Grilling JR - Bret Hart 1996 [Show Notes] (Patreon)

Bret Hart 1996

Bret Hart started his 1996 as the WWF World Champion having just won the title at Survivor Series against Diesel.  That match is probably most remembered for being of the very first times someone went through an announcer’s table.  I think it was one of Diesel’s matches in the WWF and Meltzer agreed giving it 3.5 stars. I’m sure we will cover it long form some time.

In December of 95 Bret was defending the title against the British Bulldog at IYH and it was a bloodbath that Meltzer gave 4.5 stars.

In spite of these great matches Bruce, Bret has said he felt no matter how hard he worked, all of the attention was on Shawn during this time even going so far as to say he felt this run was almost as a transitional champion for him.

Bret even wrote in his book, “I'd given Vince a 5 star match with Diesel, but it was so quickly passed over that it was soon forgotten. Even the buildup to my In Your House match against Davey was nonexistant, with all that attention being lavished on the ex-champion and apparently seriously injured Shawn.”  Of course the injury that Bret is referencing is the Marine incident which we will cover on an upcoming Shawn Michaels episode.

So let’s examine that: when did Vince decide WM12 would be to make Shawn?

Did you think of Bret’s run HERE as a transitional champion?

If Diesel is on the way out anyway, why not have him drop it to Shawn at WrestleMania?  They’re buddies.  One is a heel.  You can avoid the face vs. face deal which was a disaster six years before with Warrior-Hogan and you know these guys work well with each other.

Was Diesel-Shawn ever considered?  Why not?

This takes us to the Royal Rumble, which took place on January 21st 1996, in Fresno, CA. Bret defended the World Title against The Undertaker.

This was a very rare at the time babyface vs babyface match with two of the top guys. This happens happens sort of cold too, why were they put together here?

Undertaker hit the tombstone on Bret and when the ref was counting, Diesel came down and pulled the ref out, causing the DQ at the 28:31 mark. Meltzer gave it 2 ¾ *

Bret said was critical of the finish feeling it did little to build him for Mania. What do you remember about this match and Bret’s feelings at the time?

The next night on Raw, Bret wrestled the new Intercontinental Champion, Goldust,who had just won the title the night before at the Royal Rumble from Razor Ramon.

Bret won the match by submission. He said he worked the match with a sprained knee and Dustin really looked after him in the match. Later that night, Bret wrestled Undertaker to a NC after Raw. Razor had a problem working with Goldust, how did Bret receive the character?

January 23 – San Jose – Bret beat Diesel in a cage to retain

January 24- White Plains – Bret beat Goldust

January 26 – MSG – Bret beat Diesel in a cage

Bret said on January 27th, he had a conversation with Shawn. Rumors earlier that day were that Diesel and Razor might jump to WCW. Shawn told Bret that he hoped they would stay so he could work with them after he won the title from Bret at WrestleMania. Bret suggested to Shawn that he works with new guys such as Steve Austin & Vader. Shawn then told him that he'd rather work with Hunter, and do a little program with The 1-2-3 Kid.

That conversation definitely rubbed Bret the wrong way. He still talks about that story to this day. He even talked about it to Shawn on the Bret vs Shawn Greatest Rivalries DVD.  He felt like Shawn was just angling to work with his buddies.  Do you remember hearing this?

Bret wrote that without consulting him on the decision, Shawn and Pat Patterson had decided that at WrestleMania, Bret & Shawn were going to wrestle in a 1 hour Iron Man match. Shawn was going to beat Bret with the superkick. Bret said that he could tell Shawn was expecting him to balk at the thought of putting him over, but Bret told him that he'd put him over clean in the middle. Shawn thanked him profusely.

It's been said over the years that Pat suggested they work in an Iron Man match at WrestleMania to Vince and Vince at first wasn't interested in it, but Pat kept on him about it and Vince finally gave in and agreed to let them have the match.  Do you remember Pat as being the guy to push for an Iron Man Match?  How did the guys feel about it?  What was Vince’s hesitation?

Did the decision for it to be Bret/Shawn/Ironman happen in January?

It was that day that Bret told Vince that after WrestleMania, he'd be taking 6 months off to do a full season of Lonesome Dove. Vince told Bret that he really needed him to work the foreign tours, which Bret said “no problem.” Do you remember Bret asking for time off?  Wouldn’t it hurt house shows or was Vince okay with it since you’re trying to establish Shawn as the top babyface?

