Bret Hart confirms he will not be at WrestleMania

[NYU 0]

I can't find any record of that remark. Going back to the Greensboro Raw you talked about -- July 29, 2002 -- two separate results sites said all Michaels did was tell the UnAmericans something to the tune of "What, you don't like me because I beat up your little friend Bret Hart? Well, he learned to deal with it, and so will you."

 

So yeah, he mentioned Bret in an unflattering light, but I haven't found one single web site yet that makes any mention of him mocking the stroke.

[Lil' Bitch 0]

I remember he was talking about Bret on the final RAW before SummerSlam last year because it was in Montreal. I forgot what he said though. Its where they cued Hart's music.

[chaosrage 0]

I remember he was talking about Bret on the final RAW before SummerSlam last year because it was in Montreal. I forgot what he said though. Its where they cued Hart's music.

 

Nothing about a stroke.

[Guest JRE]

"What, you don't like me because I beat up your little friend Bret Hart? Well, he learned to deal with it, and so will you."

 

Perhaps he hasn't.

[Guest Brian]

I assumed Greensboro because that was another show in 2002 that Michaels got a ton of flak doing.

 

The other show being discussed is 8/15/05, which was a show where the guy talked a storm of shit about a man he didn't hate and an event that he supposedly had gotten over and apologized for, so take that on its own for what it's worth.

[pochorenella 0]

I don't recall any show were Michaels mocked Bret Hart's stroke or anything. A show a do have a little recollection of is a RAW in 2003 (perhaps even in Canada) were Michaels was interviewed by Jericho on a Highlight Reel and told the crowd they should "get over it", referring to the Montreal thing.

 

I assumed Greensboro because that was another show in 2002 that Michaels got a ton of flak doing.

 

The other show being discussed is 8/15/05, which was a show where the guy talked a storm of shit about a man he didn't hate and an event that he supposedly had gotten over and apologized for, so take that on its own for what it's worth

 

If you're talking about the show with Michaels highly-praised Montreal promo, he was doing just that: cutting a promo. That was the promo of the year IMO and I distinctly remember everyone here loving it and not calling it anything offensive towards Bret Hart. In fact, if there was any crtiticism towards Shawn at that time was that he turned back babyface all of a sudden after proving he could still be a terrific heel.

[Guest Brian]

I don't recall any show were Michaels mocked Bret Hart's stroke or anything. A show a do have a little recollection of is a RAW in 2003 (perhaps even in Canada) were Michaels was interviewed by Jericho on a Highlight Reel and told the crowd they should "get over it", referring to the Montreal thing.

 

I assumed Greensboro because that was another show in 2002 that Michaels got a ton of flak doing.

 

The other show being discussed is 8/15/05, which was a show where the guy talked a storm of shit about a man he didn't hate and an event that he supposedly had gotten over and apologized for, so take that on its own for what it's worth

 

If you're talking about the show with Michaels highly-praised Montreal promo, he was doing just that: cutting a promo. That was the promo of the year IMO and I distinctly remember everyone here loving it and not calling it anything offensive towards Bret Hart. In fact, if there was any crtiticism towards Shawn at that time was that he turned back babyface all of a sudden after proving he could still be a terrific heel.

 

It wasn't a babyface promo, but the thing is, who's to say he's not cutting a promo the other times. There's absolutely no way to if Michaels is really ever being himself in the there because the man has proven time and time again that he has absolutely zero character, just like most of the rest of the roster.

[Downhome 0]

A new Bret Hart quote:

 

"If I even see Shawn I'll probably get back in the cab and you'll have your April Fool's. I won't have him around. I won't allow myself to be agitated by his presence. If I have to deal with that, I'd rather not even be there."

 

I don't see how any of you can take up for his quotes like this. It makes him sound more pathetic than Vince and HBK.

[nl5xsk1 0]

I hate to both butter my bread on both sides AND burn two bridges at once at the same time, but the more I read Hart-marks blindly defending him as if he's done no wrong & Michaels is 100% wrong, the more I dislike Bret Hart. And the more I hear Micheals-marks blingly defending him as if he's done no wrong & Hart is the one that needs to grow up, the more I dislike Sean Michaels. Most people in this thread, and in most Hart vs. Michaels threads, have a bias towards one or the other (or against one or the other) and thus it becomes a "I'm right" "no, I'm right" debate that goes around and around but ultimately proves nothing.

