Bret Hart vs Shawn Michaels is one of the most famous wrestling rivalries of all time. This is because of how real the hatred got between the two men. These 2 are considered by many as 2 of the greatest wrestlers of all time. There was room for only one at the top and this resulted in a Rivalry that would change the wrestling world forever. Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels were thorough professionals so they used all of their backstage heat to tell an even better story in the ring for the millions of fans across the world.
Let’s look at the Bret Hart vs Shawn Michaels Rivalry
The Start and WrestleMania 12
It was the era of the 1990s where both Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart were two of the top guys in WWF and they did not like each other backstage in the later years of the 1990s. During the start both men were friends as they got along very well. He even considered Shawn Michaels one of his closest friends in the early days. Shawn Michaels won the 1996 Royal Rumble and he challenged Bret Hart at WrestleMania. It was 1996 and it was WrestleMania 12. This was one of their most legendary Matches. This was a 60 minute iron man match and both these men were determined to have a match that would be talked about for generations to come. 60 minutes were not enough to separate the 2 and so extra time was added and finally after 61 minutes and 52 seconds it was Shawn Michaels who won the WWF Championship and the boyhood dream came true. Bret Hart put over Shawn Michaels. This match was the start of their bad blood as during the start of this match, Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels were hitting each other stiffly and wanted to hurt each other. Bret Hart moves and Shawn Michael moves are a treat to watch.
Tough Times for Shawn Michaels after winning
Shawn Michaels won at WrestleMania 12 but it was not easy for him as the champion. He was in a locker room that did not respect him and he knew he was dealing with different issues. Then he appeared in the Playgirl magazine which received Backlash from WWE fans. That was also the time that the Monday Night Wars were in between WWE and WCW. Vince wanted to crush the competition. WCW was doing very well and signing all the top talent and this angered Vince and the pressure got to Shawn Michaels. On the other hand Bret Hart was enjoying time away from the wrestling ring. He was offered a multi million dollar deal by WCW and he rejected it because Vince offered Bret Hart a 20 year contract and creative control. Bret Hart returned at 1996 SummerSlam and that was the start of his feud against Stone Cold Steve Austin. This cultivated into one of the best WrestleMania matches of all time at WrestleMania 13.
Shawn Michaels was not being a professional and he refused to put over Bret Hart at WrestleMania 13. This resulted in Best being angry and he was not happy in WWE because of Shawn Michaels. Shawn Michaels did not want Bret Hart to get his top spot back so the egos of these two men had to come to a head sometime. The attitude era started in WWE and Vince McMahon decided to use the real life rivalry of Bret Hart vs Shawn Michaels on TV. Both men used to call out each other on TV and the fans were invested in the storyline.
The build up to the Montreal Screwjob
The rivalry between Bret Hart vs Shawn Michaels was playing on national TV every week in 1997. Bret Hart criticized Shawn Michaels for being a child of Wrestling. Shawn Michaels started a new group with Triple H and Chyna and called it DX. He used to say all the wrong things and the group used to play pranks on everybody. With Time DX became so popular that Vince McMahon allowed Shawn Michaels to do anything he wanted and say all the slangs. Bret Hart was not a fan of the new Attitude Era and he thought this sullied the sport of professional wrestling. Shawn Michaels saw this and he upped the ante on Bret Hart. I'm his unique way. Shawn Michaels accused Bret Hart of cheating with Tammy Sytch. This made Bret Hart furious and he attacked Shawn Michaels backstage. Vince McMahon decided to make the WWF public. This resulted in the 20 years contract given to Bret Hart being void. Bret Hart was understandably furious. Bret Hart contacted WCW and a deal was reached between the parties but Bret Hart had to put over Shawn Michaels at Survivor Series in Canada in 1997. This was the event that changed it all.
The Montreal Screwjob
Before the match at Survivor Series 1997, Bret Hart said that he would not put Shawn Michaels over and this resulted in Vince McMahon thinking that WCW had a hand in this decision. Vince wanted Bret Hart to drop the title but Bret said no and this resulted in Vince McMahon doing something that would change the wrestling world forever. Bret Hart offered to drop the title to Mick Foley or Stone Cold Steve Austin or even forfeiting the title but Vince McMahon did not want to hear any of it. On the day of the match, Bret Hart discussed the match with Shawn and they came up with a banger and everything looked good. Bret Hart even spoke to the referee of the match Earl Hebner who assured him that he would never betray Bret Hart even if Vince McMahon said to do it.
This was the final talk before the match. The match was a very good one like it always was between the two men. Everything was going to plan till the end. The Hart Dynasty were ready for the DQ but they found out that Triple H was ringside. Shawn Michaels put Bret Hart in the Sharpshooter and Vince McMahon asked the timekeeper to ring the bell and Shawn Michaels was crowned the champion. This angered Bret Hart who spit on Vince McMahon and made the WCW sign live on WWE TV. This was the end of Bret Hart in WWE. Vince was knocked out by Bret Hart and for the next 13 years Bret Hart was not seen in WWE. WWE continued without Bret Hart and Vince McMahon became the biggest heel in the world. He was being booed out of every arena and he took full advantage of this and made WWE buy out WCW in 2001.
The Reunion of Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels
On 4th January 2010, Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels were in the same ring. This was the end of a bitter feud as both men buried the hatchet and this became a legendary moment in wrestling. After a few years, Bret Hart accepted the invitation from WWE to be in the WWE Hall of Fame. Bret Hart was unwilling to attend WrestleMania for a number of years and with time these two men have become friends and they have put the Montreal Screwjob in the past. Shawn Michaels was also inducted in the WWE Hall of Fame in 2011.
