 00:04:48,381 When Vince bought Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling in 1984, 114 00:04:48,418 --> 00:04:50,248 he took Bret Hart and Jim Niedhart, 115 00:04:50,290 --> 00:04:52,200 who was his son-in-law, as a team. 116 00:04:52,248 --> 00:04:53,548 The Hart Foundation, they were managed 117 00:04:53,597 --> 00:04:55,337 by Jimmy Hart, no relation. 118 00:04:55,382 --> 00:04:57,562 They were a tremendous tag team, 119 00:04:57,601 --> 00:05:02,131 and Bret Hart had a perfect foil in Shawn Michaels. 120 00:05:02,171 --> 00:05:04,301 When you have two guys like Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels 121 00:05:04,347 --> 00:05:07,347 that are as talented as they are at what they do to begin with, 122 00:05:07,394 --> 00:05:09,664 and then sometimes, there's just chemistry, 123 00:05:09,700 --> 00:05:12,490 you find a duet between two singers that have 124 00:05:12,529 --> 00:05:15,449 never worked together before, but suddenly, it's a hit. 125 00:05:15,489 --> 00:05:18,749 Look at this. Whoa! 360 in mid-air! 126 00:05:18,796 --> 00:05:23,796 Internationally, we're getting reports back that 127 00:05:23,845 --> 00:05:27,935 we've got a megastar on our hands in the form of Bret Hart. 128 00:05:27,979 --> 00:05:31,769 He, his work had made him this megastar. 129 00:05:31,809 --> 00:05:33,069 That was all they wanted to see; 130 00:05:33,115 --> 00:05:34,675 that's all they wanted to talk about. 131 00:05:34,725 --> 00:05:37,375 At the same time, Ric Flair was the champion and 132 00:05:37,424 --> 00:05:39,644 Ric was having some health issues. 133 00:05:39,687 --> 00:05:41,647 We needed to make a change. 134 00:05:41,689 --> 00:05:45,909 So, Vince is looking at it and going, "Why not Bret?" 135 00:05:45,954 --> 00:05:48,484 That's the kind of guy you want to reward. 136 00:05:48,522 --> 00:05:50,922 Vince McMahon's one of the most unique individuals 137 00:05:50,959 --> 00:05:52,219 on the planet. 138 00:05:52,264 --> 00:05:55,224 If you could cross a genius with 139 00:05:55,267 --> 00:05:57,267 P.T. Barnum and Donald Trump, 140 00:05:57,313 --> 00:06:00,013 you would get the love child that would be Vince McMahon. 141 00:06:00,055 --> 00:06:01,225 Vince, honestly, 142 00:06:01,273 --> 00:06:03,283 is a third-generation wrestling promoter. 143 00:06:03,319 --> 00:06:04,839 Vince controls creative; 144 00:06:04,886 --> 00:06:06,756 Vince controls the talent choices. 145 00:06:06,801 --> 00:06:10,241 They run the lunch schedule past Vince McMahon, to this day. 146 00:06:10,282 --> 00:06:14,202 Over the years, Vince had a good relationship with Bret. 147 00:06:14,243 --> 00:06:17,423 I don't know; you know, I think that once Bret 148 00:06:17,464 --> 00:06:21,214 became champion in Saskatoon that there started, 149 00:06:21,250 --> 00:06:23,560 there was a change that was taking place. 150 00:06:23,600 --> 00:06:25,250 [cheering] 151 00:06:25,297 --> 00:06:28,687 ANNOUNCER: Bret Hart! 152 00:06:28,736 --> 00:06:32,296 The criteria for a world champion in those days, 153 00:06:32,348 --> 00:06:36,348 there wasn't a set physical list of maneuvers or 154 00:06:36,396 --> 00:06:37,786 whatever that you had perform. 155 00:06:37,832 --> 00:06:41,232 It was whoever Vince thought could be the guy. 156 00:06:41,270 --> 00:06:43,660 Vince McMahon decides who the champion is going to be. 157 00:06:43,707 --> 00:06:47,187 It's not actually won by anybody. 158 00:06:47,232 --> 00:06:49,582 So, Bret didn't beat Ric Flair. 159 00:06:49,626 --> 00:06:54,236 He won the championship in a scripted contest, okay, 160 00:06:54,283 --> 00:06:55,723 in a storyline. 161 00:06:55,763 --> 00:06:59,203 Bret deserved, you know, to have that accolade. 162 00:06:59,244 --> 00:07:01,814 But at the same time, remember that someone 163 00:07:01,856 --> 00:07:05,026 made you champion. You didn't really beat anybody. 164 00:07:05,076 --> 00:07:07,426 I think Bret looked at the WWF championship like 165 00:07:07,470 --> 00:07:09,730 guys years ago used to. 166 00:07:09,777 --> 00:07:11,467 Maybe it was because of his father and his lineage, 167 00:07:11,518 --> 00:07:15,258 but when you were chosen to be a champion of a major company, 168 00:07:15,304 --> 00:07:17,484 it meant that the promoter thought that you were 169 00:07:17,524 --> 00:07:20,404 the best talent, that you were the best draw, 170 00:07:20,440 --> 00:07:21,960 that you would make him the most money, 171 00:07:22,006 --> 00:07:23,486 that you were the guy. 172 00:07:23,530 --> 00:07:26,360 While Bret's star is rising in the WWF, 173 00:07:26,402 --> 00:07:29,102 a fledgling promotion suddenly starts edging out 174 00:07:29,144 --> 00:07:33,284 Vince McMahon in the television ratings. 175 00:07:33,322 --> 00:07:38,892 WCW in the early 90s was a secondary competitor to the WWF. 176 00:07:38,936 --> 00:07:41,066 I happen to be Eric Bischoff. 177 00:07:41,112 --> 00:07:42,592 You know, as the executive producer, 178 00:07:42,636 --> 00:07:45,466 at least I had a voice within WCW. 179 00:07:45,508 --> 00:07:50,028 WWF is up here, WCW is way down here. 180 00:07:50,078 --> 00:07:51,988 There's no way I can be better than the WWF, 181 00:07:52,036 --> 00:07:53,386 but I gotta be different than them. 182 00:07:53,429 --> 00:07:55,519 They're tape, I'm live. 183 00:07:55,562 --> 00:07:58,572 They target their content towards kids; 184 00:07:58,608 --> 00:08:01,958 I decided I wanted my characters to be more reality-based. 185 00:08:02,003 --> 00:08:03,353 I would use their real names. 186 00:08:03,395 --> 00:08:05,695 WCW came after our talent. 187 00:08:05,746 --> 00:08:08,046 The perception was they offered them a lot more money. 188 00:08:08,096 --> 00:08:10,226 You know, when Hulk Hogan left the WWF, 189 00:08:10,272 --> 00:08:13,142 I think it hurt Vince, personally. 190 00:08:13,188 --> 00:08:16,278 It stung a little bit, and the first, 191 00:08:16,321 --> 00:08:18,891 the first big names to go were Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, 192 00:08:18,933 --> 00:08:21,683 in the very beginning. Ted DiBiase left. 193 00:08:21,718 --> 00:08:24,238 Roddy Piper shortly thereafter. 194 00:08:24,286 --> 00:08:26,066 The curtain call, as it came to be known, 195 00:08:26,114 --> 00:08:28,604 happened because Nash and Hall were leaving to go to 196 00:08:28,638 --> 00:08:30,858 WCW for their big contracts. 197 00:08:30,901 --> 00:08:33,691 It is my last appearance for the WWE, 198 00:08:33,730 --> 00:08:36,040 and it's also Kevin Nash's last appearance. 199 00:08:36,080 --> 00:08:38,080 It was at Madison Square Garden, 200 00:08:38,126 --> 00:08:40,036 the most famous arena in the world. 201 00:08:40,084 --> 00:08:43,224 After the last match, Hall, and Nash, 202 00:08:43,261 --> 00:08:46,051 and Michaels, and Helmsley - two of 'em good guys, 203 00:08:46,090 --> 00:08:49,530 two of 'em bad guys - all went out to the ring and 204 00:08:49,572 --> 00:08:53,142 had a big hug and a big kiss, and waved bye to the fans, 205 00:08:53,184 --> 00:08:55,584 who had no idea what was going on. 206 00:08:55,622 --> 00:08:59,232 With Shawn and those guys, they broke kayfabe 207 00:08:59,277 --> 00:09:02,277 in front of the fans in Madison Square Garden. 208 00:09:02,324 --> 00:09:04,894 The word "kayfabe" is like a lot of wrestling terminology. 209 00:09:04,935 --> 00:09:06,755 It comes from the days of the carnivals. 210 00:09:06,807 --> 00:09:08,807 When you break kayfabe in wrestling, 211 00:09:08,852 --> 00:09:12,072 you let the fans and the general public in the 212 00:09:12,116 --> 00:09:15,116 inside world and ruin the illusion. 213 00:09:15,163 --> 00:09:16,563 It wasn't like that. 214 00:09:16,599 --> 00:09:18,729 It all just happened organically. 215 00:09:18,775 --> 00:09:20,775 Because the fans were going crazy. 216 00:09:20,821 --> 00:09:22,171 I mean, it was like a magical moment. 217 00:09:22,213 --> 00:09:26,483 Here were are, 25 years later, talking about it? 218 00:09:26,522 --> 00:09:30,612 You had been chosen and selected to be in a secret brotherhood, 219 00:09:30,657 --> 00:09:33,357 and you kept those illusions private and to yourself 220 00:09:33,398 --> 00:09:37,398 because it was a code. It was a code of kayfabe. 221 00:09:37,446 --> 00:09:39,056 Now, as competition between 222 00:09:39,100 --> 00:09:41,150 the two biggest promotions heats up, 223 00:09:41,189 --> 00:09:43,629 wrestling's fourth wall starts to crumble, 224 00:09:43,670 --> 00:09:45,370 exposing its secrets. 225 00:09:45,410 --> 00:09:48,680 And while Bret enters the biggest rivalry of his career, 226 00:09:48,718 --> 00:09:51,238 he never could have imagined that it would end up 227 00:09:51,286 --> 00:09:58,636 leading to his ultimate destruction. 