[Dangerous A 0]

I'll just go ahead and quote Andrew TS again...

 

 

 

The best thing for everyone is for it to go down without any problems, and then maybe we can avoid speaking of it again.

[pochorenella 0]

Expanding a bit on the quote Downhome posted above, from SI.com:

 

Nearly eight years after his departure, Hart's only request upon his return once again centered on the man he refused to drop the title to at the Molson Centre that night in Montreal.

 

"I've made it pretty clear that I don't want to be around Shawn," said Hart, who also doesn't plan on speaking with wrestlers such as Terry Bollea (Hulk Hogan), Paul Levesque (Triple H) and Richard Fliehr (Ric Flair), with whom he's traded personal barbs in the past but whose presence he will tolerate for one night. "Shawn's different. If I even see Shawn I'll probably get back in the cab and you'll have your April Fool's. I won't have him around. I won't allow myself to be agitated by his presence. If I have to deal with that, I'd rather not even be there."

 

I'll refrain from comments on this.

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

Every time Downhome posts, a child dies.

 

That's a fact.

[Downhome 0]

I'm a mark for both Bret Hart and HBK, but only for their actual work in the business. As people, as human beings, neither one of them are high on my list of guys that I admire or think very highly of. We all know that HBK has been a twat for much of his career, that's no secret. In recent years though, since his return, he's really calmed down and has indeed seemed like someone who did change in one way or another, for the better. It's not like we go week after week where we hear all of this shit on him like we did back in the day.

 

Then with Bret Hart, he's pretty much always been a cocky bastard, in terms of his attitude. Sure he's been a great person, doing a lot of work for charity and stuff like that as far as I know, but that doesn't change the fact that I hate his attitude. He seems more cocky and stuck up than almost any other wrestler in history. It's like he totally believes his old gimmick of "the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be". I loved that gimmick, it's one of my favorites ever up there with the original Mankind, Ric Flair, and Hulk Hogan, but Bret takes it to a brand new level. It's so apparent on his DVD, and it made me a little sick to hear some of the things that he said.

 

The problem is that it seems that Bret Hart gets worse and worse as the years go by. He had all of that bad stuff happen to him, I know. He's lost two brothers (I think), both his parents, a brother-in-law, some great friends, the SS shit, the guy had a stroke, a bad crash on a motorcycle, etc... Yes, we know the guy has had it very rough for the past decade, and most feel for the guy. The problem is that as the years go by, he seems more and more like he truly believes that the entire world owes him so much, and it continues to feed his cocky attitude.

 

Both Bret and HBK would be in my top twenty favorite workers of all time, but I'm just able to seperate my love for their ring work from them as people.

[Guest JoeJoe]

Hogan and Hart sure have a love-hate realtionship. Although seeing Shawn, Hogan and Bret all in the same room qould be quite interesting.

 

With the recent Hogan-Shawn real life feud, what we have here is a trio of ego-clash.

[Dangerous A 0]

One thing to keep in mind is that before Bret agreed to work on his DVD, WWE did show him the footage of what HBK, HHH, Hogan, Flair, etc. said about him for the "Screwed" DVD, where they said HBK had absolutely nothing good to say about him and buried him left and right. Seeing as those comments were not from the distant past, perhaps it opened up old wounds.

 

Now, a lot of people would say Bret needs to get over it, but I'm pretty sure I'd be miffed if I saw footage of a bunch of my peers verbally blasting me for a DVD that was going to rival, if not surpass the Warrior DVD in terms of burying my career. You can armchair quarterback it all you want, but it would be hard to be in the same room with certain people after seeing them talk mad shit about you.

[Downhome 0]

I'll just go ahead and quote Andrew TS again...

 

 

 

The best thing for everyone is for it to go down without any problems, and then maybe we can avoid speaking of it again.

 

Do you honestly think that if everything goes down perfectly, that we'll realy never hear of this again? As long as everyone involved still hold grudges and decide to take shots at the other, we'll never hear the end of it. I don't think we'll ever hear the end of it until all of the participants are retired and out of the industry for good.

