Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XII (WWE)
Know everything you need to know about the Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart rivalry
The pro-wrestling world is fueled with great rivalries, and WWE has been the home of some of the greatest rivalries the pro-wrestling world has ever seen since its inception. One rivalry that stands out apart from the rest is the rivalry between Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart.
These two have given the fans one of the best, if not the best feud the WWE (WWF) has ever seen. In many ways, the rivalry between The Hitman and The Heartbreak Kid has shaped modern-day wrestling.
The rivalry started to brew in the late 1980s when it became evident that WWE were favouring Michaels over Hart. At the time, Hart was the biggest name in the locker room and Michaels was a young lad who was trying to rise up through the ranks. However, heartbreak kid had caught the eye of Vince McMahon and he was determined to make Michaels the next big thing in pro-wrestling.
Hart was the WWF world champion at that time and it was about time that he passed the torch to Michaels to lead the way. The two met at the WrestleMania XII in match which stays vivid in the memories of wrestling fans to this day. The match lasted over 60 minutes and Michaels won the WWF championship for Hart.
Even though this was planned, the aftermath was rather sour for Hart. He expected Michaels to be a bit respectful about everything that was happening. A year later, it was decided that the two will face again at WrestleMania XIII and the Heartbreak kid would lose his title to Hart.
Even though it was decided that Michaels would lose his title to Hitman Hart at WrestleMania XIII, the Heartbreak kid refused to do so. He ended up surrendering the title and refused to lose to Hart. This was utter disrespect for Hart and it was clear that there was no love left between these two.
Hart was increasingly displeased by McMahon and how he handled the situation and decided to move to WCW. The deal was signed and the time was set, however, there was one problem. Hart still had the title and the company wanted to make a big event before he left.
Hart was set to take on Michaels again at the Survivor Series PPV in 1997, and the storyline was set for Hart to retain his title. He made it clear that he’d lose his title to anybody but Michaels. This lead to the infamous Montreal Screwjob. It was supposed to be the last match of Hitman Hart at the promotion and McMahon had some other ideas.
Take a look at Hart talking about his rivalry with Michaels:
When the two faced off at Survivor Series, the match went as planned in the initial stages. But when Michaels put Hart in a sharpshooter everything changed. As per the script, Hart was set to reverse the move, however, the referee had already been told about the plans and Michaels was aware of it.
The referee signalled that Hart had submitted and McMahon who was also ringside shouted to ring the bell. Hitman Hart was quick to realize what had been done to him and was in complete disgust.
Bursting in rage, Hart proceeded to spit on McMahon’s face and destroy a couple of monitors ringside. Backstage things got even worse as Hart confronted Michaels who claimed to have not known about this. But the fact was that he was aware this whole time. The final moments of Hart with the WWF had left a sour taste on him for years to come.
Watch WWE superstars talk about the Montreal Screwjob below:
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