228 00:09:58,685 --> 00:10:01,165 Before their off-screen feud would boil over into 229 00:10:01,209 --> 00:10:03,909 one of wrestling's most controversial moments, 230 00:10:03,951 --> 00:10:07,911 Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels' contrasting in-ring styles 231 00:10:07,955 --> 00:10:11,125 led to some of the greatest matches of all-time. 232 00:10:11,175 --> 00:10:14,695 As far as wrestling styles between Bret and Shawn, 233 00:10:14,744 --> 00:10:16,574 Bret was more basic, more grounded, 234 00:10:16,616 --> 00:10:18,616 more hard hitting, more technical. 235 00:10:18,661 --> 00:10:21,271 Michaels, from the other side, and oh! 236 00:10:21,316 --> 00:10:24,096 Michaels, he's an incredible performer, 237 00:10:24,145 --> 00:10:26,925 but also a lot of his stuff is more pretty and 238 00:10:26,974 --> 00:10:28,634 a little bit more gymnastic. 239 00:10:28,671 --> 00:10:31,151 Oh, he's caught by Bret Hart! Look at that! 240 00:10:31,195 --> 00:10:33,495 I think Shawn Michaels is probably the greatest 241 00:10:33,545 --> 00:10:37,025 performer all around, plus he was different. 242 00:10:37,071 --> 00:10:39,291 He wasn't a big giant. 243 00:10:39,334 --> 00:10:41,424 My contract was gonna expire. 244 00:10:41,466 --> 00:10:44,686 Eric Bischoff has sent feelers out to me. 245 00:10:44,731 --> 00:10:47,301 There were two separate occasions when I 246 00:10:47,342 --> 00:10:49,562 began to talk to Bret about coming over. 247 00:10:49,605 --> 00:10:52,035 And I heard the initial offer was 2 million and then 248 00:10:52,086 --> 00:10:54,476 it was 2-million-something, and it got up to like 3 million. 249 00:10:54,523 --> 00:10:56,133 And I'm sure they were rounding off, 250 00:10:56,177 --> 00:10:58,397 but at that point, what's the difference, right? 251 00:10:58,440 --> 00:11:00,750 Vince heard about them giving me an offer, 252 00:11:00,790 --> 00:11:02,270 and I remember Vince said, he goes, 253 00:11:02,313 --> 00:11:05,273 "I'll make you an offer," and we worked out a contract. 254 00:11:05,316 --> 00:11:09,406 It was 1.5 million for 20 years, I think. 255 00:11:09,451 --> 00:11:11,711 Bret favors loyalty over money, 256 00:11:11,758 --> 00:11:14,278 and accepts the counter offer from Vince McMahon, 257 00:11:14,325 --> 00:11:17,805 but then a mutual animosity between Bret and Shawn 258 00:11:17,851 --> 00:11:19,721 begins to take hold. 259 00:11:19,766 --> 00:11:24,286 Shawn was starting to get overwhelmed with the negative... 260 00:11:24,335 --> 00:11:26,635 Doing a Chippendale kind of gimmick is not 261 00:11:26,686 --> 00:11:28,246 a "heroic" thing to do. 262 00:11:28,296 --> 00:11:30,946 Shawn Michaels saw an opportunity to be more and 263 00:11:30,994 --> 00:11:33,954 more of a top guy, and also to be more and more of a prick. 264 00:11:33,997 --> 00:11:36,167 Nobody breaks into this wrestling business to 265 00:11:36,217 --> 00:11:38,127 work their way to the middle. 266 00:11:38,175 --> 00:11:39,785 I mean, if you don't want to be on top, 267 00:11:39,829 --> 00:11:41,309 you're in the wrong business. 268 00:11:41,352 --> 00:11:43,402 I don't really care if you want to have dinner with me. 269 00:11:43,441 --> 00:11:44,661 Do you want to wrestle me? 270 00:11:44,704 --> 00:11:46,884 Oh, you do. Okay. 271 00:11:46,923 --> 00:11:49,583 I don't think that they were really that different, 272 00:11:49,621 --> 00:11:53,451 which is probably where the real life rivalry came into play. 273 00:11:53,495 --> 00:11:55,365 First day, when I walked out, 274 00:11:55,410 --> 00:11:57,330 and I end up trashing Shawn Michaels on the 275 00:11:57,368 --> 00:12:00,328 interview about his Playgirl Magazine centerfold. 276 00:12:00,371 --> 00:12:02,461 And before I went out, I said, "Shawn, I'm gonna... 277 00:12:02,504 --> 00:12:04,464 Is it okay if I bring up that Playgirl Magazine and 278 00:12:04,506 --> 00:12:06,726 take a jab at that and say something about it?" 279 00:12:06,769 --> 00:12:09,079 He goes, "No, go ahead. Say whatever you want." 280 00:12:09,119 --> 00:12:11,469 World Wrestling Federation needs a hero. 281 00:12:11,513 --> 00:12:12,643 They need a role model. 282 00:12:12,688 --> 00:12:14,338 They need somebody they can look up to, 283 00:12:14,385 --> 00:12:17,735 not somebody that poses for girly magazines. 284 00:12:17,780 --> 00:12:20,090 And I came back and Shawn was just crushed. 285 00:12:20,130 --> 00:12:22,350 He almost looked like he was gonna burst into tears. 286 00:12:22,393 --> 00:12:24,793 Now, now we're doing live TV and these guys are 287 00:12:24,831 --> 00:12:28,011 saying things on live TV about each other. 288 00:12:28,051 --> 00:12:30,451 Shawn made reference to Sunny days. 289 00:12:30,488 --> 00:12:33,268 Sunny is Tammy Sytch. She was one of the valets. 290 00:12:33,317 --> 00:12:35,147 She was the first real, you know, 291 00:12:35,189 --> 00:12:39,279 big pinup girl of the WWF, and Shawn was making the 292 00:12:39,323 --> 00:12:43,243 inference that Bret was having some kind of 293 00:12:43,284 --> 00:12:45,034 an affair or some, some... 294 00:12:45,068 --> 00:12:47,458 kind of relationship with Sunny. 295 00:12:47,505 --> 00:12:52,025 Even though lately you've had some Sunny days, my friend, 296 00:12:52,075 --> 00:12:56,905 you still can't get the job done in any situation. 297 00:12:56,950 --> 00:12:57,990 Oh, boy. 298 00:12:58,038 --> 00:12:59,338 Now, from a fan's point of view, 299 00:12:59,387 --> 00:13:00,737 it's getting exciting. 300 00:13:00,780 --> 00:13:02,960 But if you're the other guy, you're hating the dude 301 00:13:02,999 --> 00:13:05,829 who's talking about you 'cause now you gotta go call home and 302 00:13:05,872 --> 00:13:07,442 explain that to your wife. 303 00:13:07,482 --> 00:13:09,612 You don't mess with a guy's wife or his family, 304 00:13:09,658 --> 00:13:12,968 or else you can find yourself laying in a ditch somewhere. 305 00:13:13,009 --> 00:13:14,839 So, we're in Hartford, Connecticut one night at the 306 00:13:14,881 --> 00:13:17,141 Hartford Civic Center, and all of a sudden, 307 00:13:17,187 --> 00:13:19,357 the door busts open and in comes the Brooklyn Brawler. 308 00:13:19,407 --> 00:13:21,447 And he says, "Hey, Vince. 309 00:13:21,496 --> 00:13:24,106 Shawn and Bret have just got in a fight in the bathroom." 310 00:13:24,151 --> 00:13:26,681 Shawn finally comes into my dressing room. 311 00:13:26,718 --> 00:13:28,498 We haven't talked for about a couple months. 312 00:13:28,546 --> 00:13:30,066 I just remember I was just trying to be nice. 313 00:13:30,113 --> 00:13:31,683 I almost like forgot that we ever had issues. 314 00:13:31,723 --> 00:13:33,423 I said, "Hey, Shawn." I was brushing my hair. 315 00:13:33,464 --> 00:13:35,424 And he goes, "You think I'm gonna fucking talk to you?" 316 00:13:35,466 --> 00:13:37,466 And whatever it was, Bret just leg dived 317 00:13:37,512 --> 00:13:38,912 and took him down right there. 318 00:13:38,948 --> 00:13:40,208 So I grabbed him by the hair, 319 00:13:40,254 --> 00:13:41,734 swung him around the dressing room. 320 00:13:41,777 --> 00:13:43,867 His feet were actually off the ground a couple of times. 321 00:13:43,910 --> 00:13:45,610 It was like two prostitutes 322 00:13:45,650 --> 00:13:47,350 fighting in downtown or something. 323 00:13:47,391 --> 00:13:49,921 Here comes Shawn, and he's hot. 324 00:13:49,959 --> 00:13:52,919 And he has got in his hand, a handful of his hair. 325 00:13:52,962 --> 00:13:55,402 It looked like a small possum. 326 00:13:55,443 --> 00:13:57,493 And I'll never forget this. 327 00:13:57,532 --> 00:14:01,062 He said, "This is an unsafe working environment!" 328 00:14:01,101 --> 00:14:04,411 As far as I know, I think if anybody was 329 00:14:04,452 --> 00:14:07,542 sleeping with Sunny it probably was Shawn. 330 00:14:07,585 --> 00:14:10,405 [laughs] 331 00:14:10,458 --> 00:14:12,238 As the backstage friction between 332 00:14:12,286 --> 00:14:14,716 Bret and Shawn intensifies, 333 00:14:14,766 --> 00:14:17,766 Vince begins to lose the TV ratings war and 334 00:14:17,813 --> 00:14:19,643 is forced to cut costs. 335 00:14:19,684 --> 00:14:21,514 ♪ 336 00:14:21,556 --> 00:14:24,166 Vince comes back and looks at the commitment that 337 00:14:24,211 --> 00:14:28,351 he had made to Bret Hart, and it was, it was a drain. 338 00:14:28,389 --> 00:14:29,649 It was a drain on the company for 339 00:14:29,694 --> 00:14:31,354 what we were bringing in at the time. 340 00:14:31,392 --> 00:14:33,482 Vince told me that, basically, 341 00:14:33,524 --> 00:14:36,184 he couldn't afford to pay me the contract that he'd given me. 342 00:14:36,223 --> 00:14:37,533 It kind of broke my heart, like, 343 00:14:37,572 --> 00:14:39,572 where it's like, okay, I get it. 344 00:14:39,617 --> 00:14:40,967 I remember I got off the phone with him, 345 00:14:41,010 --> 00:14:43,190 and I said, "I guess I'm, I'm done," and 346 00:14:43,230 --> 00:14:47,190 I hung up with Vince and I signed my WCW contract. 