February 3 – Bangalore, India – Bret beat Tatanka – This show did over 30,000 fans in outdoor cricket pitches

Bret said that on the 6th day of this India tour, Diesel had told him that he and Razor were really going to WCW, for $750,000 a year. Bret said that was more than he was making.  How did this news affect the locker room and when did Vince and the office find out?

Raw- February 5 – Bret defeated Undertaker by DQ to retain

February 17 – Memphis – Bret beat Lawler in a cage to retain – USWA – This show drew the all-time record gate for the city, breaking any previous WWF, NWA or Jarrett marks. How did Bret like working Memphis?

This takes us to In Your House 6 – Rage in the Cage. It took place on February 18th, 1996 from the Louisville Gardens.  In the main event, Bret would defend the title against Diesel, in a solid steel cage. 

This is the cage match where Diesel was about to go through the door when Undertaker pops up through the ring after Diesel allowing Bret to escape over the top for the win.  I think this is the first time this was done in the WWF, whose idea was this?  What did Vince or the boys think about it?

Nash tells the story that Bret didn’t like the idea of taking a jacknife and Taker saving him as a finish because it made it look like he was about to get beat and Undertaker said something like, “motherfucker everything isn’t about you.”  Do you remember a discussion like this about the finish?

Bret said of the match - “Being saved by interference at two pay per views in a row did nothing to keep a babyface champion like me strong.” Was this the nature of your conversation with Bret at the time?  He was very “hands on” with how he looked?

Bret said later that day he called the Lonesome Dove offices and the producer of the show, Steve North informed him that the series had been canceled. Bret said the news broke his heart.  Did he ever talk to you about that? I think it was apparent that Bret thought the next step for him was acting and this felt like a big break and now it’s taken away.

Even though the show was cancelled, Bret decided to stick with his original plans of taking 6 months off after WrestleMania.

The next night on Raw, Bret said that he was happily surprised to see Roddy Piper at the Cincinnati Gardens for Raw. Piper was recently made the new president of the WWF.

Bret said that Vince got him, Roddy and Shawn together and carefully rehearsed the live interview they were going to have that night. Bret said that Shawn was scripted to outwit him all the way through it.

Bret said when he went to the ring that night, Shawn and Vince were already in the ring. Bret said every word out of Shawn's mouth had so much more impact than what he had been told to say. Bret said Vince was right there to make sure that Shawn was humble, lovable and not too Shawn-ish.

During the interview, Shawn bragged about how well conditioned he was and showed off his abs and then Bret compared himself to the little pink bunny in the Energizer battery commercials that just keeps going and going and going.  Then Roddy then explained the rules for the Iron Man Match.

Bret said while he was over in India sick with the shits, Shawn had been home training like a lunatic. “Damned if he wasn't in incredible shape.”

What do you remember of this interview?  What do you think of Bret saying “Shawn-ish” with the way he did the promo? How did the Roddy deal come together?

February 25th – Pittsburgh – Bret Double CO Undertaker – Day Show

February 25 – Cleveland – Bret beat Undertaker by CO- Night show

In late February, WWF sent cameras to Calgary to film Bret training for the Iron Man match. They had already filmed Shawn in San Antonio, running stadium steps, doing upside down situps and pretending to spar with his mentor, Jose Lothario. Bret said Vince was selling Shawn as a guy trying to realize his boyhood dream of winning the gold. Bret says he was portrayed as the wily veteran from the dungeon, who had every intention of being the champion for a long time.

Bret said February is the coldest time of the year in Calgary. He said they had him jogging along Scotman's Hill, so they could get panoramic views of the city, with the Rockies in the background. He said “I don't think JR and the camera crew were trying to be funny, but I couldn't help but see the humor in the footage they shot. It was so icy that I had to run carefully, so it came across on film like I was running about a mile an hour.

“Another magic moment taped for the world to see was when they asked me to swim laps in my pool. But the topper was when they filmed Stu stretching me in the dungeon, and 80 year old man typing me up in knots with me eagerly tapping out!”

What are your memories of that? It did come across even at the time that Shawn was training like Rocky Balboa for the match, and Bret...well...wasn't...

Bret said that he trained for that match as hard as he ever had for anything. He said “Shawn was 8 years younger than me, and I wasn't going to let him outshine me.” Bret said “Like me and Davey at Wembley, I wanted the fans to remember the loser.”

