The Hart Foundation

[Guest TheZsaszHorsemen]

A couple times here recently I've seen posters state that what Bret Hart was saying was right, and that US fans WERE bloodthirsty and this is the reason the Austin/Hart feud of '97 was so great.

 

To be frank gentlemen... you're not seeing the whole picture.

 

Bret Hart's heel turn was not cool because he was TRYING to do the right thing, but that he CLAIMED he was right... but he was just as bad as the men he railed against. Wrapped in self-righteousness, Bret Hart railed against anyone HE felt wasn't good for the business; oblivious to the fact that he was just as dirty and underhanded as Austin.

 

Let's look at the origin of the group itself:

 

- JEALOUSY: Stone Cold Steve Austin began making challenges to Bret Hart, who was taking six months off to rethink his career. Stone Cold was not jealous of Hart, he saw Hart first as a white bread do-gooder... and later as a spineless coward who refused to answer his challenges. After their first match at Survivor Series 96 it became increasingly apparant that Austin had something Hart wanted: the support of the fans. Hart NEEDED the fans behind him, he had no idea how to react (both in reality and on camera) to a group of people who hated him, he began to see the fans as a group of bloodthirsty animals who rooted for the bad guy because they were cynical and jaded. He didn't realize that Austin WASN'T a bad guy in their eyes. Austin was the wrestling version of Clint Eastwood or Cool Hand Luke. He may have been a ruthless bastard, but he made no apologies for what he was and never turned on anyone who didn't seem to deserve it (and yes Brian Pillman is the perfect example of this).

 

Oh and ironically Bret Hart would later accuse American fans of being xenophobes... when the ONLY reason he was cheered for in Canada was because of xenophobia and anti-Americanism.

 

Which leads right into...

 

- HYPOCRISY: Hart accused Shawn Michaels of being a primadonna... and yet where was Hart for the six months after WrestleMania? Hart accused Austin of playing to the basest emotions of the crowd... and yet wasn't Hart the one leading four on one beatdowns on wrestlers he didn't like? Besides the general reaction of fans to Hart (both on the 'Net and on camera) was "Who the fuck are YOU to tell ME who I can root for? Fuck you, Austin 3:16!" Even before the actual heel turn, Hart's whinings about the state of the industry did nothing to endear himself to a crowd that ALREADY saw him as outdated. Hart would continue to become paranoid and delusional as to his place in the company (both on and off screen) leading to curse-filled rants seemingly everytime he lost a match.

 

- WHINING: This was pretty much what sealed Bret's fate as a top babyface in the US. You don't whine about your problems to the people, we expect our heroes to WIN... and if they don't then they pick themselves up and keep trying till they do. That's the way life is, and Bret Hart couldn't grasp that. He was looked at as a primma donna, a label which held until his brother died and he became a tragedy.

 

This is probobly my favorite angle of all time, but I HATE IT when people think Hart was anything but the bad guy. Hart was jealous of what Austin had, and tried desperatly to get it back for himself... and when he couldn't he simply made himself an avatar of the one place where he still had it: Canada. On the other hand, Stone Cold didn't give a damn whether you cheered him or not. He was still going to be Stone Cold, and that added to Hart's anger.

[Downhome 0]

It makes me sad that when I see a topic called "The Hart Foundation" in an old school wrestling folder, that it no longer only applies to Bret/Jim/Jimmy, etc...

[Australian Pride 0]

I totally agree with you here. The main reason it worked was because Bret completely believed he was right, even though most fans (outside of Canada) didn't see it that way. The angle was based on reality, with Bret slowly unravelling because the fans 'deserted' him for straight-talker Austin, and still supported pretty boy Shawn Michaels, and that was pretty much the way he felt away from the cameras as well - though he did actually respect Austin as a performer, he hated the fans siding with him. That's why Bret never worked well in WCW as a heel, because he was just doing it for the hell of it, and not because he truly had any hatred for Sting, Savage etc.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

A couple times here recently I've seen posters state that what Bret Hart was saying was right, and that US fans WERE bloodthirsty and this is the reason the Austin/Hart feud of '97 was so great.

 

To be frank gentlemen... you're not seeing the whole picture.

 

Bret Hart's heel turn was not cool because he was TRYING to do the right thing, but that he CLAIMED he was right... but he was just as bad as the men he railed against. Wrapped in self-righteousness, Bret Hart railed against anyone HE felt wasn't good for the business; oblivious to the fact that he was just as dirty and underhanded as Austin.

