According to WrestleVotes, there is a clear business rationale behind WWE maintaining its relationship with Bret Hart despite his publicly critical remarks aimed at company leadership.
The discussion on WrestleVotes Live was prompted by a fan question, asking, “with the recent remarks from Bret Hart regarding Triple H and Shawn Michaels, right or wrong, are you surprised Bret continues to have a legends deal with WWE?” and whether his merchandise sales overshadowed his comments.
Joey Votes shared that the response he received from backstage sources indicated a focus on control, reporting: “the kind of general idea I got back was it’s easier to control somebody in-house than out-house.”
He elaborated on the company’s calculation, stating, “why then let somebody go like Bret Hart hypothetically where now he can do his own thing and he can sell his own merchandise and, you know, appear standing next to Ricky Steamboat, say, on AEW if you wanted to, or rather just keep him under contract.” Essentially, the contract restricts his outside opportunities, keeping a potentially problematic voice from aiding the competition.
Furthermore, the company can “still make money off them by doing action figures and t-shirts and all that type of stuff.”
TC offered further analysis, referencing what he called “The Hitman Effect”. He argued that separating from the legend would backfire:
“If you got rid of Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart from all the Legends merchandise, the video games, the entrance or the signature at the beginning of the show, it’s only going to make people want to listen to Bret Hart more.”
For the company, ignoring the comments is the best strategy: “I think that’s the right way to play it for WWE here.” He insisted, “I wouldn’t put more emphasis on it by disassociating myself with Bret Hart.” As for Hart’s actual on-screen future, Joey Votes added, “Don’t think you’ll see him anytime soon on TV.”
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