347 00:14:47,234 --> 00:14:49,244 I can't remember exactly what day or when I heard 348 00:14:49,279 --> 00:14:51,929 that Bret had made the deal and was going to WCW, 349 00:14:51,978 --> 00:14:54,418 but Vince told us Bret was gonna finish up 350 00:14:54,458 --> 00:14:55,628 at Survivor Series. 351 00:14:55,677 --> 00:14:58,377 He'd drop the belt and then he'd, you know, 352 00:14:58,419 --> 00:15:02,899 he'd be free. It didn't turn out that way. 353 00:15:02,945 --> 00:15:04,285 With Bret leaving the company, 354 00:15:04,338 --> 00:15:06,208 Bret wasn't just leaving the company. 355 00:15:06,253 --> 00:15:08,343 He was leaving the company and going to our competitor 356 00:15:08,385 --> 00:15:10,385 that was beating us in the ratings. 357 00:15:10,431 --> 00:15:12,911 To have our champion leave the company is bad enough. 358 00:15:12,955 --> 00:15:14,475 To have them leave the company - 359 00:15:14,522 --> 00:15:18,052 with the championship - is a kick in the nuts. 360 00:15:18,091 --> 00:15:19,661 The time honored tradition is, 361 00:15:19,701 --> 00:15:22,141 when you're leaving a territory or a promotion, 362 00:15:22,182 --> 00:15:24,232 you lose on the way out. 363 00:15:24,271 --> 00:15:26,451 I gotta tell you, in the beginning, 364 00:15:26,490 --> 00:15:29,410 there wasn't a whole lot of worry about it because 365 00:15:29,450 --> 00:15:31,150 it was Bret and we thought that, 366 00:15:31,191 --> 00:15:34,851 that there would not be any issue with Bret dropping the 367 00:15:34,890 --> 00:15:36,720 championship to whoever we asked him to 368 00:15:36,761 --> 00:15:38,331 drop the championship to. 369 00:15:38,372 --> 00:15:42,332 When I first heard that I was wrestling Shawn, was 370 00:15:42,376 --> 00:15:46,076 maybe about three or four weeks before Survivor Series. 371 00:15:46,119 --> 00:15:47,729 Anyway, so Vince pulled me in and he goes - 372 00:15:47,772 --> 00:15:49,992 he was all excited, he goes, 373 00:15:50,036 --> 00:15:52,126 "We're gonna drop the belt to Shawn." 374 00:15:52,168 --> 00:15:53,818 So when I saw Shawn, I remember, like, 375 00:15:53,865 --> 00:15:56,165 I thought this is your chance to 376 00:15:56,216 --> 00:15:58,216 open the door for sort of dialogue. 377 00:15:58,261 --> 00:15:59,831 So I remember when we shook hands I said, 378 00:15:59,871 --> 00:16:02,701 "Shawn, I just heard that we're wrestling at Survivor Series." 379 00:16:02,744 --> 00:16:05,404 I said, "I want you to know that you'll always 380 00:16:05,442 --> 00:16:06,842 be safe with me in the ring, 381 00:16:06,878 --> 00:16:08,318 that I'll always be professional. 382 00:16:08,358 --> 00:16:10,528 I would never do anything to hurt you or injure you 383 00:16:10,578 --> 00:16:12,098 or anything like that." 384 00:16:12,145 --> 00:16:14,535 And he looked at me and he said, he goes, 385 00:16:14,582 --> 00:16:16,852 "I appreciate that, but I just want you to know that 386 00:16:16,888 --> 00:16:19,668 I am not willing to do the same thing for you," and 387 00:16:19,717 --> 00:16:21,147 he turned around and walked out of the dressing room and 388 00:16:21,197 --> 00:16:22,497 slammed the door. 389 00:16:22,546 --> 00:16:25,286 Vince, even though he knew that Shawn and Bret 390 00:16:25,332 --> 00:16:27,942 hated each other, somehow he thought this match 391 00:16:27,987 --> 00:16:29,987 was magically gonna go in the ring and everything was 392 00:16:30,032 --> 00:16:31,382 gonna work out like he wanted. 393 00:16:31,425 --> 00:16:33,595 And, the closer that we got to the match, 394 00:16:33,644 --> 00:16:35,734 the more obvious it was that it was not. 395 00:16:35,777 --> 00:16:38,557 One of the things he had given Bret in that brand-new contract 396 00:16:38,606 --> 00:16:40,346 with all the bells and whistles was reasonable 397 00:16:40,390 --> 00:16:43,050 creative control of his character and 398 00:16:43,089 --> 00:16:44,349 the way he was presented. 399 00:16:44,394 --> 00:16:46,274 I'm the boss of my last 60 days. 400 00:16:46,309 --> 00:16:49,099 Why would I lose to Shawn? He's disrespected me. 401 00:16:49,138 --> 00:16:51,578 I'm not wrestling Shawn, or I don't-- I'm not putting 402 00:16:51,619 --> 00:16:53,489 Shawn over under any circumstances until 403 00:16:53,534 --> 00:16:55,194 he proves to me that he's got enough respect for me 404 00:16:55,231 --> 00:16:56,841 to put me over first. 405 00:16:56,885 --> 00:16:59,575 And I was on Bret's side 'cause Shawn was the prick, 406 00:16:59,627 --> 00:17:03,237 not Bret. But we had to get the belt back. 407 00:17:03,283 --> 00:17:05,683 The news of Vince's current champion signing with 408 00:17:05,720 --> 00:17:09,850 his main competitor would spell his defeat in the ratings war. 409 00:17:09,898 --> 00:17:11,768 With his back to the wall, 410 00:17:11,813 --> 00:17:13,953 Vince must get his belt off Bret, 411 00:17:13,989 --> 00:17:17,169 and what he's about to do will echo far beyond 412 00:17:17,210 --> 00:17:23,090 the wrestling world. 413 00:17:23,129 --> 00:17:27,049 With his last match in the WWF less than 24 hours away, 414 00:17:27,089 --> 00:17:30,309 Bret Hart is refusing any scenario which has him 415 00:17:30,353 --> 00:17:32,793 losing the belt to his real life nemesis, 416 00:17:32,834 --> 00:17:34,144 Shawn Michaels. 417 00:17:34,183 --> 00:17:36,493 Bret is growing suspicious of what his boss, 418 00:17:36,533 --> 00:17:39,233 Vince McMahon, might do. 419 00:17:39,275 --> 00:17:41,445 Showed up that day and I was ready for my match, 420 00:17:41,495 --> 00:17:44,445 but I did have suspicions about the referee. 421 00:17:44,498 --> 00:17:46,798 I remember thinking the only way they can screw me is, 422 00:17:46,848 --> 00:17:48,588 Shawn will never pin me or tap me, 423 00:17:48,632 --> 00:17:50,722 make me tap out, so I wasn't worried about that. 424 00:17:50,765 --> 00:17:54,375 I said, but the way it will work is they'll get the referee. 425 00:17:54,421 --> 00:17:57,381 Hello, I'm Earl Hebner. I'm the referee. 426 00:17:57,424 --> 00:18:00,214 My relationship with Bret was great. 427 00:18:00,253 --> 00:18:02,693 Most of the time, he always wanted me to ref his matches. 428 00:18:02,733 --> 00:18:05,353 People think, oh, I count to three and it's over. 429 00:18:05,388 --> 00:18:07,168 It's-- That's not the ball game. 430 00:18:07,216 --> 00:18:08,736 We were sort of a coach. 431 00:18:08,783 --> 00:18:10,653 You're thinking for three people. 432 00:18:10,698 --> 00:18:12,958 It's very, very hard. 433 00:18:16,399 --> 00:18:18,309 Do we have to? [laughs] 434 00:18:18,358 --> 00:18:20,138 Just kidding. [laughs] 435 00:18:20,186 --> 00:18:21,876 The day before that show, 436 00:18:21,926 --> 00:18:23,746 I got on a plane, got in my seat. 437 00:18:23,798 --> 00:18:26,448 The stewardess came back and said, "Mr. Hebner?" 438 00:18:26,496 --> 00:18:27,666 I said, "Yes, ma'am?" 439 00:18:27,715 --> 00:18:29,625 She said, "You have a first class seat." 440 00:18:29,673 --> 00:18:31,683 I said, "My ticket don't say 'first class'." 441 00:18:31,719 --> 00:18:34,459 She said, "Mr. Hart bought you a first class seat." 442 00:18:34,504 --> 00:18:36,644 So I went up and sat beside Bret, 443 00:18:36,680 --> 00:18:39,210 and we talked, and Bret said, 444 00:18:39,248 --> 00:18:40,468 "Will you promise me one thing?" 445 00:18:40,510 --> 00:18:41,560 I said, "What's that?" 446 00:18:41,598 --> 00:18:42,858 He said, "You won't count me out?" 447 00:18:42,904 --> 00:18:44,864 I said, "Nope, I will not count you out." 448 00:18:44,906 --> 00:18:47,166 I said, "You know they're gonna ask you to screw me tomorrow," 449 00:18:47,213 --> 00:18:49,823 but he got the tears in his eyes and he could, 450 00:18:49,867 --> 00:18:51,347 his lip quivered and he was like, 451 00:18:51,391 --> 00:18:52,781 "The hell with that. I swear." 452 00:18:52,827 --> 00:18:54,827 He said, "I swear to God on my kids, I will never," 453 00:18:54,872 --> 00:18:56,402 you know, and we was so adamant. 454 00:18:56,439 --> 00:18:58,439 And I remember, I shook his hand. I said, 455 00:18:58,485 --> 00:19:01,225 "Just tell me if something like that's gonna happen." 456 00:19:01,270 --> 00:19:04,140 Complicating matters, a film crew producing 457 00:19:04,186 --> 00:19:06,446 a documentary called Wrestling with Shadows 458 00:19:06,493 --> 00:19:10,543 is following Bret to capture his last WWF match. 459 00:19:10,584 --> 00:19:13,944 From the second I land, I've got the entire 460 00:19:13,978 --> 00:19:16,458 High Road Production film crew, they're filming. 461 00:19:16,503 --> 00:19:18,943 And they got the boom mics and the whole thing, 462 00:19:18,983 --> 00:19:20,773 and they follow me wherever I went. 463 00:19:20,811 --> 00:19:23,601 It was like a lot of people that I didn't even know, 464 00:19:23,640 --> 00:19:25,470 all around the building. 