 

Let's look at the origin of the group itself:

 

- JEALOUSY: Stone Cold Steve Austin began making challenges to Bret Hart, who was taking six months off to rethink his career. Stone Cold was not jealous of Hart, he saw Hart first as a white bread do-gooder... and later as a spineless coward who refused to answer his challenges. After their first match at Survivor Series 96 it became increasingly apparant that Austin had something Hart wanted: the support of the fans. Hart NEEDED the fans behind him, he had no idea how to react (both in reality and on camera) to a group of people who hated him, he began to see the fans as a group of bloodthirsty animals who rooted for the bad guy because they were cynical and jaded. He didn't realize that Austin WASN'T a bad guy in their eyes. Austin was the wrestling version of Clint Eastwood or Cool Hand Luke. He may have been a ruthless bastard, but he made no apologies for what he was and never turned on anyone who didn't seem to deserve it (and yes Brian Pillman is the perfect example of this).

 

Oh and ironically Bret Hart would later accuse American fans of being xenophobes... when the ONLY reason he was cheered for in Canada was because of xenophobia and anti-Americanism.

 

Which leads right into...

 

- HYPOCRISY: Hart accused Shawn Michaels of being a primadonna... and yet where was Hart for the six months after WrestleMania? Hart accused Austin of playing to the basest emotions of the crowd... and yet wasn't Hart the one leading four on one beatdowns on wrestlers he didn't like? Besides the general reaction of fans to Hart (both on the 'Net and on camera) was "Who the fuck are YOU to tell ME who I can root for? Fuck you, Austin 3:16!" Even before the actual heel turn, Hart's whinings about the state of the industry did nothing to endear himself to a crowd that ALREADY saw him as outdated. Hart would continue to become paranoid and delusional as to his place in the company (both on and off screen) leading to curse-filled rants seemingly everytime he lost a match.

 

- WHINING: This was pretty much what sealed Bret's fate as a top babyface in the US. You don't whine about your problems to the people, we expect our heroes to WIN... and if they don't then they pick themselves up and keep trying till they do. That's the way life is, and Bret Hart couldn't grasp that. He was looked at as a primma donna, a label which held until his brother died and he became a tragedy.

 

This is probobly my favorite angle of all time, but I HATE IT when people think Hart was anything but the bad guy. Hart was jealous of what Austin had, and tried desperatly to get it back for himself... and when he couldn't he simply made himself an avatar of the one place where he still had it: Canada. On the other hand, Stone Cold didn't give a damn whether you cheered him or not. He was still going to be Stone Cold, and that added to Hart's anger.

Being a hypocrite is kinda the point of his heel turn.... he was the old traditionalist who fell apart when the company took the "wrong" turn, so he lashed out at anyone who supported "Attitude".

 

Remember, a great heel justifies his actions no matter if they're actually right.

[Guest TheZsaszHorsemen]

It doesn't mean they ARE right though. That was the point.

[Guest Loss]

I don't know that your point is all that important. A heel was wrong about something. That's what heels do. Wrestling is about anything but justice.

[Guest Loss]

To elaborate, look at 1998. Vince told Austin if he messed up the Taker/Kane title match at Judgment Day that he would fire him. Austin messed it up and Vince fired him. The fans acted like Vince was this horrible guy when all he was doing was holding up his word. It's strange -- I actually sided with Vince all the way through the Austin feud. He came out the night after he won the title and tried to make peace with him by handing him the title for crying out loud.

 

I could go on forever about the hypocritical booking in Hogan's matches.

[TheOriginalOrangeGoblin 0]

I could go on forever about the hypocritical booking in Hogan's matches.

Not to mention the Savage/Hogan feud in general. I can't see how people could've sided with Hogan in that(well until Savage went full-heel the week pre-Mania).

[Fökai 0]

It's strange -- I actually sided with Vince all the way through the Austin feud. He came out the night after he won the title and tried to make peace with him by handing him the title for crying out loud.

But didn't you forget that, two weeks before Wrestlemania XIV, Vince said that Austin would make a horrible champion?

 

From CRZ's recap of the March 30th, 1998 edition of RAW...

