“Bret screwed Bret” (WWF, 11-17-1997)

WWF Monday Night RAW, Cornwall, Ontario, Canada

This is a request via Ko-fi.

It’s Jim Ross sitting at a table with Vince McMahon, with a big promo photo of Bret Hart behind them.

JR: “Let’s cut right to the chase. Seven days ago at the Survivor Series, did you or did you not screw Bret Hart?”

Vince: “Some would say I screwed Bret Hart. Bret Hart would definitely tell you I screwed him. I look at it from a different standpoint. I look at it from the standpoint of the referee did not screw Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels certainly did not screw Bret Hart, nor did Vince McMahon screw Bret Hart. I truly believe that Bret Hart screwed Bret Hart, and he can look in the mirror and know that.”

JR: “I’m sure in some parts of the country right now there’s a collective groan that you’re not accepting responsibility. That you orchestrated the situation, and the fact that people are not going to understand what you mean by ‘Bret Hart screwed Bret Hart.’ So what do you mean by that?”

Vince: “Well I will certainly take responsibility for any decision that I’ve made, I’ve never had a problem doing that. Not that all of my decisions are accurate. They’re not. But when I make a bad decision, I’m not above saying I’m sorry and doing the best about it I can. Hopefully the batting average is pretty good, I make more good decisions than I do bad decisions. As far as screwing Bret Hart is concerned, there’s a time honored tradition in the wrestling business, that when someone is leaving, that they show the right amount of respect to the WWF superstars in this case who helped make you that superstar. You show the proper respect to the organization that helped you become who you are today. It’s a time honored tradition, and Bret Hart didn’t want to honor that tradition. That’s something that I would have never, ever expected from Bret, because he is known somewhat as a traditionalist in this business. It would’ve never crossed my mind that Bret would not have wanted to show the right amount of respect to the superstars who helped make him and the organization who helped make him what he is today. Nonetheless, that was Bret’s decision. Bret screwed Bret.”

JR: “Some folks along the internet know that in 1996 Bret signed a 20-year contract with the WWF. Then I’m sure there are some at home now, some folks are saying, ‘He’s got 18 years left on the contract. How can he leave?’ Did Bret Hart ask you to leave the WWF, or did you ask him to leave the WWF?”

Vince: “This was a joint decision. And it vacillated somewhat, as well, when we were making the decision. It was a joint decision from both Bret and me. And ultimately what happened was that the two of us got together and orchestrated the opportunity for Ted Turner’s wrestling organization to quote ‘steal’ Bret. I felt that for business reasons, if Bret Hart and the salary we were paying him was not justified. And Bret felt that for creative reasons, the fact that he had become sort of second banana in his own mind to Shawn Michaels, who had quote ‘stolen his spot’ — so for financial reasons on my part, and creative reasons on Bret Hart’s part, the two of us got together and decided, ok, let’s do the very best we can for you, Bret. So the two of us orchestrated Bret Hart receiving a three-year deal in which he is paid $3 million a year, which I believe is the richest deal in all of professional wrestling. And that’s working 125 days a year. So I felt from a personal standpoint that if Bret wasn’t a great investment any longer for the WWF, although I really didn’t want him to go, but nonetheless, that the least I could do for Bret is to help him help himself. I told Bret, ‘Bret, if in fact you do get this deal from Turner, I’m gonna be the very first person personally to congratulate you.’ And I was. From a business standpoint, I really didn’t wanna lose Bret. He wasn’t paying off from a financial standpoint, but nonetheless, I really didn’t wanna lose Bret.”

JR: “Certainly the bitterness of the loss at the Survivor Series could never be more prevalent. He stands in the ring and he spits in your face. Shortly thereafter, he is destroying WWF television equipment. Were you prepared for what happened after the match?”

Vince: “I was disappointed in Bret when he hit me.”

hahahaha

Vince: “Very disappointed. I sustained a concussion because of it, with vision problems to this day. I’ll get over it. I didn’t think it was the right thing to do. Bret seems to be crowing about that, that I’ve read, that he feels proud of striking me.”

hahahahahahahahahaha

Vince: “It wasn’t a question of a confrontation, because even at 52 years old, I dare say that perhaps things would have been a little different if there were a confrontation. I allowed Bret to strike me. I had hoped that he wouldn’t. I hoped that we could sit down and try to work things out as gentlemen. That’s what I really hoped for. But that’s not what happened.”