465 00:19:25,512 --> 00:19:27,732 The idea was that Vince would get with Bret. 466 00:19:27,775 --> 00:19:31,035 I think that Vince felt that once he got in front of Bret, 467 00:19:31,082 --> 00:19:33,302 face to face, that they would work something out. 468 00:19:33,346 --> 00:19:35,776 But I remember the whole camera crew coming in. 469 00:19:35,826 --> 00:19:38,086 They wanted to mic me up and I remember going, 470 00:19:38,133 --> 00:19:40,143 "No, I kind of don't-- It's not how I operate." 471 00:19:40,179 --> 00:19:42,959 And he goes, "Just in case." 472 00:19:43,007 --> 00:19:44,657 My name is Harry Zafrany. 473 00:19:44,705 --> 00:19:48,445 I was the sound recordist on Wrestling with Shadows. 474 00:19:48,491 --> 00:19:50,621 The director told us, "Look. 475 00:19:50,667 --> 00:19:53,757 We gotta be very low profile about this," you know, 476 00:19:53,801 --> 00:19:57,501 "Nobody should know that Bret Hart is wired." 477 00:19:57,544 --> 00:20:00,114 It was a private meeting and Bret went in wired, 478 00:20:00,155 --> 00:20:02,415 didn't let Vince know that he was recording it. 479 00:20:02,462 --> 00:20:05,032 I never ever want to leave here with any kind of bad feeling, 480 00:20:05,073 --> 00:20:06,683 but this week has been a bad week for me. 481 00:20:06,727 --> 00:20:08,377 I feel kind of betrayed a little bit, 482 00:20:08,424 --> 00:20:10,644 the way this whole thing has been depicted. 483 00:20:10,687 --> 00:20:13,257 It's really hard for me as a hero here to come up short. 484 00:20:13,299 --> 00:20:16,349 I was determined to, to stick to my guns, 485 00:20:16,389 --> 00:20:18,219 and I was not backing down. 486 00:20:18,260 --> 00:20:19,480 And right away Vince goes, 487 00:20:19,522 --> 00:20:20,872 "Well, what are we gonna do?" 488 00:20:20,915 --> 00:20:22,695 I think what I'd like to do is get through today. 489 00:20:22,743 --> 00:20:25,273 I think tomorrow I should just go in and do my speech 490 00:20:25,311 --> 00:20:26,441 and forfeit the title. 491 00:20:26,486 --> 00:20:27,786 I think it allows me a chance to leave with 492 00:20:27,835 --> 00:20:30,135 my head up and leave in a nice way. 493 00:20:30,185 --> 00:20:32,265 I would think it'd be a run-in type thing. 494 00:20:32,318 --> 00:20:35,358 But I'm open to anything. I'm open to anything. 495 00:20:40,239 --> 00:20:41,979 I knew that there was a point in the match 496 00:20:42,023 --> 00:20:45,773 where Bulldog and Owen would run out, 497 00:20:45,809 --> 00:20:47,809 referee would lose control of the match, 498 00:20:47,855 --> 00:20:49,245 ring the bell. 499 00:20:49,291 --> 00:20:50,861 There would be no winner, and we would go off with 500 00:20:50,901 --> 00:20:52,601 a lot of chaos going on in the ring. 501 00:20:55,166 --> 00:20:58,296 Yeah, like a... basically a no contest. 502 00:20:58,344 --> 00:21:01,524 Like, I remember walking out to the ring, 503 00:21:01,564 --> 00:21:05,314 and I knew, like, okay, be leery of submission holds 504 00:21:05,351 --> 00:21:07,351 in a match like this, but I already talked to Earl, 505 00:21:07,396 --> 00:21:08,696 and I thought about it and it's like, 506 00:21:08,745 --> 00:21:10,525 I said, okay, I trusted Earl. 507 00:21:10,573 --> 00:21:14,063 And so, I put my guard down; that was, that was my... 508 00:21:14,098 --> 00:21:15,578 fatal mistake. 509 00:21:15,622 --> 00:21:16,972 I'm walking down to go to the ring, 510 00:21:17,014 --> 00:21:18,714 and I'm getting pulled aside. 511 00:21:18,755 --> 00:21:21,365 And Gerry Brisco says, "Vince McMahon wants you to 512 00:21:21,410 --> 00:21:24,330 ring the bell when he puts Bret in the sharpshooter." 513 00:21:24,370 --> 00:21:25,410 I said, "What?" 514 00:21:25,458 --> 00:21:26,548 He said, "Well, are you gonna do it?" 515 00:21:26,589 --> 00:21:27,849 I said, "I don't know." 516 00:21:27,895 --> 00:21:30,105 Gerry Brisco is a producer and agent, 517 00:21:30,158 --> 00:21:31,288 and one of the toughest son-of-a-bitches 518 00:21:31,333 --> 00:21:32,513 on the face of the earth. 519 00:21:32,552 --> 00:21:35,212 He grabs me by the arm and says, 520 00:21:35,250 --> 00:21:38,210 "Is Bret Hart gonna pay you? This is what Vince wants. 521 00:21:38,253 --> 00:21:39,733 Do you want a job or not?" 522 00:21:39,776 --> 00:21:42,686 I said, "I don't have an idea what I'm gonna do right now. 523 00:21:42,736 --> 00:21:45,606 Y'all messed my mind up." And this is the truth. 524 00:21:45,652 --> 00:21:48,922 I'm thinking, he had an opportunity to drop the belt. 525 00:21:48,959 --> 00:21:53,659 I know this is not right, but I gotta have a job. 526 00:21:53,703 --> 00:21:56,013 I told my brother to put all my shit in the car. 527 00:21:56,053 --> 00:21:57,663 This ain't gonna look good. Get all my shit out the 528 00:21:57,707 --> 00:21:59,187 dressing room and put it in the car. 529 00:21:59,230 --> 00:22:00,750 So I'm walking to the ring, "God, 530 00:22:00,797 --> 00:22:02,447 I promised Bret I wouldn't count him out." 531 00:22:02,495 --> 00:22:05,795 That was the longest walk of my life. 532 00:22:05,846 --> 00:22:08,676 We had a great match planned out and Shawn was a great wrestler. 533 00:22:08,718 --> 00:22:11,108 We're gonna start fighting before the bell starts. 534 00:22:11,155 --> 00:22:13,505 I don't think this match has officially even started. 535 00:22:13,549 --> 00:22:15,769 Finally, after about 10 minutes of brawling and 536 00:22:15,812 --> 00:22:17,342 fighting out in the crowd and stuff, 537 00:22:17,379 --> 00:22:19,249 I eventually fight Shawn back to the ring, 538 00:22:19,294 --> 00:22:21,694 throw him in the ring, and now the match starts. 539 00:22:21,731 --> 00:22:23,041 They get in the ring. 540 00:22:23,080 --> 00:22:25,080 I ring the bell to start, and I'm going, 541 00:22:25,126 --> 00:22:29,776 God, don't put the sharpshooter on. 542 00:22:29,826 --> 00:22:32,216 The match lasted 10, 15 minutes. 543 00:22:32,263 --> 00:22:33,573 ANNOUNCER: Look at this! 544 00:22:33,613 --> 00:22:35,443 SCOTT: Oh! Putting Bret into the sharpshooter. 545 00:22:35,484 --> 00:22:37,014 Oh my gosh, how humiliating. 546 00:22:37,051 --> 00:22:38,711 He's gonna beat him with his own finish. 547 00:22:38,748 --> 00:22:40,658 Shawn actually didn't know how to put the sharpshooter on. 548 00:22:40,707 --> 00:22:41,837 He steps through the wrong way, 549 00:22:41,882 --> 00:22:43,412 folds my legs the wrong way. 550 00:22:43,449 --> 00:22:46,189 And I moved my legs and switched them the right way. 551 00:22:46,234 --> 00:22:48,374 I remember when he put it on and I flipped over, 552 00:22:48,410 --> 00:22:50,590 I could see Vince McMahon, and I can see him. 553 00:22:50,630 --> 00:22:52,590 He's got this cold look on his face and he's yelling, 554 00:22:52,632 --> 00:22:54,462 "Ring the fucking bell." 555 00:22:54,503 --> 00:22:56,073 "Ring the bell," and he kept saying it to the guy, 556 00:22:56,113 --> 00:22:57,203 "Ring the bell!" 557 00:22:57,245 --> 00:22:59,675 As the match was going on, I'm going, 558 00:22:59,726 --> 00:23:02,116 "I don't know what I'm gonna do." 559 00:23:02,163 --> 00:23:04,433 I hated it. 560 00:23:04,470 --> 00:23:07,340 And I remember in that moment of looking at the 561 00:23:07,386 --> 00:23:09,816 time keeper, and Vince snaps at him, 562 00:23:09,866 --> 00:23:11,216 "Ring the fucking bell!" 563 00:23:11,259 --> 00:23:13,349 Well, they're screwing me right now. 564 00:23:13,392 --> 00:23:15,742 And I remember reaching back and showing that I wasn't 565 00:23:15,785 --> 00:23:19,435 submitting and I grabbed Shawn's leg and started to reverse. 566 00:23:19,485 --> 00:23:21,175 But you could hear the bell, "ding, ding, ding." 567 00:23:21,225 --> 00:23:22,225 [match bell] 568 00:23:22,270 --> 00:23:24,010 If I hadn't 'a rung the bell, 569 00:23:24,054 --> 00:23:26,544 Vince McMahon was gonna ring that bell. 570 00:23:26,579 --> 00:23:28,929 And at first I was like, I wanted to just kill Vince. 571 00:23:28,972 --> 00:23:30,102 I wanted to just jump through the ropes and 572 00:23:30,147 --> 00:23:31,497 just punch him out. 573 00:23:31,540 --> 00:23:33,020 I couldn't believe he did it to me after all the years 574 00:23:33,063 --> 00:23:34,673 that I gave him, and all the matches, 575 00:23:34,717 --> 00:23:37,457 and all the hard work, and he disrespected me like that. 576 00:23:37,503 --> 00:23:39,113 You son of a bitch. 577 00:23:39,156 --> 00:23:41,986 I jump out of the ring, ran across the floor, 578 00:23:42,029 --> 00:23:43,469 jumped the hockey fence and could still 579 00:23:43,509 --> 00:23:44,949 hear the bell ringing. 