 

As VINCE McMAHON walks to the ring with a brand new (bigger) title belt on his shoulder, Ross tells us that Triple H has a special DX announcement later tonight as well. Is that a blue strap? The crowd chants "Austin" and Vince's smile already appears to have faded. "Ladies and gentlemen...ladies and gentlemen, if you can hear me...ladies and gentlemen, is this mic working? Is this mic working? I can't hear myself." I think his voice isn't going out over the PA. "I am pleased to present to you - you're so loud - I am pleased to present to you (there we go) the NEW World Wrestling Federation Champion, STONE COLD STEVE AUSTIN!" Out comes Austin with the hold belt over his shoulder - he looks at his, looks at Vince's...gets in the ring, looks at his, looks at Vince's...tosses his at McMahon's feet and roughly grabs the one over his shoulder. Vince is a bit taken aback as Austin makes his way to all four corners for those in attendance with cameras. Although we know Austin will be defending his title at Unforgiven In Your House 26 April, we have no knowledge of his opponent yet. "All right! First thing I'd like to, uh, first think I'd like to say...other than congratulations - first thing I'd like to say, that I'd like to clear up any misunderstanding about what I may have said and what...(boos)...I'd like to clear up any misinterpretation of what I had to say several weeks ago as to you winning the World Wrestling Federation championship - um - the truth is...the truth is, I am proud of you becoming the World Wrestling Federation champion." Crowd isn't buying it. "I'm - I am proud of you to represent this company - my company - and Mr. Austin...together, and that's a key word, and I want you to listen...together. Together, Mr. Austin, with my vision and your charisma; together with my mental prowess and your physical prowess; together, Mr. Austin, one day you might become the greatest WWF Champion of all time." "Vince, let's cut through all the BS. I know for a fact that you hate me. But that's okay - that's okay because I hate ya right back. What you've gotta understand is there ain't gonna be no you or me - there ain't no we - you ain't gonna mold me, you ain't gonna break me - what you see, Vince, is what you get, and if you don't like that...tough luck." "Well, just for the record, I do not hate you - I am incapable of hate - it's not a word, really, that's in my vocabulary, Mr. Austin. Matter of fact, not only do I not hate you, I find you to be a...a genuine human being, I find you to be....a swell guy. Um, all right, I mean, you know, I find you...I loveyou I think you're a - you're a hell of a guy, I--" "You what? You what? You, you said somethin', what did you what did you say?" "I I, said I think you're a hell of a guy." "Well I know you said I was a hell of a guy but you said something else, what else did you say?" "I, well, I, I didn't mean that I love ya, I just meant....I just meant...it's a figure of speech - let's just--" "Well now, what did you say? Figure of speech or not, what did you say?" "No, I just...let's not get confrontational and spoil this moment, okay? I mean...you're a hell of a guy, I just wanted to clear that up. I'm very proud of you." "But you said what?" Vince removes the mic and says "I said - I said I love you, okay?" "Put the microphone up to your little mouth before I bash it in - what did you tell me?" Pause. "I said I loved ya, but I - you, I , you know, I mean it's just a figure of speech, that's all I'm saying." Austin gets a chuckle out of this. "Okay, hot shot - I love you, too. Now that we got all the gratuitous BS outta the way - all the sentimenal crap, what I'm telling you and you can look right in my bloodshot eyes - I ain't gonna do things your way. I will continue to raise as much hell and do things and create as much chaos and give you more grey hairs every single day of your life! Nobody - nobody, especially Vince McMahon, tells Stone Cold Steve Austin what to do, and that's the bottom line." "Well, we can either do this the easy way...or we can do this the hard way, Mr. Austin, and that's gonna be your decision." "Well, that - that sounds like an important decision - the easy way...or the hard way - if I'm gonna be able to, be forced to make a decision here tonight, I'd like your definition of what the easy way and what the hard way is. What is your definition of that?" "It's real simple - the easy way is to learn to be flexible - to learn to adapt, Mr. Austin, and...if you'd bear with me for just a moment, please...Mr. Austin, adaptation is a key of life as well as in business. That's the easy way, and quite frankly the hard way...you're gonna wind up doing it my way anyhow, you'd be forced into doing it my way, so that's the hard way and we don't even need to discuss that." "Like I said...that's an extremely important decision in my book - for yours and my relationship, can I have maybe ten seconds to think about this decision?" "By all means." Austin ponders...then looks up...to the crowd...furrows his brow...then turns to Vince, who offers the microphone - but Austin kicks McMahon, and gives him the Stone Cold Stunner once again! "What you've just seen - what you've seen is how to do things the hard way. If you want Stone Cold to continue doin' things the hard way, gimme a hell yeah! Oh hell yeah." Austin grins broadly as his music hits. REFS & OFFICIALS surround McMahon as Austin goes outside the ring and says something in JR's headset about how he loves Vince.

[Guest Loss]

Yes, and he apologized. Austin is the reason Vince became the monster he did over time.