Bret said “I saw a rematch up ahead with me taking back the title, which would build up for yet one more match where I'd be more than happy to put Shawn over- to once and for all thrust the torch into his hand. Done right, Shawn and I could draw money for years with a big rivalry, taking turns putting each other over.”  Didn’t everyone sort of assume this was the plan?

March 3 – Springfield MA – Bret beat Bulldog. Later in the show, Bret beat Shawn in a lumberjack match

March 4 – Providence – Bret beat Bulldog. Later, Bret beat Shawn in a lumberjack

March 5 – Austin, TX – Bret beat Shawn in a lumberjack 

March 11 – San Antonio – Raw taping - Bret beat Tatanka.  Later, Bret beat Undertaker by CO

March 15 – Hartford – Bret & Undertaker beat Shawn & Diesel

March 16 – Landover - 1st triple threat match in WWF history – Bret beat Undertaker & Diesel

Do you remember this, when they started doing triple threat matches? Why did they decide to start doing them finally?

March 17 – MSG – Bret & Undertaker beat Shawn & Diesel. Diesel hit Shawn with a chair after the match.  Meltzer wrote - The Bret Hart & Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels & Diesel match on 3/17 drew the first sellout at Madison Square Garden for a non-PPV event so many years nobody can remember the last one along with setting an all-time record house show gate. 

How big of a deal was this to Vince, to finally sell out MSG again, and on top it, it happens right before WrestleMania 12. That had to give everyone a lot of excitement heading into the biggest pay per view of the year?

The company has a lot of momentum here and the company is promoting the main event to be the best in Mania history, the greatest athletic match in history. Doesn’t the company marketing the match this way set unrealistic expectations that almost certainly lead to disappointment?

We should mention this last time this was attempted on a big scale was Clash of the Champions from April 89 with Flair-Steamboat. Bret had done this a few times in 93 against Flair and a few times in 94 with Owen.  He’s 38 at the time of Mania 12.  Shawn was 30 and had long tag matches with the Rockers but nothing like this as a single.

The week before the match Bret Hart went on the Chet Coppock sports talk show and said if he lost he would consider retiring.  When did Vince add this wrinkle to the promotion of the event and why did Vince love teasing this retirement of the biggest babyface at Mania bit having done it four years prior with Hogan?

Meltzer freestyled that one of the reason Vince may have favored Shawn so much here is because of Bill Watts.  We’ve often heard that someone can pitch Vince on a guy TOO MUCH and it just turns Vince off to the person.  Supposedly Bill Watts was pushing for Bret to be a long term champion.  Watts had just fallen out with Vince and was gone from the company and the rumor and innuendo was over this Bret/Shawn disagreement.  What really happened Bruce? 

Meltzer wrote, “WWF business is the strongest it has been in years, and there is a theory that you don't change champions when business is making a turnaround. The argument continues when it comes to this business turnaround. Supporters of Hart will point out that at virtually all these shows where business has picked up, it was Hart, not Michaels, that was in the headline and drawing position on the cards and that a turnaround can be pointed to just a few weeks after Hart picked up the title from Diesel.

Supporters of Michaels can point out that you can trace a significant upswing in attendance and buy rates directly to the period starting with the Royal Rumble, when Michaels returned after his "career-ending" injury angle and that his return was the prime factor, and not the Hart-Undertaker match, in the shockingly good buy rate of that show. While Michaels was gone, the buy rate for the December PPV with Hart vs. Davey Boy Smith was the lowest in the history of the promotion. In most arenas, Michaels' reaction has been the best of anyone on the show.”  Bruce it seems like the office may have been split about this decision to drop the belt to Shawn.  Who was for it and who was against it?

Meltzer wrote: “The Iron man match in a sense shows a 180 degree change in the WWF's philosophy from the first Wrestlemania, back in 1985. In 1996, the company is putting arguably its two best in-ring performers and putting them in the situation to have a classic match.” Was Vince nervous about this “shift”?

Bret did Regis & Kathy Lee on March 26th, to promote WrestleMania.  How did Bret do in that role of WWF brand ambassador?

Bret & Shawn were good friends a few years before. Shawn had even gone to Bret's house. Going into WrestleMania 12, Bret said they were friends still, but not as much as before.   Bret felt they were in direct competition for the top spot/top babyface roles. How did you see their relationship change during this time?

This takes us to WrestleMania 12. It took place on March 31st, from Anaheim, CA.