JR: “Have you considered pressing charges or pursuing legal remedies for that situation in his locker room?”

Vince: “I have considered it. I think those options are still available. I’m not pursuing it at the moment. I guess maybe it all depends on Bret, as to whether or not I do.”

JR: “If you were only a story writer, and the Survivor Series was the final chapter in the life story of Bret Hart, the WWF years, how would have preferred to write the final chapter?”

Vince: “As a storyteller, I would’ve hoped that Bret’s story would be a dramatic one.”

you sound like a great storyteller, dog

Vince: “I would hope that Bret’s story would be one that would give him dignity. That would give him the poise to state that I was maybe the greatest WWF superstar ever, in terms of his departure. And one way of being able to give back to the company, being able to give back to those individuals, those superstars who helped you achieve the level of success that you have, when you know that you’re leaving in a time-honored tradition, might’ve been, for argument’s sake, that after the most grueling match that Bret ever had in his life, that Bret was pinned. But in that small moment of defeat, Bret would’ve stood straight up and shown the whole world what a true champion, both as a human being and a wrestling persona, he really is. And if I had been Bret, if I were writing the story, I can see Bret after a 1-2-3 simply saying, ok, to his opponent, you got the best of me, I wanna congratulate you. I wanna stick my hand out and congratulate you. And furthermore, I want everyone in the whole locker room to watch my match, so that I can show for those who follow in my foot steps, the way in a time-honored tradition, this is to be done. To show every individual, every secretary, everyone in Titan Sports, the World Wrestling Federation, who counts on me to do the right thing, that I was there, that I was a superstar, maybe the greatest of ever, and I went out the way a true champion would go out.”

JR: “Are you able to step back and objectively look at this thing and evaluate your friend, your perhaps former friend Bret Hart the human being, and have sympathy for this man?”

And here’s where this turns from a weird TV insider interview, something unique but that couldn’t be ignored, into Vince McMahon becoming one of the great heels in wrestling history.

Vince: “Sympathy? I have no sympathy for Bret whatsoever. None. I have no sympathy for someone who is supposed to be a wrestling traditionalist not doing the right thing for the business that made him, not doing the right thing for the fans and the performers and the organization, who helped make him what he is today. Bret made a very, very selfish decision. Bret’s gonna have to live with that for the rest of his life. Bret screwed Bret. I have no sympathy whatsoever for Bret.”

JR: “Now this is a crazy question. Would you welcome Bret Hart back if he said, ‘Vince, I’ve changed my mind, can I come back?’ Would you allow him to return to the WWF? I mean he spit in your face, notwithstanding destroying television monitors and equipment, certainly notwithstanding the fact that he punched you. Would you allow him to ever come back to the WWF if that was an option?”

Vince: “This is a strange business. Yes, I would. We would have to have a real frank understanding. I would want to hear Bret say, ‘Vince, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be selfish, I just kinda lost it there for a while.’ And I have no problem saying, Bret, jeez, I’m sorry that I had to do what I had to do, as well. Would I welcome him back? I’d also tell Bret, ‘no more free shots.’ I’d want that from strictly a man’s standpoint, I’d want him to know that. And in the future if we’re gonna have problems along those lines in the locker room or anywhere else, ok, we’re gonna have ’em, but no more free shots. Yeah, I’d — if Bret could tear up his contract with the other guys right now and return, I’d welcome Bret back under those conditions.”

JR: “Do you believe his motivation primarily — he says he didn’t leave here for the money.”

Vince: “There were signs in the arena following Survivor Series, ‘Bret sold out.’ Bret seems to be sensitive to that subject, that he doesn’t want to be known as someone who sold out. I’m proud of the fact that I helped Bret sell out. That’s what Bret did! He sold out! It’s not a big deal, because I helped him do it! So do I think that Bret left for the money? I think that when you’re making $3 million a year and you’re working 125 days of that year, I think Bret sold out. And I don’t blame him for selling out! I helped him sell out! As a matter of fact, I would suggest there could be a long line outside the next locker room with wrestlers begging me, ‘Vince, help me sell out!’ So do I think he sold out? Yeah, and I think that every time Bret says no, I didn’t do it for the money, I think that Bret loses credibility every time he says that.”