580 00:23:44,988 --> 00:23:46,728 Jumped in the car and we drove off. 581 00:23:46,773 --> 00:23:49,733 I had enough sense to paint WCW backwards so that 582 00:23:49,776 --> 00:23:51,256 you can read it on TV. 583 00:23:51,299 --> 00:23:56,959 Bret did the "W-C-W" for the fans that are in Montreal. 584 00:23:57,000 --> 00:23:59,310 But it was, you know, it was what it was. 585 00:23:59,350 --> 00:24:02,830 I remember I had a nice good gobber of spit and I remember 586 00:24:02,876 --> 00:24:04,486 I just leaned over the top... 587 00:24:04,530 --> 00:24:07,880 ♪ 588 00:24:07,924 --> 00:24:09,454 Hollywood couldn't 'a created something 589 00:24:09,491 --> 00:24:10,841 better than that. 590 00:24:10,884 --> 00:24:12,674 I wrecked a bunch of monitors and 591 00:24:12,712 --> 00:24:17,192 threw $100,000 headphones out into the crowd and stuff. 592 00:24:17,238 --> 00:24:19,238 Because of a couple of guys that couldn't get along, 593 00:24:19,283 --> 00:24:21,723 they hit on the most talked about match ending 594 00:24:21,764 --> 00:24:23,464 in the history of professional wrestling 595 00:24:23,505 --> 00:24:25,585 since the dawn of time. 596 00:24:25,638 --> 00:24:27,028 Widely viewed by fans as 597 00:24:27,074 --> 00:24:28,824 wrestling's most treacherous act, 598 00:24:28,858 --> 00:24:31,208 the Montreal Screwjob would tear the lid off 599 00:24:31,252 --> 00:24:33,472 of wrestling's sacred brotherhood, 600 00:24:33,515 --> 00:24:43,215 but it's true architect has yet to be revealed. 601 00:24:43,264 --> 00:24:45,014 This is where I've told a couple of these things. 602 00:24:45,048 --> 00:24:46,528 I've never gone this far, but I figure, 603 00:24:46,572 --> 00:24:49,312 like I said, I'm not gonna talk about this on TV 604 00:24:49,357 --> 00:24:51,137 any time in the rest of my life, so I guess at this point 605 00:24:51,185 --> 00:24:52,615 I don't care who gets mad at me. 606 00:24:52,665 --> 00:24:55,575 So, it was me and Vince Russo at Vince McMahon's house. 607 00:24:55,624 --> 00:24:58,544 My name is Vince Russo. I was the head writer at 608 00:24:58,584 --> 00:25:03,284 the WWE during the infamous Montreal Screwjob. 609 00:25:03,327 --> 00:25:06,107 And quite honestly, I wasn't even 610 00:25:06,156 --> 00:25:09,376 originally slated for this documentary. 611 00:25:09,420 --> 00:25:11,950 And then, I wanted to be a part of it because I was there. 612 00:25:11,988 --> 00:25:14,378 Like, I knew what would happen. 613 00:25:14,425 --> 00:25:16,905 So, I'm sitting there that day. 614 00:25:16,950 --> 00:25:19,740 First, Vince gets up and he takes a phone call from Bret. 615 00:25:19,779 --> 00:25:22,089 What I could tell you about that phone call is, 616 00:25:22,129 --> 00:25:26,659 you know, Vince pitched many different scenarios for 617 00:25:26,699 --> 00:25:29,829 Shawn Michaels to take the belt off of Bret Hart. 618 00:25:29,876 --> 00:25:34,046 And Bret soured on every single one of them. 619 00:25:34,097 --> 00:25:36,537 Vince told Bret we'd go back to the drawing board, 620 00:25:36,578 --> 00:25:38,448 and that's exactly what we did. 621 00:25:38,493 --> 00:25:40,893 "Well, this finish won't work and that finish won't work, 622 00:25:40,930 --> 00:25:43,110 and Bret just wants to come out and hand the belt over 623 00:25:43,150 --> 00:25:45,370 on TV the following night without getting beat." 624 00:25:45,413 --> 00:25:46,813 I'm sure he does! 625 00:25:46,849 --> 00:25:48,939 So, then he goes and he calls Shawn. 626 00:25:48,982 --> 00:25:50,512 Every time Vince goes in there, 627 00:25:50,549 --> 00:25:53,199 then I have to sit in a room twiddling my thumbs with the 628 00:25:53,247 --> 00:25:56,157 fucking guy that I hate worse than anybody in the world, 629 00:25:56,206 --> 00:25:57,686 Vince Russo. 630 00:25:57,730 --> 00:25:59,780 We'd get in these creative meetings and the three of us 631 00:25:59,819 --> 00:26:02,649 would argue, and it wasn't the three of us, 632 00:26:02,691 --> 00:26:04,001 it was Jim and me. 633 00:26:04,040 --> 00:26:07,260 We could not be farther apart, 634 00:26:07,304 --> 00:26:10,394 physically, philosophically, mentally, morally. 635 00:26:10,438 --> 00:26:13,348 If one of us was an African American lesbian nun and 636 00:26:13,397 --> 00:26:16,437 the other was a Nazi skinhead Martian from outer space, 637 00:26:16,487 --> 00:26:18,397 we could not be more different. 638 00:26:18,446 --> 00:26:24,056 The problem is, he's still living in 1970. 639 00:26:24,104 --> 00:26:25,634 I'll never forget he made the comment, 640 00:26:25,671 --> 00:26:27,631 "Oh, when a guy comes out of a box, 641 00:26:27,673 --> 00:26:29,023 he's instantly over." 642 00:26:29,065 --> 00:26:31,625 Like, bro, this is like 1996. 643 00:26:31,677 --> 00:26:34,027 Like, who's coming out of boxes, bro? 644 00:26:34,070 --> 00:26:35,810 Vince Russo's never had any respect 645 00:26:35,855 --> 00:26:39,205 for professional wrestling. He booked the wrestling program 646 00:26:39,249 --> 00:26:41,429 to pattern after Jerry Springer. 647 00:26:41,469 --> 00:26:44,909 Our styles completely crash. 648 00:26:44,951 --> 00:26:47,561 Finally, Vince comes out, and I'm about lost 649 00:26:47,606 --> 00:26:49,516 my religion with the whole creative team thing anyway 650 00:26:49,564 --> 00:26:51,134 'cause it's not my style of wrestling. 651 00:26:51,174 --> 00:26:52,834 I'm living in Connecticut. I'm miserable. 652 00:26:52,872 --> 00:26:55,662 I weight 280 pounds 'cause I'm aggravation eating. 653 00:26:55,701 --> 00:26:58,051 I'm just, I'm not in my element here. 654 00:26:58,094 --> 00:26:59,364 I said, "Vince," I said, 655 00:26:59,400 --> 00:27:01,230 "There's got to be something we can do." 656 00:27:01,271 --> 00:27:02,971 I said, "It's your company and it's your belt." 657 00:27:03,012 --> 00:27:04,672 So then, Vince looks at me and says, 658 00:27:04,710 --> 00:27:06,670 "Well, then, how would you do it, pal?" 659 00:27:06,712 --> 00:27:08,632 Well, now it's a fucking challenge. 660 00:27:08,670 --> 00:27:10,020 Once again, I'm going through every finish 661 00:27:10,063 --> 00:27:11,853 I can think of or every situation I ever think of 662 00:27:11,891 --> 00:27:13,241 where nobody wanted to do a job. 663 00:27:13,283 --> 00:27:17,113 I said, "goddamn double cross him." 664 00:27:17,157 --> 00:27:20,677 You can learn more about modern wrestling from these 665 00:27:20,726 --> 00:27:24,116 classic books and classic magazines than you can 666 00:27:24,164 --> 00:27:25,774 by talking to people today 667 00:27:25,818 --> 00:27:27,948 because history always repeats itself. 668 00:27:27,994 --> 00:27:31,484 In 1931, there was another double cross in Montreal, 669 00:27:31,519 --> 00:27:33,039 the Battle of the Bite. 670 00:27:33,086 --> 00:27:35,606 Strangler Lewis controlled the championship and 671 00:27:35,654 --> 00:27:37,444 nobody could get it away from him because 672 00:27:37,481 --> 00:27:38,831 it was worth so much money. 673 00:27:38,874 --> 00:27:42,404 Lewis has a title match in Montreal against 674 00:27:42,443 --> 00:27:44,183 [French accent] Henri DeGlane, 675 00:27:44,227 --> 00:27:45,357 [American accent] "Henry De-Glane." 676 00:27:45,402 --> 00:27:47,142 They lock up and immediately, 677 00:27:47,187 --> 00:27:50,667 DeGlane grabs Lewis' own hold on Lewis, 678 00:27:50,712 --> 00:27:52,372 the head lock, and takes him down, 679 00:27:52,409 --> 00:27:53,759 and they go down on the mat because 680 00:27:53,802 --> 00:27:55,632 Lewis is working with him and they-- 681 00:27:55,674 --> 00:27:57,634 and probably they're gonna do some kind of reversal. 682 00:27:57,676 --> 00:27:59,586 DeGlane starts screaming bloody murder 683 00:27:59,634 --> 00:28:00,904 at the top of his lungs. 684 00:28:00,940 --> 00:28:02,590 The referee checks DeGlane, 685 00:28:02,637 --> 00:28:06,157 huge bite mark on the guy's chest. 686 00:28:06,206 --> 00:28:09,776 Apparently, when DeGlane got the headlock on Lewis, 687 00:28:09,818 --> 00:28:11,518 Lewis had bitten him. 688 00:28:11,559 --> 00:28:15,299 Here's the thing: it was actually Dan Kolov, 689 00:28:15,345 --> 00:28:17,955 DeGlane's corner man had bitten him in the locker room, 690 00:28:18,000 --> 00:28:20,130 and then did this. And then, when they locked up, boom, 691 00:28:20,176 --> 00:28:21,866 headlock, nobody could see what happened. 692 00:28:21,917 --> 00:28:25,487 Referee disqualifies Strangler Lewis and 693 00:28:25,529 --> 00:28:29,009 awards the title to Henri DeGlane. 694 00:28:29,055 --> 00:28:30,705 That's a double cross, 695 00:28:30,752 --> 00:28:32,752 and it's as old as the hills in wrestling. 696 00:28:32,798 --> 00:28:35,758 So, when Vince says, "Well, how would you do it, then?" 697 00:28:35,801 --> 00:28:37,761 "Bret's hold is the sharpshooter." 698 00:28:37,803 --> 00:28:41,763 ♪ 699 00:28:41,807 --> 00:28:43,327 But, let Shawn... 700 00:28:43,373 --> 00:28:45,593 get Bret's hold on him. 701 00:28:45,636 --> 00:28:49,156 If the referee just calls for the bell as a submission... 