Bret said that earlier in the day of WrestleMania, he found Shawn at lunchtime and they sat down and planned out the match. Bret let Shawn piece out the first 25 minutes, and Bret did the rest. Bret said they sat for 3 hours planning out everything. Would Pat have been involved in this or just the two guys?

Bret told him,”I expect we'll be working a rematch when I come back in 6 months” Bret said in order to feed the supposed heat between them, he wouldn't be shaking Shawn's hand after the match, he'd just leave the ring. 

Bret said that Shawn spent much of the morning planning a special entrance, being lowered to the ring by a steel cable. Bret said “I was impressed by how focused he was.”

Bret said as WrestleMania went on, many of the boys with tears in their eyes found him to thank him, as was the custom on a day when the belt was to change hands, if you carried the belt with dignity, and worked hard. Had this always been the tradition and was this the last time it happened?

Shawn Michaels beat Bret Hart in overtime, 1 fall to 0, in 61:52 to win the World Title in the historic iron man match.  Meltzer wrote about the end of the match - 

Michaels tried a flying huracanrana off the middle ropes but it was messed up. He went for a dropkick off the top but Hart caught his legs and got the sharpshooter on with :34 left and Michaels held out until the end without submitting. Hart left with the belt, but Gorilla Monsoon told the ref to re-start the match with a sudden death stipulation, which had never been previously advertised. 

The pop for that announcement was shockingly tepid. In the overtime, Michaels immediately hit two superkicks and got the pin in 1:52 and celebrated in the ring for several minutes afterwards, nearly choking up. In the celebration, Michaels did a Ken Shamrock by kissing Helen Hart and hugging Bret's son Blade. Bret walked out of the ring at the finish rather than doing a symbolic in-ring passing of the torch. ****1/4 

Bret wrote – With 5 minute remaining I hoisted him up like a sack of cement and snapped him in half across my knee. I smiled at the time clock. I told Shawn the last 5 minutes were all his, and we were right on schedule.

I leaped off the second rope only to be jolted by a vicious stiff boot to the jaw from Shawn, and then one potato after another. He took every liberty he could, stiffing me on drop kicks and elbow smashes. Even so, we both knew the match was a masterpiece.

This had been a beautiful movie to watch, especially since the crowd loved us both by

the end of it. It was probably the greatest match I ever had, or close anyway. I squeezed Shawn's wrist  to give him the cue that we were going home. In this ending, the better man would lose.

After the match was over, Bret said “I couldn't believe my ears when I heard Shawn angrily tell Earl, “Tell him to get the fuck out of the ring! This is my moment!”

“I had firmly placed the torch in that little monster's hands. But I also knew that no one was going to forget about me. With my held high, I walked to my waiting Lincoln and burned rubber up the ramp as the credits rolled.”

What did you think of the match?  Have you heard about the liberties Shawn took?  What did you make of the comment about getting out of my ring? Did the match live up to the hype? What did Pat think?  What did Vince think?

The match went exactly as they planned it, down to the minute.  Bret called it “masterpiece” and he felt it was the best match that he's ever had.

Like we talked about, after the match, Bret left the ring without shaking Shawn's hand, and he walked right out of the arena and left. They planned it that way. They basically wanted to work everyone, including the boys & many of the boys felt that Bret leaving that way was indeed a shoot and there was real life hatred between them, but there wasn't at that time.

Bret said the next day at Raw, Owen called him from the building and told Bret that everyone thinks there's so much heat between you & Shawn because you wouldn't shake his hand. Bret said that he told Owen, “That's the best thing in the world & keep everyone thinking that” Isn’t it a little weird that Bret was OK with working the boys?

Remember anybody talking about the alleged “heat?”

Bret felt when he came back and they had the return match that it would be red hot because of these things. In other words, if the boys believed it, then the fans most definitely would believe it

In the first Observer after WrestleMania 12 Meltzer wrote - 

After the Germany tour which ends on 4/22 and with the possible exception of a week of May bookings in Kuwait, Hart is expected to go on a hiatus until at least the end of the summer. There has already been a lot of talk of a Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart rematch at SummerSlam, perhaps in a ladder match. There has also been a lot of talk that Hart may not return that quickly, or even at all.

