• Original Plan For Bret Hart’s WWE Return Match
Bret Hart wrestled for the World Wrestling Federation from 1984 until he got screwed in Montreal at the end of the Survivor Series 1997 pay-per-view.
The Hitman eventually returned to working with the WWE again in 2005, when he provided interviews for the official WWE DVD release of ‘Bret Hit Man Hart: The Best There Is, the Best There Was, the Best There Ever Will Be’.
In 2006, he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by his former storyline rival Stone Cold Steve Austin, the night before the WrestleMania 22 PPV.
According to former WWE writer Court Bauer, there were actually plans for a Bret Hart vs. Vince McMahon match to take place at WrestleMania 22, but as we all know, it ended up being Shawn Michaels vs. Vince McMahon instead (most likely because of HBK vs. Eddie Guerrero getting canceled due to Eddie’s death).
Below is what Bauer said on The Insiders podcast:
“Well, the original version was supposed to kind of, sort of, got off the ground in WWE in 2006.
Bret was back in the orbit of WWE after coming to terms with Vince and doing the DVD and at one point was going to be Bret versus Vince at WrestleMania 22 in Chicago, and then Bret was a little uneasy about doing that. They eventually did it much differently a few years later.
But the original idea was gonna be the Harts and the Hart Foundation versus the WWE, Vince, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Shane, Shawn’s students at the time.
The idea would be you know, you have Paul London. You had Brian Kendrick, and then they were gonna sign Bryan Danielson. So you had like all these interesting ways against the Hart Foundation, which would have been Bret, Neidhart, and a new generation, Davey Boy Smith Jr., Nattie, Teddy and so on.
So we started the process and I got Harry Smith, Davey Boy Smith Jr. signed, Nattie and TJ, Tyson Kid and Teddy (Hart). I remember Vince looking at me saying. ‘You know, self-masturbatory gimmick.’ It was like a warning, like this is on you when this goes south. I’m like okay. Now truth be told Teddy outlasted me in WWE.
I left the summer of 2007 and he stayed around for a little bit more. So I don’t know how that ended up going, but clearly he didn’t end up on air and the other guys did. Nattie is still there doing great things, Tyson is contributing behind the scenes, and Harry’s had his tours of duty there since, so it was interesting what could have been with that.
I think Jericho at some point was figured into the Hart story too, I think. I don’t remember the details off the top of my head.”
Bret vs. Vince eventually happened 4 years later at WrestleMania 26 in 2010, where The Hitman made McMahon tap out.
Also Read: Ken Shamrock Reacts To Road Dogg Saying Bret Hart Isn’t A Great Wrestler
WATCH: Former WWE Diva Kaitlyn’s Exposing Photoshoot (2019):
• ON THIS DAY IN WWF HISTORY (November 16, 2000) – WWF SmackDown!
On this day in 2000, the World Wrestling Federation aired an episode of their weekly TV show ‘WWF SmackDown!’.
It was pre-taped at the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana and featured pre-taped matches & storyline segments on the road to the ‘WWF Survivor Series 2000’ PPV.
Here’s the card:
Crash & Hardcore Holly vs. T&A
Too Cool vs. Raven & Tazz
Steve Austin vs. Eddie Guerrero
Dudley Boyz & Hardy Boyz vs. Right To Censor
No DQ Match: Kane & Kurt Angle vs. Chris Jericho & The Undertaker
K-Kwik & Road Dogg vs. Dean Malenko & Perry Saturn
The Rock vs. Chris Benoit