702 00:28:49,205 --> 00:28:51,155 Nobody can tell anything was wrong because that's what 703 00:28:51,207 --> 00:28:52,907 it's supposed to look like anyway. 704 00:28:52,948 --> 00:28:56,648 And to tell anybody anything was wrong, 705 00:28:56,691 --> 00:28:58,391 I said, "Bret Hart, of all people, 706 00:28:58,432 --> 00:28:59,912 would have to expose the business." 707 00:28:59,955 --> 00:29:02,565 I said, "What's he gonna do? Call the newspapers?" 708 00:29:02,610 --> 00:29:04,480 But then Vince, "Nah!" 709 00:29:04,525 --> 00:29:07,265 And he gave the "hmph" like he does when, 710 00:29:07,310 --> 00:29:09,570 whenever you would be discussing tomfoolery and 711 00:29:09,617 --> 00:29:11,137 he would say, "Alright, let's get back to reality," 712 00:29:11,184 --> 00:29:12,194 and we went on. 713 00:29:20,149 --> 00:29:23,669 Unless I was in the bathroom during that scenario, 714 00:29:23,718 --> 00:29:27,158 that scenario did not take place in front of me 715 00:29:27,200 --> 00:29:28,900 when I was sitting at the table. 716 00:29:28,941 --> 00:29:31,421 I'm not gonna call Jim Cornette a liar. 717 00:29:31,465 --> 00:29:32,895 When I was sitting at the table - 718 00:29:32,945 --> 00:29:34,815 and Cornette was sitting at the same table - 719 00:29:34,860 --> 00:29:38,430 I pitched that exact scenario to Vince. 720 00:29:38,472 --> 00:29:42,522 So, basically, out of pure frustration, 721 00:29:42,563 --> 00:29:45,003 I said, "Vince, I said, "screw it, Vince." 722 00:29:45,044 --> 00:29:47,614 Have Shawn put the sharpshooter on Bret, 723 00:29:47,655 --> 00:29:50,695 and have the referee call for the bell. Do that." 724 00:29:50,745 --> 00:29:53,175 Vince Russo didn't know what a double cross was. 725 00:29:53,226 --> 00:29:56,186 He was sitting there with his eyes open. 726 00:29:56,229 --> 00:29:58,409 People tell me all the time, "Oh, Vince, you, 727 00:29:58,448 --> 00:30:01,708 you take credit for the Montreal Screwjob." 728 00:30:01,756 --> 00:30:03,796 I wish I didn't pitch the idea. 729 00:30:03,845 --> 00:30:05,755 That was a miserable night. 730 00:30:05,804 --> 00:30:09,374 It was one of the worst experiences in my life 731 00:30:09,416 --> 00:30:11,156 in the wrestling business. 732 00:30:11,200 --> 00:30:14,330 I swear on my mother's grave, my father's grave, 733 00:30:14,377 --> 00:30:16,857 my wife's life, and my dog's life, 734 00:30:16,902 --> 00:30:18,642 the story I just told you is true. 735 00:30:18,686 --> 00:30:22,076 Vince Russo is the biggest liar in professional wrestling 736 00:30:22,124 --> 00:30:24,264 and imagine the territory that takes in. 737 00:30:24,300 --> 00:30:27,610 ♪ 738 00:30:27,651 --> 00:30:29,131 When I was sitting there at the monitor, 739 00:30:29,175 --> 00:30:33,005 I saw him go into the spot; that's when I shit myself. 740 00:30:33,048 --> 00:30:35,828 Holy fuck, he's actually gonna do this. 741 00:30:35,877 --> 00:30:38,137 And look, to this-- Look, right now. 742 00:30:38,184 --> 00:30:40,234 Close up on the goosebumps. 743 00:30:40,273 --> 00:30:42,103 ♪ 744 00:30:42,144 --> 00:30:44,494 Now I'm thinking... 745 00:30:44,538 --> 00:30:46,238 I don't know who else knows about this. 746 00:30:46,279 --> 00:30:49,499 I just know that there is a high probability that 747 00:30:49,543 --> 00:30:51,203 somebody in this building is gonna want to 748 00:30:51,240 --> 00:30:52,980 beat the shit out of me in the next ten minutes and 749 00:30:53,025 --> 00:30:54,495 I'm gonna get out of here. 750 00:30:54,548 --> 00:30:57,328 When I'm starting my car up and starting to pull out, 751 00:30:57,377 --> 00:30:59,157 I heard a car rev the motor and saw the headlights 752 00:30:59,205 --> 00:31:01,985 pop up behind me; that had to be Hebner. 753 00:31:02,034 --> 00:31:04,694 [laughs] I beat him out of the building. 754 00:31:04,732 --> 00:31:11,352 ♪ 755 00:31:11,391 --> 00:31:14,221 Just as Bret Hart was double crossed on live television 756 00:31:14,263 --> 00:31:16,403 by his boss, Vince McMahon, 757 00:31:16,439 --> 00:31:20,789 WWF executive Bruce Prichard, is blindsided himself 758 00:31:20,835 --> 00:31:22,525 by the sudden change in plans. 759 00:31:22,576 --> 00:31:23,746 [match bell] 760 00:31:23,794 --> 00:31:25,234 So, it's chaos. 761 00:31:25,274 --> 00:31:28,104 I'm not even realizing what's happening in front of me. 762 00:31:30,801 --> 00:31:33,371 Oh, God, I was pissed off that I wasn't smartened up as to 763 00:31:33,413 --> 00:31:35,763 what they were doing, and I was pissed off because 764 00:31:35,806 --> 00:31:40,376 I was left in the back alone, in a position 765 00:31:40,420 --> 00:31:43,990 where everyone thought they knew that I was involved, 766 00:31:44,032 --> 00:31:45,122 and I wasn't. 767 00:31:45,164 --> 00:31:47,384 I felt very alone. I felt betrayed. 768 00:31:47,427 --> 00:31:49,857 That piece of shit's locked himself in his office. 769 00:31:49,908 --> 00:31:51,778 [crowd chatter] 770 00:31:51,822 --> 00:31:54,522 The cameras are off. Show's over. 771 00:31:54,564 --> 00:31:56,784 I got screwed. And I was so mad. 772 00:31:56,827 --> 00:31:58,957 And there's Shawn, suddenly in my dressing room, 773 00:31:59,004 --> 00:32:01,964 and he's swearing to God that he had nothing to do with it. 774 00:32:02,007 --> 00:32:03,567 Shawn, you weren't in on that? 775 00:32:03,617 --> 00:32:06,007 My hands are clean on this one, I swear to God. 776 00:32:06,054 --> 00:32:07,714 He was a bad actor. 777 00:32:07,751 --> 00:32:11,581 The one of the two was in on it, that I think. 778 00:32:11,625 --> 00:32:12,965 Shawn had to be in on it. 779 00:32:13,018 --> 00:32:15,758 You know, at that time, I had no idea. 780 00:32:15,803 --> 00:32:18,593 Well, now we know Shawn was just putting on an act. 781 00:32:18,632 --> 00:32:20,942 ♪ 782 00:32:20,982 --> 00:32:22,812 There was like this hush in the dressing room and 783 00:32:22,853 --> 00:32:24,293 everyone's kind of stunned. 784 00:32:24,333 --> 00:32:26,163 I remember Undertaker got so mad that he kicked over 785 00:32:26,205 --> 00:32:27,985 one of those big steel barrels. 786 00:32:28,033 --> 00:32:30,733 He just slammed the door and said something about, 787 00:32:30,774 --> 00:32:32,654 he was going down to Vince's office to get 788 00:32:32,689 --> 00:32:34,819 a straight answer on why they did that to me. 789 00:32:34,865 --> 00:32:36,775 You know, "Vince... 790 00:32:36,824 --> 00:32:38,484 You gotta go over and talk to him, 791 00:32:38,521 --> 00:32:40,221 explain why you did what you did. 792 00:32:40,262 --> 00:32:42,002 You gotta give him one. 793 00:32:42,047 --> 00:32:43,827 And by giving him one, if he's gonna, 794 00:32:43,874 --> 00:32:45,704 he's gonna hit you, you gotta take one." 795 00:32:45,746 --> 00:32:48,576 Bret came out of the shower and told Vince get out of 796 00:32:48,618 --> 00:32:50,098 his fucking dressing room, and then he said, 797 00:32:50,142 --> 00:32:52,272 he goes, "If you're still here when I get out, 798 00:32:52,318 --> 00:32:54,278 I'm gonna get dressed and I'm gonna punch you out." 799 00:32:54,320 --> 00:32:55,760 Bret finished his shower. 800 00:32:55,799 --> 00:32:57,759 I mean, he went back in, took his sweet ass time and 801 00:32:57,801 --> 00:32:59,061 finished his shower. 802 00:32:59,107 --> 00:33:00,937 And Vince stood right in the middle of the room 803 00:33:00,979 --> 00:33:02,499 waiting for him to finish. 804 00:33:02,545 --> 00:33:04,025 ♪ 805 00:33:04,069 --> 00:33:05,769 So I finish the shower and I come out. 806 00:33:05,809 --> 00:33:07,809 And, it's funny 'cause I walk out of the shower 807 00:33:07,855 --> 00:33:10,675 sopping wet, naked. 808 00:33:10,727 --> 00:33:12,687 Vince said something to me along the lines of, 809 00:33:12,729 --> 00:33:15,209 "This is the first time I ever had to lie to one of my talent," 810 00:33:15,254 --> 00:33:17,264 which is such a lie. 811 00:33:17,299 --> 00:33:19,169 I remember tying my shoes, 812 00:33:19,214 --> 00:33:22,174 and I remember when I got tying my last shoelace, 813 00:33:22,217 --> 00:33:24,087 I started to tie it like, this is it, 814 00:33:24,132 --> 00:33:25,662 I'm gonna punch out Vince McMahon. 815 00:33:25,699 --> 00:33:27,139 I can't believe I'm doing this. 816 00:33:27,179 --> 00:33:29,089 And, we walked towards each other, 817 00:33:29,137 --> 00:33:32,447 end up tying up, just like a pro wrestling match, 818 00:33:32,488 --> 00:33:34,618 and I remember just sinking down and kind of just 819 00:33:34,664 --> 00:33:38,894 turning my whole body and thinking, 14 years, 820 00:33:38,929 --> 00:33:40,839 and coming up right between our arms, 821 00:33:40,888 --> 00:33:44,198 and I hit Vince McMahon with the most beautiful 822 00:33:44,239 --> 00:33:47,549 Mike Tyson upper cut. I popped him, literally, 823 00:33:47,590 --> 00:33:49,200 off the, right off the ground. 