April 7 – Dortmund, Germany – Bret beat Steve Austin – Their 1st match ever

April 10 – Kassel, Germany – Bret beat Owen

April 11 – Bonn, Germany – Bret beat Hunter Hearst Helmsley

April 12 – Frankfurt, Germany – Bret beat Austin

April 13 – Dusseldorf, Germany – Bret beat Bulldog

April 14 – Bielefeld, Germany – Bret beat Owen

On the April 15th Raw, Bret did an interview from Germany largely to quell rumors of his going to WCW. Hart even set the stage saying another wrestling company is throwing lots of money around and basically portrayed the guys who are leaving as being greedy. WWF sources claim it's not a question of whether Hart will return, only when. Those close to Hart say that after the Kuwait tour in May, there is a possibility he won't come back and that has nothing to do with acting opportunities and that he hasn't made a decision yet.  In April, was there a real concern that Bret might leave?

April 20 – Beyreuth, Germany – Bret beat Helmsley

April 22 – Munich – Bret beat Austin

May 8 – Kuwaiti Tournament – Bret beat Leif Cassidy in the tournament.  Owen pinned Bret clean later in the tournament. Ahmed Johnson would go on to win the tournament.

May 11 – Kuwait City – Bret beat Bulldog

May 12 – Kuwait City – Bret & Undertaker beat Owen & Bulldog

In early June 96', while Bret was home documentary filmmaker Paul Jay told Bret that he wanted to make a film about him and his life. Bret then drove to Banff to meet him at the Banff Film Festival. When did you first hear about Wrestling With Shadows?

Bret said that he went to Vince's house and told him that he saw himself coming back eventually & would like to have a chip on his shoulder after losing to Shawn. Bret suggested they work a rematch where Bret would narrowly regain the title in “another epic babyface contest.” Which would set up a third match, where Bret would put Shawn over clean, but this time he'd shake his hand and endorse him. Vince & JR both said that they liked it. Do you remember this meeting?

When Vince walked Bret to the limo he said, “You're much smarter than people give you credit for”  Bret said, having worked for the man for 12 years, I didn't know what to make of that. Did you ever hear that?  Did Vince say stuff like this often that just catches people off guard?

Bret said on his plane trip back home, he was seated right next to Shawn. They talked and Bret told him it was to their advantage that everyone thought they hated each other, including the boys. Bret said best of all, no one knew that they were talking. Bret said “I told him I'd start building heat by making some remarks about his ring character, but it would all be a work. When I come back, I'd beat him in a return match, probably around the time of WrestleMania 13.

Bret said, “I saw the color drain from his face, He clearly didn't like the sound of any of this.

Bret then explained that he'd win the belt back in their 3rd match, then Bret would endorse him.  Bret said “I wanted him to know that I understood better than anyone, that Vince needed him to be WWF' next big star, and that he could trust me. In the end, nobody could make him like I could.  Do you recall hearing about Bret's proposed 3 match series with Shawn, well 2 more after Mania. What was people's thoughts about it? 

Did you ever talk to Shawn about it?

The July 1st Observer reported that WCW out looking for their mystery man for the third man in the nWo and everyone agreed Bret would be the best guy for the spot.  The WCW Hotline even teased it but supposedly Bret had turned down every offer.

There was problems with the Ultimate Warrior backstage at this time, and the July 8th Observer reported that - Bret Hart was called that morning and told that they were tired of Hellwig's constant demands and wanted him for emergency duty, to work Detroit and Pittsburgh to make up for Hellwig not being there. For whatever reason, Hart didn't come back. A call was then made to Sid Eudy, who has been out of action for months, and he was brought in as a babyface replacement. What was Vince’s reaction to being told no?

On July 13th. Bret's nephew 13 year old Matt Annis passed away. He had fallen into unconsciousness on 7/4 with a disease called streptococcus, which ate away at his internal organs and caused almost all his vital system to shut down as he went into Toxic Shock Syndrome. He really wasn't expected to survive 7/5, but fought the disease for more than one week and seemed to be making progress. 

2 days before he fell ill, Matt was wrestling in the ring outside of the Hart House and Bret thinks that streptococcus may have entered his body through a small cut on his thumb, which he might've picked up from the unwashed ring. How awful is this and have you ever heard the dirty ring canvas theory?

On July 23rd,  Vince chartered a plane and went to Calgary to visit Bret. 2 weeks earlier at WCW's Bash at the Beach, Hulk Hogan turned heel and joined the NWO. Vince gave Bret a contract and told him to name his price. Vince then said “Whatever you want!” Vince then told Bret that Shawn and Undertaker were making about $700,000 a year.

