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| Back In (Pink And) Black |
Luke Dormehl |
Is Bret Hart's return to WWE really good for everyone involved?
Wrestling fans are taught to expect surprises but even by the standards of pro wrestling, the news that Bret Hart had signed a contract to return to WWE television was shocking. Even more interesting is that Bret’s new contract only runs from 1 January until 10 April 2010, approximately two weeks after WrestleMania XXVI. “Like unicorns, the Loch Ness monster and the lost city of Atlantis, the return of Bret Hart to WWE seemed merely the stuff of legend, a sight among the WWE faithful that would never come to fruition,” WWE.com read under the headline ‘Hit Man, Baby, One More Time’. In many ways it felt like wrestling bizarro land: Hulk Hogan was back and Bret versus Vince was the hottest feud in pro wrestling, only the year was 2010 rather than 1997. As Bret marched out as the guest GM on the 4 January edition of Raw (bedecked in a trademark pink and black jacket and accompanied by a Jim Johnston-penned composition, Return The Hitman) fans’ minds were filled with questions. Why had Bret come back? How had this happened? And what was he going to do now that he’d finally returned?
Bret Hart's first run with WWE ended on 9 November 1997, when he socked Vince McMahon in the jaw. Of course, FSM readers need another recap of the controversial ‘Montreal Screwjob’ like they need another pay-per-view headlined by a Cena/Orton bout; the story of wrestling’s most famous double cross – how Vince McMahon, Shawn Michaels and referee Earl Hebner genuinely conspired to strip the Hitman of his WWE title - has long since passed into industry lore. Hart emerged from the situation as a real-life babyface, bound for the rival WCW company where his money-making potential was ultimately squandered. Meanwhile, McMahon emerged as wrestling’s most hated figure, ready to turn his betrayal into ratings gold in a 1998 feud with Steve Austin.
However personal this was though (and it was pretty damn personal, certainly), it was nothing compared to the tragic events that unfolded eighteen months later when Owen Hart, Bret’s youngest brother at just 33, fell seventy feet to his death at the Kemper Arena, the result of a comedy stunt gone wrong. The fallout of Owen’s death led to two successful lawsuits (a settlement between WWE and the Hart family for $18m, and between WWE and Lewmar Inc. - the manufacturers of the trigger-latch shackle which resulted in Owen’s accident - for $9m) and created a huge rift within the Hart family that seemingly had no cure...
For the rest of this feature, check out issue 51 of FSM - available at WH Smith and all good retailers. (For US readers we are now carried at Borders and Barnes & Noble, so check for local availability or click here to subscribe.)
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