824 00:33:49,244 --> 00:33:52,074 He went straight down, out cold. 825 00:33:52,117 --> 00:33:54,547 Everybody was stunned. No one could believe it. 826 00:33:54,597 --> 00:33:57,597 It was dead silent for a while and nobody said anything, 827 00:33:57,644 --> 00:33:58,784 and then, Bret said, 828 00:33:58,819 --> 00:34:00,389 "Get the fuck out of my dressing room." 829 00:34:00,429 --> 00:34:02,999 So, I mean, I have to say that I remember Shawn Michaels, 830 00:34:03,041 --> 00:34:05,091 he was bawling his eyes out like a baby. 831 00:34:05,130 --> 00:34:07,130 And I remember thinking, I know you were in on it. 832 00:34:07,175 --> 00:34:09,525 And he knew it, he was like waiting for me to 833 00:34:09,569 --> 00:34:11,529 make my way over to him and finish him off. 834 00:34:11,571 --> 00:34:13,621 But, I just tapped him on the shoulder and I said, 835 00:34:13,660 --> 00:34:15,750 "Shawn, thanks for the match." 836 00:34:15,792 --> 00:34:18,622 He couldn't believe that I thanked him for the match, 837 00:34:18,665 --> 00:34:21,145 and then he looked up at me and he just burst into tears, 838 00:34:21,189 --> 00:34:23,019 like, really blubbering. 839 00:34:23,061 --> 00:34:24,451 I had never, to that point, 840 00:34:24,497 --> 00:34:28,107 heard of that much drama and backstage just bullshit. 841 00:34:28,153 --> 00:34:29,503 Sometimes I lost sleep over 842 00:34:29,545 --> 00:34:30,975 what I should have done that day. 843 00:34:31,025 --> 00:34:33,105 Bret, you're not gonna understand this now, 844 00:34:33,158 --> 00:34:35,598 but Vince was trying to protect his business. 845 00:34:35,638 --> 00:34:37,338 It was never about not trusting you. 846 00:34:37,379 --> 00:34:40,429 He didn't trust Eric. 847 00:34:40,469 --> 00:34:41,729 I went into Vince's office and said, 848 00:34:41,775 --> 00:34:43,465 "I need to talk to you." He said, "Okay." 849 00:34:43,516 --> 00:34:44,816 I said, "I'm fucked." 850 00:34:44,865 --> 00:34:46,995 He said, "I got a meeting with everybody today. 851 00:34:47,041 --> 00:34:48,131 We'll take care of it." 852 00:34:48,173 --> 00:34:49,573 Sat everybody down and said, 853 00:34:49,609 --> 00:34:51,609 "What I did last night was my call. 854 00:34:51,654 --> 00:34:53,744 It's not Earl's fault, and anybody that don't like it 855 00:34:53,787 --> 00:34:56,957 can come to my office and I'll release your ass right now." 856 00:34:57,007 --> 00:34:59,227 Screwjob was already in the makings. 857 00:34:59,271 --> 00:35:02,231 They had to find somebody that would do it. 858 00:35:02,274 --> 00:35:04,064 The conversation I had with Vince where, 859 00:35:04,102 --> 00:35:06,022 where we really had the big heart-to-heart 860 00:35:06,060 --> 00:35:08,190 was the following Wednesday in Stanford. 861 00:35:08,236 --> 00:35:09,716 And, I told him what I thought. 862 00:35:09,759 --> 00:35:12,679 Vince's reaction was, "If you had known, 863 00:35:12,719 --> 00:35:14,159 then you would have known. 864 00:35:14,199 --> 00:35:16,109 You would never be able to say that you didn't know. 865 00:35:16,157 --> 00:35:19,247 Shawn Michaels risked everything for you and 866 00:35:19,291 --> 00:35:23,341 for this company, so before you condemn Shawn Michaels, 867 00:35:23,382 --> 00:35:25,652 understand what he did for you and your family." 868 00:35:25,688 --> 00:35:27,728 There were a lot of "what if" scenarios discussed 869 00:35:27,777 --> 00:35:31,127 the night before, and I think that everybody believed 870 00:35:31,172 --> 00:35:34,572 that at the end of the day, Vince was going to be able to 871 00:35:34,610 --> 00:35:38,960 convince Bret to drop the championship. 872 00:35:39,006 --> 00:35:43,006 That didn't happen, so Vince asked Gerry Brisco to 873 00:35:43,053 --> 00:35:45,533 let Shawn know there's a spot in the match that, 874 00:35:45,578 --> 00:35:47,798 Shawn, when you get him in the, 875 00:35:47,841 --> 00:35:49,581 in the sharpshooter, we'll ring the bell. 876 00:35:49,625 --> 00:35:52,315 Of all people, Bret Hart, who was raised in the 877 00:35:52,367 --> 00:35:54,197 wrestling business, whose father was a wrestler, 878 00:35:54,239 --> 00:35:56,199 who went through the code, 879 00:35:56,241 --> 00:35:58,421 he's the one that exposed the business! 880 00:35:58,460 --> 00:36:00,460 So, we're talking with Bret Hart "The Hitman" today. How are ya? 881 00:36:00,506 --> 00:36:03,726 It was very important to me, after 14 years of probably 882 00:36:03,770 --> 00:36:06,640 the most dedicated, loyal, hard working service that 883 00:36:06,686 --> 00:36:08,726 you could ever get out of a professional wrestler - 884 00:36:08,775 --> 00:36:12,035 I'd given this man everything you could ever ask for and 885 00:36:12,082 --> 00:36:15,482 I made it very, very clear that my character was not in 886 00:36:15,521 --> 00:36:18,181 any way shape or form gonna be humiliated. 887 00:36:18,219 --> 00:36:20,869 Bret was telling any and everybody that he could, 888 00:36:20,917 --> 00:36:23,007 he didn't lose. He was screwed. 889 00:36:23,050 --> 00:36:26,790 And, it was something that Vince felt it was important 890 00:36:26,836 --> 00:36:28,796 to address on Monday Night Raw. 891 00:36:28,838 --> 00:36:32,798 Did you or did you not screw Bret Hart? 892 00:36:32,842 --> 00:36:35,852 There's a time-honored tradition in the wrestling business 893 00:36:35,889 --> 00:36:39,459 that when someone is leaving that they show 894 00:36:39,501 --> 00:36:41,241 the right amount of respect. 895 00:36:41,286 --> 00:36:42,676 And the people are like, "No, we don't want to like 896 00:36:42,722 --> 00:36:44,072 the rich billionaire boss. 897 00:36:44,114 --> 00:36:46,164 We liked Bret Hart. He was our hero." 898 00:36:46,204 --> 00:36:49,254 Bret Hart didn't want to honor that tradition. 899 00:36:49,294 --> 00:36:52,254 Vince was really giving Bret Hart all kinds of shit 900 00:36:52,297 --> 00:36:55,127 for not honoring the time-honored tradition of 901 00:36:55,169 --> 00:36:57,299 doing the right thing on the way out. 902 00:36:57,345 --> 00:36:59,695 On TV, this didn't happen ever before. 903 00:36:59,739 --> 00:37:03,609 Vince, in this interview, just came across very 904 00:37:03,656 --> 00:37:08,486 cold, calculated, and very, very heelish. 905 00:37:08,530 --> 00:37:13,410 I truly believe that Bret Hart screwed Bret Hart, 906 00:37:13,448 --> 00:37:16,448 and he can look in the mirror and know that. 907 00:37:16,495 --> 00:37:18,975 Rather than sweep this incident under the rug, 908 00:37:19,019 --> 00:37:22,109 Vince capitalizes on it by transforming this real-life 909 00:37:22,152 --> 00:37:25,812 incident into a story line where he reinvents himself 910 00:37:25,852 --> 00:37:29,382 as an evil, conniving mastermind. 911 00:37:29,421 --> 00:37:31,641 When I debuted, the fans didn't know that 912 00:37:31,684 --> 00:37:33,034 Vince was the owner. 913 00:37:33,076 --> 00:37:35,246 He was an announcer. 914 00:37:35,296 --> 00:37:37,296 And then, once the word got out that he actually 915 00:37:37,342 --> 00:37:40,042 owns the company and he's the power behind the throne, 916 00:37:40,083 --> 00:37:42,303 this and that, Vince ran with it. 917 00:37:42,347 --> 00:37:44,307 Mr. McMahon is one of the greatest heel characters 918 00:37:44,349 --> 00:37:45,649 of all time, yes. 919 00:37:45,698 --> 00:37:47,658 I mean, you've heard arenas full of people chant, 920 00:37:47,700 --> 00:37:49,570 "Asshole, asshole!" 921 00:37:49,615 --> 00:37:52,705 CROWD: Asshole! Asshole! 922 00:37:52,748 --> 00:37:55,928 If they had done it right, everybody prospered. 923 00:37:55,969 --> 00:38:00,099 Shawn Michaels became the WWF champion off a big win. 924 00:38:00,147 --> 00:38:03,927 Vince McMahon became the catalyst to the evil empire 925 00:38:03,977 --> 00:38:07,147 of Mr. McMahon, and they handed the hottest wrestler 926 00:38:07,197 --> 00:38:10,677 in the world - Bret Hart - to WCW, 927 00:38:10,723 --> 00:38:16,993 and they drop that ball. 928 00:38:17,033 --> 00:38:19,303 In the aftermath of the Montreal Screwjob, 929 00:38:19,340 --> 00:38:20,990 wrestling changed forever. 930 00:38:21,037 --> 00:38:22,817 The fourth wall had fallen. 931 00:38:22,865 --> 00:38:25,515 Vince McMahon's villainous character would propel 932 00:38:25,564 --> 00:38:28,134 his company into the stratosphere, 933 00:38:28,175 --> 00:38:32,695 while Bret Hart would make his lackluster debut in WCW. 934 00:38:32,745 --> 00:38:35,615 You know, if you look at how Bret Hart even came to WCW 935 00:38:35,661 --> 00:38:38,231 and how I, how they launched me the very first day... 936 00:38:38,272 --> 00:38:40,542 Why don't we bring the man out that's gonna 937 00:38:40,579 --> 00:38:42,279 referee this match. 938 00:38:42,320 --> 00:38:43,930 God, I remember like, referee? 