Bret didn't sign, but gave Vince his word that he would return in the fall.  Do you recall Vince going to Calgary to meet with Bret and telling him to name his price but Bret still not signing?

September 8 – Durban, South Africa – Bret beat Bulldog

September 10 – Cape Town South Africa-  Bret & Marc Mero beat Owen & Bulldog

The September 9th Observer reported - Apparently when Hart and McMahon reached a verbal agreement for Hart to return, after McMahon flew to Calgary to meet with Hart in the days following the Vancouver International Incident show, the scenario the two agreed on was for a match with Austin at Survivor Series, followed by appearances at the December and January PPV shows. Hart would go back on the road full-time sometime in January to build up for Wrestlemania. 

The apparent sketchy plan would be that they would shoot an angle at the Royal Rumble to lead to the Hart-Michaels return match at next year's Wrestlemania. It would make sense that the title switch would take place at that show for several reasons. First off, Hart had made it clear he wouldn't return unless the belt was in the cards and he was unhappy enough at having to put Shawn Michaels over last year and it's doubtful he'd agree to come back if it meant putting him over a second time. 

Second, Michaels has apparently made it clear that he would put Hart over in a title match provided he was promised to get the belt back at a specific time in the future.

Hart had told business friends that he was offered substantially more money by WCW (he had told one person it was triple what he had made in WWF) but felt that going to that company would be a step down.  Set the record straight: was Bret promised a win over Shawn for the belt at 13?  

On Raw Championship Friday, Brian Pillman said that he was going to interview Bret at the Mind Games ppv. But Bret was in South Africa at the time filming an episode of the Sinbad TV show. They turned it into an angle, in which Bret appeared on Raw via satellite and said he wasn't going to be there and he never made that commitment to Pillman. Who’s to blame in a situation like this where you advertise something for a PPV you can’t deliver because no one checked with the talent?

Around this time, they started the build on TV for the eventual Bret Hart vs Steve Austin match.  Austin would make comments about Hart. At the In Your House Mind Games pay per view, he did an in ring interview with Brian Pillman and Owen Hart. Among the things Austin said was if you put the letter “S” in front of Hitman, you have my exact opinion of Bret Hart.

He also was on Livewire where he said more things about it, saying he'll kick the hell out of him, etc. etc.  Did Bret handpick Austin as a return opponent or how did that come together?

Bret said on September 25th, he went to Los Angeles to do a guest appearance on The Simpsons. Bret's lawyer Barry Bloom told Bret that Eric Bischoff wanted to meet with him and Bret said they'd talk about it when he got to LA. When Bret landed and got to his hotel, Eric was already on his way to his room. Eric asked him, what's it going to take to bring you to WCW? Bret replied with “I would want the exact same contract as Hulk Hogan, plus one penny.”

Bischoff said “I can't do a deal anything like that, not right now.”

Bret said “That's fine, I'm not really looking to go anywhere. I'm happy where I'm at.”

Eric said “Cmon, at least give me something that I can go back to my people with.”

Bret said “ I'd think about coming to work for you guys for $3 million a year and a lighter schedule.”

Eric said he'd take that back to the Turner people in Atlanta.

On September 27th, 1996 Bischoff offered Bret a contract for 2.8 million a year for 3 years to go to WCW. Bret told him he'd think about it.

Bret said Vince was hearing rumors that Bret had already signed but on October 3rd. Bret called him and said he wouldn't do anything until they first talked.

Vince ended up calling him that weekend and asked Bret what the offer was. Bret 3 million for 3 years working 180 days a year.  Vince told him that he couldn't match that.

Bret said he wasn't asking him to match it, but just to give him the best offer he could. Vince then told him, WCW would never know what to do with a Bret Hart. He said he needed a few days to think about it and like Don Corleone, he'd make him an offer that he couldn't refuse.

On October 9th, Vince flew to Calgary to give Bret his offer in person. During the meeting, Bret told Vince about the Wrestling with Shadows documentary, and Vince said that he had no problem giving Paul access to the matches and the backstage area.

Vince offered Bret a 20 year contract for 10.5 million. It was 1.5 million a year for 3 years as a wrestler. $500,000 a year for the next 7 years as one of his senior advisors. $250,000 a year for 10 years thereafter to be on standby as the Babe Ruth of the company.

Vince then said to him, “I'll never give you a reason to ever want to leave.”