 

I should also mention Austin attacking Vince unprovoked in September of 1997. That's what started all the problems.

[Guest JMA]

I don’t think anyone is going to argue that all of the Hitman’s actions while in the Hart Foundation were justified. He felt the fans were betraying him for people who had loose morals or didn’t care about THEM. The Hitman, in a way, he “sunk to their own level” when he became a heel, he and the Foundation attacked those they did not like, broke the rules, and generalized an entire country of fans. In a way, the character was driven to do extreme things because he could not stand to face the reality of such a flawed world. I’d like to analysis each of the key characters in this storyline.

 

Bret “The Hitman” Hart – Bret first came into the WWF as a heel. He had no qualms about allying himself with people who had loose morals (i.e. Jimmy Hart). His only concern was to win at any cost. Later, he changed, partially due to the fans liking him. Touched by this, the Hitman decided to change the path he was on. Instead of being cold and calculating, he would wrestle FOR the fans and try to set a good example to them. Hart got better and better, doing everything to prove he was the absolute BEST to the fans he put so much faith in. When he said, “I’m the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be,” it wasn’t bragging – he believed it and so did the fans.

 

Eventually, Hart was unseated by HBK. Hart had lost matches before, but never to someone like Shawn Michaels. The fans loved Michaels, yet Hart felt that while he was a great wrestler, he made wrestling look bad. I also believe the character didn’t believe Michaels truly cared about the fans. Bret couldn’t retire and leave the business is the hands of someone he didn’t think was good for the business. He also wouldn’t let the WWF be torn apart by the anarchistic “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. He came back, beat Austin, and set about to regain his title. Unfortunately, Michaels gave up the belt before Hart could challenge him again.

 

This enraged Hart. He wouldn’t get a chance to prove he was better than the man who beat him. He likely lost more respect for a man he never liked in the first place. Once the fans started cheering for Austin, Hart lost it. He blamed America for what had happened to his life and set about to correct the situation. He formed the new Hart Foundation to wipe out what he considered was “wrong” with the WWF. The thing is, he became just like the people he despised. He was willing to break and bend the rules as much as Austin and self-superior individual he had always thought Michaels to be. However, it should be noted that Hart was never jealous of Austin or HBK. He didn’t want to BE them; he wanted to destroy them and everything they stood for.

 

In the end, some things he said were right and others weren’t. His biggest flaw was blaming American fans for all the bad stuff that had happened to him. In a way, Hart is much like a hero in a Greek tragedy. The thing that brought him down was his inability to live in a world where right doesn’t always triumph over wrong.

 

“The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels – HBK was born out of misplaced anger and jealousy. Once he kicked his friend and partner through glass, he lost who he was forever. Running on pure egotism, Michaels became “The Heartbreak Kid.” He believed himself to be better than everyone, and thus, willing to sacrifice anyone (even his valet). Eventually, his friendship with former bodyguard Diesel brought him around. HBK kept his cockiness while trying to please the crowd. In a sense, he had grown up. Once Diesel turned on him he had to be dependent on himself only. HBK began to feed off the crowd; he became addicted to it like a drug. Once he defeated Bret Hart, he could finally be at the top of the mountain.

 

When he got there, however, he realized it wasn’t all fame and glory. Friends turned on him and people resented him for his success. The stress got so bad that he gave up the title and went home instead of facing Bret Hart. Was he afraid of facing Hart? It’s hard to say. I wouldn’t say he was afraid of facing Hart as much as he was afraid of losing the title again and disappointing the fans. Later on, the stress got to HBK even more when he began to feud with the Hart Foundation.

 

Instead of taking the high road, however, he took the low road. He cast off all his responsibilities and loyalties and reverted back to the original HBK. He became an even worse person than Bret Hart believed him to be. Quite simply, he cared about nothing except his own amusement. Even the title he fought so hard for became a “worthless hunk of tin” to be played with. One could even speculate that the only reason he fought to keep the title was so he could cause trouble and gain amusement from it. It’s interesting to note that both Michaels and Hart each sunk deeper into what they were. Hart was a straight shooting traditionalist who became obsessive and fanatical about his belief. Michaels was a cocky, fun-loving guy who became prickish, immature, and egomaniacal.

 

“Stone Cold” Steve Austin – Finally we come to Stone Cold. What originally motivated Austin was his belief in anarchy; the feeling that he and all others should be able to throw away all morality and do whatever they wanted. Because of this, he despised authority and all those he believed in it. Oddly enough, he hated Hart for reasons similar to Hart hating HBK. Basically, Hart’s somewhat altruistic beliefs turned Austin’s stomach. He didn’t want to believe such an individual could exist, and if one did exist, he would have to be destroyed.

