The Bret-Shawn relationship

[Guest DeputyHawk]

Did Shawn harbor bubbling resentment over Bret asking for The Rockers' tag title win over The Hart Foundation to be stricken from the records?

 

I ask because The Rockers were madly over & on a helluva roll in 1990, they came back after Shawn's mid-year knee injury, almost immediately won the doubles gold then had it snatched back away from them just as quickly and it never aired on TV.

 

The Rockers totally lost their momentum after that and were never close to being tag champions ever again. Shawn's solo push was by no means a certainty at that time, and it must have seemed like Bret had really royally fucked his career up the river for him.

 

I know I'd be pissed.

[cawthon777 0]

Bret had nothing to do with the titles being returned to the Hart Foundation or the Rockers' win never being officially recognized.

 

The match wasn't televised because of the whole rope fiasco. That I think everyone knows. However, it was at a Main Event taping - so there were enough wrestling journalists in attendance to spill the beans of the title change to the rest of the world.

 

McMahon had every intention to redo the match at another taping but since every wrestling mag already spoiled the title change in Ft. Wayne, he felt that if he had to hold off for a while before scheduling the rematch. The thinking there was that if the Rockers regained the titles too quickly, the fans wouldn't care as much because they could see it coming a mile away.

 

By the time it became old news, the LOD were the focal point of the tag division and the Rockers were on the long road to breaking up.

[Guest DeputyHawk]

From what I understand, it was Bret who requested the match with the broken rope not be aired, ostensibly for aesthetic reasons but in reality to keep Jim Neidhart in his job, as he was being threatened with termination after The Rockers got the titles. This was, I think, in one of the RF Video shoot interviews, but I can't 100% remember.

 

Phantom title-switch controversy aside, were they friends prior to their singles runs or did they always just not get along for whatever reason?

 

I'm fascinated by the idea Shawn felt Bret screwed him over in 1990, and had an agenda against him even from before the days of the Clique.

[cawthon777 0]

I have the RF shoot with HBK and, although he does discuss the match, he doesn't say anything derogatory towards Bret or mention that he was the one behind the title change being nullified. He just mentions what I already said about not wanting to redo the match too soon.

 

My understanding of the situation is that one of the reasons the title change occured was because Jim Neidhart's contract was about to end - not that he was on the verge of termination. So when he decided to stay with the company, it was just one more reason not to air the match.

 

I'm fairly certain they used to get along. Back in 89, the Rockers and Hart Foundation had a series of matches on the house show circuit and in 92 Bret fought Shawn almost every other day from WrestleMania to Summer Slam. There was some really good chemistry there that I don't think could have existed had the two men been legitly pissed by one another. I would compare it to the modern day version of Flair / Steamboat.

 

I think the hostility (and again I'm referencing HBK's shoot so take it for what it's worth) began following WrestleMania XII. Shawn felt he had finally become Bret's equal but wasn't being treated as such. Add that in with the worked shoot comments made by Bret in his Calgary Sun column and on televised WWF interviews following Mania.

 

I'd like to hear Bret's side of the story from his RF video. Since Shawn seemed to draw a temporary blank for almost every question asked, I'd be more likely to buy into Bret's perspective.

[Guest bravesfan]

From an SK rant on Bret's RF shoot -

 

- The WWF really had no idea what to do with him from 88-90, as he bounced between meaningless feuds and the occasional singles push with no direction. Finally Demolition offered to put them over for the titles, and Bret thought they might be going somewhere again. But a month later, Vince called them into the office and fired Neidhart, once again claiming that there were “big plans” afoot and that Bret would be working with all the top guys this time. Bret was wary, but needed the big break.

 

- Onto the phantom title switch, as a pissed off Neidhart hit the top turnbuckle so hard that it broke and the referee panicked. They all ended up blowing their spots so badly that Bret begged Vince to bury the match and let them do another shot. Instead, he decided to do exactly what Bret DIDN’T want – retain Neidhart, give the belts back to the Harts and delay the push for another 6 months. This time, Bret said he’d hold Vince to it.

[Guest godthedog]

according to shawn, the bad blood started after WM12 when bret didn't shake shawn's hand after the match & simply went home. he'd told shawn beforehand that he would work the sheets & make it look like they hated each other, but shawn was later told that it was just an excuse for bret to dog the shit out of him behind his back.

 

according to bret, the bullshit started while bret was taking time off in late 96 & steve austin was begging him to come back to counter shawn's backstage antics. they got along okay, even agreeing on a WM13 main event where bret would break shawn's ankle & win the match, then shawn would come back & get the title at summerslam. then shawn "lost his smile" & vacated the title, and bret said he'd withhold judgement till he found out if it was legit. when shawn came back so soon, it made up bret's mind, & that's when it started getting really hairy.

 

as already stated, shawn talks about the phantom title switch without any resentment, & doesn't seem to think it was a big deal.

[Guest nWoScorpion]

To make a long story short, once HBK got the title, he became even more of a prick.