939 00:38:43,973 --> 00:38:46,893 That's so lame, like, such a lame way to bring me in. 940 00:38:46,933 --> 00:38:49,373 Is that what you want, referee? 941 00:38:49,414 --> 00:38:52,904 Eric Bischoff was an imbecile trying to run wrestling. 942 00:38:52,939 --> 00:38:54,899 He didn't have any idea about how to run wrestling. 943 00:38:54,941 --> 00:38:57,731 I have to take some responsibility in the fact that 944 00:38:57,770 --> 00:39:00,860 there may have been better ways to bring Bret in. 945 00:39:00,903 --> 00:39:05,393 I would be honored to be the referee... 946 00:39:05,430 --> 00:39:08,170 But at the same time, we'll never know that because 947 00:39:08,215 --> 00:39:10,695 the plans that we did have for Bret were executed so 948 00:39:10,739 --> 00:39:14,259 piss poorly because of his just detachment from it all. 949 00:39:14,308 --> 00:39:17,308 He didn't get over in WCW. Zero impact. 950 00:39:17,355 --> 00:39:19,395 Hey, Bischoff! 951 00:39:19,444 --> 00:39:21,534 And the WCW... 952 00:39:21,576 --> 00:39:24,406 - I quit! - [cheering] 953 00:39:24,449 --> 00:39:26,759 I think the legacy of the Montreal Screwjob is that 954 00:39:26,799 --> 00:39:29,109 nobody knows if it was really a screwjob or not. 955 00:39:29,149 --> 00:39:33,719 I happen to believe it was the real deal. 956 00:39:33,762 --> 00:39:35,372 To me, I feel the same way now seeing it back 957 00:39:35,416 --> 00:39:37,236 as I did the first time I saw it. 958 00:39:37,287 --> 00:39:38,717 It's a total work. 959 00:39:38,767 --> 00:39:42,247 Everybody was in on it and they all did it together. 960 00:39:42,292 --> 00:39:44,212 Now, look at Bret's face. 961 00:39:44,251 --> 00:39:46,561 He doesn't look too shocked to me. 962 00:39:46,601 --> 00:39:49,431 You're gonna spit on Vince and then the truck is 963 00:39:49,474 --> 00:39:51,084 gonna go, "Go tight on Vince, go tight on Vince. 964 00:39:51,127 --> 00:39:53,347 Get Vince wiping the loogy out of his eye." 965 00:39:53,391 --> 00:39:56,441 Vince has been in the TV business his whole life. 966 00:39:56,481 --> 00:39:59,401 Nothing's gonna happen without his consent. 967 00:39:59,440 --> 00:40:01,050 Everybody knows you're leaving. 968 00:40:01,094 --> 00:40:05,054 You're gonna stand in what's now your opposition's ring 969 00:40:05,098 --> 00:40:08,098 on a global broadcast, and you're gonna 970 00:40:08,144 --> 00:40:12,024 motion the call signs of your competitor? 971 00:40:12,061 --> 00:40:15,111 If that's not okay by a big boss in my mind, 972 00:40:15,151 --> 00:40:16,631 they're gonna cut away from that. 973 00:40:16,675 --> 00:40:18,325 I mean, I've never discussed it with Shawn. 974 00:40:18,372 --> 00:40:19,632 You know, I wasn't there, 975 00:40:19,678 --> 00:40:21,588 and I didn't ask guys who were there. 976 00:40:21,636 --> 00:40:24,376 Watching it as an educated fan, 977 00:40:24,422 --> 00:40:26,692 I would say it was a complete collaboration 978 00:40:26,728 --> 00:40:30,338 by all parties, and that's all I got to say about that. 979 00:40:30,384 --> 00:40:33,614 People do say it was a work and Bret was in on it. 980 00:40:33,648 --> 00:40:34,998 No, man. 981 00:40:35,041 --> 00:40:37,521 This is the way this piece of history went down. 982 00:40:37,565 --> 00:40:41,995 Conspiracy theorists will always be conspiracy theorists. 983 00:40:42,048 --> 00:40:43,478 But unfortunately, sometimes, 984 00:40:43,528 --> 00:40:45,748 when people want more of a story to be there that 985 00:40:45,791 --> 00:40:48,401 just isn't there, they try to create it. 986 00:40:55,757 --> 00:40:57,797 He's not one of 'em too, is he? 987 00:40:57,846 --> 00:41:00,016 [laughs] 988 00:41:00,066 --> 00:41:03,106 I'm sorry. Just, it's just, it's ludicrous that Scott Hall 989 00:41:03,156 --> 00:41:05,416 would say that he didn't talk to Shawn Michaels about this. 990 00:41:05,463 --> 00:41:08,123 I know they all talked to each other about everything, 991 00:41:08,161 --> 00:41:10,601 but especially about this. Why the fuck wouldn't they? 992 00:41:10,642 --> 00:41:13,122 I will tell anybody to their face that thinks that 993 00:41:13,166 --> 00:41:16,596 this was a work, you're a dumb stupid fucker. 994 00:41:16,648 --> 00:41:19,298 These are death threats. I've gotten a bunch of 'em. 995 00:41:19,346 --> 00:41:21,346 But, these were some of the most creative and 996 00:41:21,391 --> 00:41:23,831 some of the most picturesque so I framed these. 997 00:41:23,872 --> 00:41:25,532 "Get by the ring one more time, 998 00:41:25,570 --> 00:41:27,010 you make a target under those lights. 999 00:41:27,049 --> 00:41:29,229 You won't know where it comes from. Bye-bye." 1000 00:41:29,269 --> 00:41:32,529 They pulled it all off because I trusted the referee. 1001 00:41:32,577 --> 00:41:37,057 Poor Earl, and he's just a little guy. 1002 00:41:37,103 --> 00:41:38,763 I feel so bad for him. 1003 00:41:38,800 --> 00:41:41,800 To put that on him was such a rotten thing to do. 1004 00:41:41,847 --> 00:41:45,107 For the last 15 years, it's been the shits. 1005 00:41:45,154 --> 00:41:47,164 That's always a chant in any arena is, 1006 00:41:47,200 --> 00:41:48,330 "You screwed Bret." 1007 00:41:48,375 --> 00:41:50,805 We never talked for a long, long time. 1008 00:41:50,856 --> 00:41:53,466 Many years. It's... 1009 00:41:53,511 --> 00:41:54,951 even though Bret and I are friends now, 1010 00:41:54,990 --> 00:41:57,120 this is still upsetting. 1011 00:41:57,166 --> 00:42:00,296 I guess you can tell I'm kind of breaking down a little bit, 1012 00:42:00,343 --> 00:42:03,433 but it's something that will be with me forever. 1013 00:42:03,477 --> 00:42:05,257 A lot of people will say, "Hey, it was their idea, 1014 00:42:05,305 --> 00:42:06,565 all the way from Vince Russo, 1015 00:42:06,611 --> 00:42:08,181 to Jim Cornette, to Triple H, 1016 00:42:08,221 --> 00:42:12,661 to Shawn, to me," you know, we all said it. 1017 00:42:12,704 --> 00:42:15,274 The Montreal Screwjob is remembered all kinds of 1018 00:42:15,315 --> 00:42:17,535 different ways by all kinds of different people. 1019 00:42:17,578 --> 00:42:19,798 For the fans, it was like one of the first big 1020 00:42:19,841 --> 00:42:22,581 behind the scenes things that exploded, 1021 00:42:22,627 --> 00:42:25,147 and they heard about, and they realized there was more 1022 00:42:25,194 --> 00:42:27,894 intrigue in the locker room and in the board room 1023 00:42:27,936 --> 00:42:29,676 than there sometimes was in the ring. 1024 00:42:29,721 --> 00:42:31,421 You know, as soon you start doing that, 1025 00:42:31,461 --> 00:42:33,511 as soon as you don't believe it's real anymore, 1026 00:42:33,551 --> 00:42:35,251 it's not really worth watching. 1027 00:42:35,291 --> 00:42:38,161 That's the way the people feel when they lose faith 1028 00:42:38,207 --> 00:42:42,117 in their hero; that's when you lose people in wrestling, 1029 00:42:42,168 --> 00:42:44,688 because they believed in the people involved, 1030 00:42:44,736 --> 00:42:47,086 even if they didn't always believe all the action, 1031 00:42:47,129 --> 00:42:49,089 they believed in the people. 1032 00:42:49,131 --> 00:42:53,701 I take a lot of pride, almost ridiculous pride in 1033 00:42:53,745 --> 00:42:55,955 being the wrestler that I was. 1034 00:42:56,008 --> 00:42:59,528 I believe that I was the guy that reinforced the 1035 00:42:59,577 --> 00:43:02,707 wrestling aspect of the wrestling show, 1036 00:43:02,754 --> 00:43:06,634 and that's what I like to be remembered for. 1037 00:43:06,671 --> 00:43:09,891 The reality of the situation is, 1038 00:43:09,935 --> 00:43:12,325 is that if two guys just could've, 1039 00:43:12,372 --> 00:43:17,162 you know, could've got over themselves... 1040 00:43:17,203 --> 00:43:18,903 Well, we wouldn't be sitting here today. 1041 00:43:22,077 --> 00:43:27,427 I've ignored him for years, and it's on, and on. 1042 00:43:27,474 --> 00:43:30,484 It's my, my personal enjoyment at this advanced age, 1043 00:43:30,520 --> 00:43:32,700 to remind everybody at every opportunity 1044 00:43:32,740 --> 00:43:34,180 that he's a liar. 1045 00:43:34,220 --> 00:43:37,270 It's freaking wrestling. It means nothing. 1046 00:43:37,310 --> 00:43:40,620 I will live to piss on his grave. 1047 00:43:40,661 --> 00:43:41,921 Even if I'm in a walker, 1048 00:43:41,967 --> 00:43:43,707 my wife already has instructions. 1049 00:43:43,751 --> 00:43:45,491 She's out of the will if she doesn't get me there, 1050 00:43:45,535 --> 00:43:46,925 if I'm not ambulatory. 1051 00:43:46,972 --> 00:43:49,632 I'll find Vince Russo's grave and I will piss on it, 1052 00:43:49,670 --> 00:43:51,670 and there will be a picture of that hanging on my wall 1053 00:43:51,716 --> 00:43:52,796 when I pass away. 1054 00:43:52,847 --> 00:43:54,627 And hate is a hell of a motivator.