 

It should be noted that Austin wasn’t a faux “blue collar hero” until MUCH later on. The original character had no loyalties or morality. Even when the fans cheered him, he DID NOT care about them. He broke his best friend’s ankle and terrorized him at his home just because he felt like it. I would say Hart was right to get upset at the fans cheering Austin. Here was a guy who liked no one and didn’t care about concepts like “right” and “wrong.”

 

His only real goals were to prove he was better than everyone else and to cause pain.

 

Conclusion: While Hart may have betrayed his own beliefs when he turned against American fans and started breaking rules, he DID have a reason to be angry with people like Austin being cheered. Did his ends justify his means? That’s in the eye of the beholder. What is clear is that he did things that were both right and wrong. In that sense, he was just an ordinary human being with all the fallacies that come with that. He tried to be perfect and just and expected the world to do the same. Truly he is a very tragic character.

[Guest JMA]

Yes, and he apologized. Austin is the reason Vince became the monster he did over time.

 

I should also mention Austin attacking Vince unprovoked in September of 1997. That's what started all the problems.

I have to agree with you here. Until Vince went crazy, I took his side over Austin's.

[Guest Loss]

Very well said JMA. I'd also like to add that the irony of Bret's heel turn was one of the things that made it great. He became a lying, conniving, whining bastard because he thought that's what the fans wanted. They STILL rejected him, which turned the Hitman character into a huge tragedy.

[Guest TheZsaszHorsemen]

I don't know that your point is all that important. A heel was wrong about something. That's what heels do. Wrestling is about anything but justice.

Yeah, no shit, Loss.

 

My point was that Hart was not as right as some people thought. The Hart Foundation tends to be glorified over time (probobly because of what happened to most of the people in reality), and I was saying that it wasn't great because they were heels who were right, but that they were heels who claimed to be right, but were still wrong.

 

I was correcting an interpretation of the Hart Foundation I felt was wrong.

 

Thanks for adding nothing.

[Guest Loss]

On topic, did anyone else think it was BULLSHIT that Shawn Michaels was blamed for hitting the Undertaker with the chair at Summerslam '97? He was provoked and it was a total accident, yet he was portrayed as a bad guy. I remember being so mad the next night when the fans were booing him.

 

I think that's why it took me a long time to accept the WWF over WCW. I thought the heels were the ones who were right typically in WWF storylines, and it angered me a lot that the fans sided so blindly with the babyfaces in every situation.

 

I know that's good business and that's how it should be, but that's how I felt at the time.

[Guest Loss]

Yeah, no shit, Loss.

 

My point was that Hart was not as right as some people thought. The Hart Foundation tends to be glorified over time (probobly because of what happened to most of the people in reality), and I was saying that it wasn't great because they were heels who were right, but that they were heels who claimed to be right, but were still wrong.

 

I was correcting an interpretation of the Hart Foundation I felt was wrong.

 

Thanks for adding nothing.

Chill.

 

All I was saying was that perception is reality in wrestling, and that the fact that the heels were wrong does nothing to make this storyline unique, because that's typically how stories go. The heels always justify their actions. The feud made people think, which is what I think made it great. Many thought they were right and many thought they were wrong. But you saw a lot of self expression from the fanbase in that period, so I don't think there's value in totally writing off one side or the other.

 

Does that better explain what I was trying to say?

[Guest JMA]

On topic, did anyone else think it was BULLSHIT that Shawn Michaels was blamed for hitting the Undertaker with the chair at Summerslam '97? He was provoked and it was a total accident, yet he was portrayed as a bad guy. I remember being so mad the next night when the fans were booing him.

 

I think that's why it took me a long time to accept the WWF over WCW. I thought the heels were the ones who were right typically in WWF storylines, and it angered me a lot that the fans sided so blindly with the babyfaces in every situation.

 

I know that's good business and that's how it should be, but that's how I felt at the time.

It did seem strange to me that the fans would boo Shawn over an accident. He obviously didn't intend to hit the Undertaker in the storyline. He couldn't have unless he and Hart were secretly working together (not bloody likely). It's kind of strange that BOTH Hart and Michaels were hated in the United States by the time their feud came to an end.

[Guest Loss]

Fun time period after Shawn really sunk into his heel act because typically, people didn't just hate him, they wanted him dead. He had more "I want to kill you" heat than I've seen any heel have in the past 10 years on US soil.