[Dangerous A 0]

Do you honestly think that if everything goes down perfectly, that we'll realy never hear of this again?

 

 

No, I don't. It'll take Vince being six feet under before we never hear of this again. I honestly think HBK and Bret could get over it. Vince will never get over it.

[Guest JoeJoe]

Do you honestly think that if everything goes down perfectly, that we'll realy never hear of this again? As long as everyone involved still hold grudges and decide to take shots at the other, we'll never hear the end of it. I don't think we'll ever hear the end of it until all of the participants are retired and out of the industry for good.

Or if they just get old and die. Media interviews can't be done beyond the grave, after all.

[Downhome 0]

Don't take this the wrong, but if Vince was six feet under, a lot of things could be different, in a good way.

 

I'm not saying I want him to kill over or anything, but it's hard to argue with it.

 

Or if they just get old and die. Media interviews can't be done beyond the grave, after all.

 

Now watch HHH or Shane's son one day do an angle that involves some of the Hart family kids, some of HBK's kids and McMahon kids, where they use a psychic to talk to all of those involved in the SS97 deal.

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

Why do you hate children so much, Downhome? Why must you let so many die??? YOU CAN STOP THIS.

 

Damn that Bret Hart for not liking people who have talked shit about him and have screwed him over in the past! This is something that is totally, fuckingly, unquestionably, unjustifiably, inhumanly, uncalled for. What right does he have, after being begged by the WWE for years, to come out and start makin orders. THEY ARE DOING HIM A FAVOUR. It's not like Bret is the centerpiece and the main draw for the HOF. Why, he should be bending over backwards to accomodate them for this honour that they are giving him. Poor Shawn. He might get to see the Hall of Fame because of that jerkass Bret. And why? Because sourpuss Bret doesn't like him! Wah Wah! Sourpuss Bret! Wah Wah! Look at all that sour...stuff... in your puss... Sourpuss. Poor Christian Shawn. God forgave him Bret, couldn't you lower yourself from your high horse and forgive him too?

 

And to have pride in what he accomplished?! WHAT AN ASSHOLE.

[Jobber of the Week 0]

They never referenced a stroke.

 

 

Bret, and all his fanboys on this board, need to realize that while it's unfortunate that his career went the way it did, it's just fucking pro wrestling and greater injustices have happened to better people.

 

Furthermore, Bret needs money like the rest of us do, so I won't count out anything until the show is over.

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

Yeah, it's just fucking pro wrestling. God, it's not like he spent 14 years going up and down the road, spending more time in a car than with his family, working an insane schedule, punishing his body beyond that any of us can imagine, giving it 100% every night for the company, only to have at the end that company lie to you and fuck you over. I mean, jeez, it's not like any of that is real. Or involve real feelings. Or real people, either.

[Downhome 0]

It's fine to have pride in his work in the business, I'm not saying that. There is a line where people can cross though, that leads to you coming off like a cocky bastard who truly thinks he's better than everyone else, that they have never done any wrong at all, and then they think everyone in the world owes him everything and more.

 

Bret reached that point years ago, and it's obvious in his interviews. I don't see how more people can't be sick listening to Bret Hart sometimes. He comes off worse that most of the top guys that people hate on all of the time.

 

So no one else here thinks that it's pathetic and petty that Bret would demand that HBK not be at the show? Not a single one of you?

 

Ugh.

[WrestlingFan4Ever 0]

Bret Hart was a great wrestler, no doubt about it, but his ego is rediculous. What if Shawn wanted to be there for Sherri Martel's induction or Verne Gagne's, or even Eddie Guerrero, whom he shared a Christian bond with? Bret is just being his typical "my shit doesn't stink" and "I'm a hero" self.

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

And there is also a line where you start to read too much into things, Downie.

 

My problem, with this whole thing regarding Bret, is that some people are saying that Bret has no right to feel the way he does. So what if it's petty? Would you honestly say if you were in his situation that you wouldn't be? He downright hates Shawn, so why should he have to put up with him? We haven't walked in his shoes, so who are any of us to say what he should and shouldn't do? To dictate what he can and can't do?