Bret said WCW was offering almost that same amount for 3 years, but Bret couldn't leave Vince. So he accepted his offer and they shook hands.

The October 21st Observer reported that - 

After a bidding war the likes that have never been seen in this profession, Bret Hart appears likely to be choosing the World Wrestling Federation for a deal that may pay him more over four years than any wrestler in history with the exception of Hulk Hogan has made in a career. -- Was there anyone against offering Bret such a deal?

“Titan sources claim McMahon didn't come close to matching the $3 million per year WCW offer. WCW sources claim he not only matched the offer but upped it to a great degree. Sources close to Hart basically confirm the WCW story, and claim the McMahon offer was just under $4 million per year for a four year deal, which is more than one would think the company could afford given the revenues it takes in, but with some sort of outside involvement in financing the deal and with one very important but undisclosed perk added to the pie, and a basic guarantee of a job with the organization for as long as he'd want to work there. 

The $4 million per year is supposedly not in cash, but with a series of "goodies" that all added up together if liquidated would come to $4 million per year. WCW, Hart and nearly everyone privy to what was going on in the negotiations were stunned McMahon would make that lucrative of an offer. While Hulk Hogan has probably earned more than that in some years, no other pro wrestler in the world has ever earned money anywhere near that ballpark and only the biggest superstars in the industry in history had ever earned $4 million in the ring during their entire careers. 

Certainly with the exception of Hogan, if the deal comes to $15 million or more over four years, that no other wrestler has ever made that kind of money in the ring during his career as Hart would figure to make in four years. And for all of Hart's talents and popularity, he is nowhere close to the mainstream icon and drawing card that Hogan is or was. Hart, who apparently was WCW-bound before the meeting with McMahon, apparently changed his mind once, if not twice, again, and supposedly had made a final decision although what that decision was being kept secretive from everyone in wrestling.” Was this a bad deal from day one?

Bret’s old deal was signed in 9/92 and it gave him the option to leave at anytime with a 90 day notice.  He negotiated that when he learned the hardway in 1992 when he tried to leave for WCW while still the Intercontinental Champion.  Apparently those contracts were automatically renewable and only allowed the 90 day notice during a certain window each year. What do you remember about him trying to jump in 92?

The October 28th Observer reported - 

Bret Hart agreed to a 20-year contract with the World Wrestling Federation just prior to making the announcement of his returning on the live Monday Night Raw show from Fort Wayne, IN on 10/21. 

Hart, subject of the biggest bidding war in the history of pro wrestling, turned down an offer from World Championship Wrestling, and in the live interview, acknowledged the offer and praised WCW, which he only referred to as a rival company to the WWF, saying they treated him with honesty and integrity in the negotiations. Hart had been asked over the weekend by the WWF to, in a dramatic fashion, rip up the WCW contract on the live interview as a retaliation for things such as Madusa throwing the WWF women's belt in a garbage can, but refused to do so. Did you guys ask him to do that?

The contract Hart was looking at from WCW guaranteed him $2.8 million per year over three years. It was broken down initially into an $800,000 per year deal for a maximum of 180 total dates as a pro wrestler, and two movie deals per year at a minimum $1 million per movie with the Turner Time Warner corporation. This break-down, probably similar to the Hulk Hogan deal, allows WCW to not have all of the expense of the total huge contract on its books and thus make it easier to run as a profitable company. 

In addition, it circumvents the clause in the contract of Scott Hall, and probably Kevin Nash as well, that guarantees that their contracts would increase individually if any newcomer signed for more money than they earned, in that they were guaranteed to always be, behind Hogan, the highest paid wrestlers in WCW. 

Hall and Nash are both earning $780,000 per year, so Hart's signing based on their contract clause, would have given each a small $20,000 per year raise, however if the contract was structured differently and it was a $2.8 million per year WCW offer alone, based on that clause, each of them would also have to be given raises to the same level--meaning basically to get Hart it would cost WCW nearly $6.8 million extra per year.

This is some speculation that Michaels got the same type of clause in his WWF deal, which may be why Hart's structure of his contract may also not call for a huge guarantee "for wrestling" and a lot of the guarantee may be figured in other ways. On Sunday night, Hall (and Nash if it was in his deal) agreed to waive that contractual clause as a way for Bischoff to increase the offer to Hart to another level without having to give each of them big raises since both felt it was important to them to have Hart in WCW. Has anyone in wrestling ever negotiated such a clause that you know of?