JR: “Did this whole ugly ordeal with Bret Hart affect you more professionally, the business side of Vince McMahon, or the personal side of Vince McMahon?”

Vince: “From a business side, the WWF will go on beyond Bret Hart. From a personal side, it definitely has affected me. I think that Bret and I — you can’t end a 14-year relationship like was ended without having feelings. I regret that I felt that I was forced into making the decision that I made. I regret that Bret didn’t do the right thing for the business and for himself, because it wouldn’t have cost him one dollar less with his deal with Turner. I regret that his fans, if there is such a thing separate from WWF fans, are in any way hurt by any of this. I regret that his family is enduring, having to endure this tirade that Bret seems to be on. I regret that a member of my family, my son had to witness some of this, especially in the locker room. I regret all of that from a personal standpoint, yet steadfast remain that I made a tough decision, but it was the right decision for the WWF fans, and the WWF superstars that remain here, loyal to us.”

JR: “If you had the opportunity to speak with Bret, and now’s not a bad opportunity, ’cause you know he’s watching. Everybody involved in this situation is watching this right now. What would you say to him now?”

Vince: “Probably what I said to him in the locker room. And that is that he made a mistake that I believe he’ll regret from a professional standpoint. Didn’t have to be made that way. I felt I had to do what I had to do for my company and our fans and our superstars that remain here. And I’m unwavering in that point of view. And perhaps Bret is unwavering in his point of view. I don’t know that we’ll ever get together. I hope we will one day. It’s too bad that a 14-year relationship was destroyed because one member of that relationship forgot that we’re in the sports-entertainment business. Forgot where he came from.”

JR: “When will you be over this?”

Vince: “I’m over it now. At the same time, Bret has been such a part of the WWF. A part of Bret will always be here in the World Wrestling Federation. And I’m gonna remember the good times. I’m gonna remember all the things that we did with Bret, in which he performed to the greatest degree possible and told those wonderful stories. I’m gonna remember Bret as the Excellence of Execution. It’s just too damn bad that in the end, Bret really wasn’t the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be. And he had that opportunity to live up to that in his final match with the WWF, and he failed.”

Rating: NR. As a Bret Hart fan who completely sides with Hart on what happened in Montreal, the propaganda here is painful to relive. But it is masterful. Vince says *just enough* nice things about Bret that you start to think it pains him to be so HONEST about what Bret did wrong, how Bret was wrong, that Bret was wrong, that Vince is right. But the most important thing here is nothing to do with the real situation at all. It’s that for once in his life, Vince McMahon was actually the creative genius he is made out to be, instead of the marketing genius he actually is. He smelled an opportunity and he grabbed the ball and ran with it. From here, Vince McMahon was no longer just a simple announcer, no longer even the guy that a lot of the audience knew ran the show. He became the best heel in the company. Midway through this interview, which is really just a promo led by all-time asskisser Jim Ross, who puckers up to whomever he’s answering to at the time, be it Bill Watts or Vince McMahon or fuckin Jim Herd, Vince turns the switch. He goes from acting like he’s participating in some earnest, real interview to putting on a show. The “sympathy” question is what puts it over the top, and from there he’s pretty much off to the races. I mean, fuck, *I* hate Vince for this promo and I get that he’s just cutting a promo. It all worked out wonderfully for Vince McMahon and the WWF. Don’t forget that at this point, he was embroiled in and badly losing a war with WCW, part of the reason he let Bret go, he said, was he didn’t have the money to pay him anymore, because WCW was putting the WWF on death’s door step. And it all started to turn here. Then they brought in Tyson for WrestleMania, crowned Austin, the Attitude Era commenced, and three and a half years later, the war was over, with Vince McMahon standing on the corpses of his enemies. So it is what it is. But Bret was right, and Vince can go fuck himself.