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

Bret Hart was a great wrestler, no doubt about it, but his ego is rediculous. What if Shawn wanted to be there for Sherri Martel's induction or Verne Gagne's, or even Eddie Guerrero, whom he shared a Christian bond with? Bret is just being his typical "my shit doesn't stink" and "I'm a hero" self.

 

That poor Shawn! Why can't big mean selfish evil Bret think about poor redeemed Christian Shawn for a sec?

[chaosrage 0]

It wasn't a babyface promo, but the thing is, who's to say he's not cutting a promo the other times. There's absolutely no way to if Michaels is really ever being himself in the there because the man has proven time and time again that he has absolutely zero character, just like most of the rest of the roster.

 

Bret has said worse, not in a promo, but in a real life interview.... in response to, get this, Shawn saying he wanted to apologize. Is there any reason other than Bret bias why you're letting Bret off the hook for that?

 

I really doubt Shawn mocked Bret's stroke for the simple fact that if he did this board would have never heard the end of it. Every time Shawn's name was mentioned, it would have been brought up.

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

Bret thinks Shawns whole Christian thing is bullshit.

 

Hey, so do I!

 

That's not Bret Bias, that's me thinking Shawn is full of shit.

 

Now, excuse me while I buy the "Many are called, but few are chosen" HBK shirt (with the words in thorns), you know - the one he wears before he gets on his knees and looks towards god while his pyro goes off - which is in no way exploitative.

[Downhome 0]

And there is also a line where you start to read too much into things, Downie.

 

My problem, with this whole thing regarding Bret, is that some people are saying that Bret has no right to feel the way he does. So what if it's petty? Would you honestly say if you were in his situation that you wouldn't be? He downright hates Shawn, so why should he have to put up with him? We haven't walked in his shoes, so who are any of us to say what he should and shouldn't do? To dictate what he can and can't do?

 

 

I am not saying that he doesn't have the right to feel the way he does. Anyone who has been through what he has obviously has that right, the right to feel that way. The thing that rubs me the wrong way is that the way he is making this demand, talking in interviews, is that it comes across so petty and pathetic, ie, unprofessional. Bret Hart was fine in his days as a worker, and I agree with him on his thoughts on what happened at SS97. Throughout his career, he was one of the most professional guys ever. Putting over who needed the win, going alone with certain things when he certainly didn't have to, and on and on. So him acting like this, at this time, it just doesn't go along with what most people knew of him from his wrestling career. I mean, maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think he ever did anything like this back in the day.

 

It just seems highly unprofessional to me to demand that HBK not be there. I mean, this ceremony isn't just all about poor little Bret you know. There is a big list of other inductees, one of which is Eddie Guerrero who just recently passed away. Do you not think that HBK deserves to be there to see the show and to see all of these other inductions? I'm sure he wants to be there to see Eddie's induction. He worked in the same company as the guy, and you know it more than likely hit HBK hard just as it did everyone else.

 

But no, we have Bret Hart who walks in here and demands that HBK not be in the building at all. The mere sight of HBK sitting in the crowd would be far too much for him to take, and if he sees him he would walk out of the building, out on WWE, and out on his fans who are there to see him and ruin the show for everyone, disrespecting everyone involved in it, including the other inductees.

 

I do think that WWE owes Bret Hart for all of his hard work over the years. They owe it to him to put him in the HoF, they owe it to him to allow him to be remembered as a fantastic worker (DVDs, books, whatever else), but I don't think they owe him what he is asking here.

 

WWE and Vince isn't asking Bret to go up to HBK and give him a big ol' hug (well, behind the scenes they more than likely are). HBK would just be in the building, sitting in the crowd. It isn't like HBK killed Bret's children or anything, so I don't see what in the world the big problem is, no matter how much Bret hates him. It comes across as beyond childish to me. I don't blame Bret for not taking part in an angle or wanting to do something with HBK in that respect, no matter how much I'd like to see it as a fan of his.

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

Ok, so the only thing a person can do to have another person to not like them enough to not want to be in the same room as them... is to kill that other persons child.

 

Gotcha.