There's is yet another interesting key to this story. One of the things Hart had complained in the past that could stand in his way of going to WCW was the presence of Hulk Hogan. Yet, apparently, in the final negotiations, McMahon talked to Hart about both Hogan and Randy Savage's WCW contracts coming due between now and the end of the year. He suggested it was possible, or even suggested it was more than possible that one or both, and Hogan being the more likely, would end up back in the WWF in 1997. 

One would think if McMahon had brought that up, that a promise that Hart would get his elusive win over Hogan (Hart has had a problem with Hogan since he felt Hogan quit the WWF in 1993 rather than put Hart over at that year's SummerSlam PPV for the title as Hogan was willing to drop it to "big" Yokozuna and leave rather than do a job for "little" Hart), and the idea Hogan might be there may have worked as a positive in clinching the deal. How important was getting a win over Hogan to Bret and how genius was it of Vince to make mention of this possibility?

Bret said when he flew to Ft Wayne for the October 21st Raw, he had the WCW contract in his back pocket, he still hadn't signed the WWF contract that he agreed to. Bret did end up signing it that day and right after he signed it, he ran into Shawn. Bret asked him “Do you mind if I say something about your Playgirl magazine spread?” I want to start building our heat right away. Shawn said “Say whatever you want.”

On the October 28th Raw, they did a split screen head to head with Austin and Bret. Austin was in the “tv studios” and Bret was at his house. It was a very intense segment between the two, very well done. Also during it is when Austin said next week he was going to visit Brian Pillman's house, which ended up being the gun incident.

Bret said the week before Survivor Series, Steve flew to meet him in Calgary and work out the entire match. When they were standing by the ring in Bret's pool room, Steve told Bret that he didn't feel Shawn was the right guy to lead the company.

This takes us to Survivor Series, which took place on November 17 from MSG. Bret pinned Austin in 28:36. In truly a classic match. Meltzer gave it 4 ½ *.

Bret has said he felt Vince and JR were taking subtle cheap shots at him during commentary.  Do you agree with this?  How paranoid was Bret when he wrote this?

What's your memories of that match? It's was Austin's first real big match in the WWF up to that point and it put him on the map.  It’s one of my favorite matches and I loved the finish which was similar to Bret’s match with Piper at Mania 8.  Were the boys happy with it? Did you you know Austin was a star after this?

The stipulation of that match was the winner would get a World Title shot at the next ppv in December. Sid beat Shawn Michaels at Survivor Series to win the World Title, so it set up Sid vs. Bret for the main event of IYH: It’s Time (without Vader in the main event).

The next night on Raw, Bret beat Owen. 

November 27 – London, England -  Bret beat Vader

November 28 – Birmingham – Bret beat Mankind by DQ

December 2 – Dubai – One Night King of the Ring Tournament – Bret beat Bulldog, then he beat Austin in the finals to win the tournament

We're on to In Your House It's Time. It took place on December 15 from West Palm Beach, Fl

Sid pinned Bret clean with the powerbomb in about 17 minutes to retain the title. After the match, Bret attacked Shawn at ringside, who was doing commentary at the time. Meltzer gave it 3 stars.  How did Bret like working with Sid?

December 17 – Daytona Beach – Bret beat Sultan

December 23rd Raw – Bret beat Razor Ramon by submission. Bret and Fake Razor, what did he think of this?

December 26 – Rosemont Horizon – Austin & Vader beat Bret & Shawn

December 30 – Raw – Bret & Savio beat Austin & Faarooq by DQ

Later in that show, they did an in ring Bret & Shawn face to face interview. Bret's mic kept going out. Shawn was great as he sarcastically said he wasn't worthy of going first ahead of the almighty Bret. Bret ripped on Shawn saying he promised to carry the title with prestige and class but never came close, said that if you're not 14 and female you don't get into Shawn and referred to the current gimmick of attempting to portray Shawn as a "Man's Man" by saying whose man is he? 

Just as Shawn started his comeback, Sid showed up and pointed out be beat both and asked for competition. The lights went out and Undertaker's music came on and he showed up. As this was going on, Vader tried to attack Undertaker but Undertaker beat him up and Taker and Sid went face-to-face. Vader got back up again. As Bret went to leave the ring, Shawn crotched him with the ropes and did a plancha on Sid and they brawled. So we’re getting ready for the Rumble and Final Four here already.  How did Vader sneak back into the picture?