1. The obvious breach of contract: Let's deal with some facts here. Bret Hart had the power in his contract to decide the finishes to his match during his last 30 days with the company. If Bret is so incensed at the WWF, and Vince McMahon in particular, then he could've sued them for breach of contract. Yet he didn't.
2. His attempts at keeping the incident fresh in our minds: In his Calgary Sun article after the infamous incident, Bret stated that he was through with the WWF and would no longer mention them or complain about the finish to the match. Bret's LAST article, almost a year later, was almost exclusively about the WWF and the direction they are going. He still continues to talk about getting screwed and he even responded to Donnie Abreu's remarks about him. He could've moved on and left well enough alone and stopped giving the WWF publicity. Yet he hasn't.
3. Owen Hart and the Hart family: Owen WAS contractually obligated to stay with the WWF and see his contract through. I don't think he would've left any ways. Owen enjoys a decent spotlight in the federation and he even tried to capitalize on the heat left by his brother Bret. That makes me wonder if Bret leaving was just a way of helping out Owen. After what happened to their son Bret you would've expected a cold shoulder from Stu and Co. However, that has not happened at all. Stu allowed the WWF into his home and even permitted a PPV match in his dungeon. Stranger still, Bret "appeared" to be not happy about this and was angry at his family for it. I'm sorry folks, but if Bret was REALLY mad at his family about this, he wouldn't post it in his newspaper article. Family disputes over petty things don't make the paper. Again, Bret gives the WWF publicity. He could've left it alone and moved on and spoken to his parents privately. Once again, he chose not to.
4. Anvil and Bulldog: You may think this is an indicator that the whole fiasco was real. You could be right, but I don't think so. Bulldog "reportedly" had to buy out of his contract. While this may be true, I fear it isn't. Bulldog was a high priced talent that, at the time, Vince McMahon really couldn't afford. Bulldog KNEW that he would be a nothing in WCW and he also knew that McMahon couldn't afford to pay him what he wanted. He took the money and he left for Hogan-Land. Smart move on two accounts. First off, less dates more money. Secondly, and the real kicker here, without Bret Hart the Bulldog and the Anvil lose heat. Big time. Bret ran things and Bret kept people over. Subtract Bret from the equation and you have a completely useless Bulldog. Anvil was almost worthless as it is, and you can BET that he would have NO job had he stayed with WWF. The only reason he was still employed was because of Bret. Without Bret, the Bulldog and the Anvil lost their power in the back and they lost their heat with the fans.
5. After the match was over, Bret apparently found McMahon in the back and an argument ensued. Bret apparently broke and busted Vince's jaw or something like that. Whatever happened, Bret punched Vince. That is what was REPORTED, I remind you. Yet no charges were filed and McMahon didn't strike back. Strange for a few reasons. McMahon is a big guy and I don't think he would cower to Bret Hart, no matter what. You may argue that he felt so bad about the situation that he just couldn't bring himself to strike Bret back. Yet, he somehow found it within himself to make a mockery of the situation by letting Shawn Michael's give, what I classify, the last GREAT speech in wrestling. I didn't see the Flair one recently so I can't comment. Vince also didn't have a problem having a "Mini-Bret" wrestle is a parody match on RAW. Again, all a little strange to me.
6. The latest developments and a seemingly insignificant thing: A&E is going to be airing a special documentary on Bret Hart later this year. It deals with his rise in popularity and follows him all the way to the infamous night at the Survivor Series. ON CAMERA, they have Vince McMahon stating right before the match starts saying to Bret that the match will be ended in a DQ, just as Bret wanted. Now I ask you people to think on this. Vince McMahon is an extremely intelligent person and I have a VERY hard time believing that he would be arrogant or stupid enough to say this when a camera was on him. It makes no sense at all and, again, raises validity questions about the whole thing.
7. The sustained heat on this situation: My lord, when have we had a story in wrestling that even came close to hitting our curiosity G-Spot like this one has? The fact that I am writing on this, a year after the fact, should make you realize how big of a story this is. The simple truth of the matter is this: Vince could NOT afford to keep Bret at the time. Bret didn't want to drop the title in Canada to Shawn and Vince desperately wanted him to. So, IN MY OPINION, they agreed to a compromise and allowed a screw-job finish that gave Bret a living martyr-like appeal and made Vince a seemingly real-life bad guy. Bret was VERY loyal to the WWF. Vince was loyal to Bret as well. Jesus, doesn't this set up a monumental return to glory and immediate heat on both men's parts?
All of this is conjecture on my part, but it is what I truly believe. I'm not an "insider" and I don't have the real story. But with the facts presented to me and the coincidences falling in place the way they have, that is my personal opinion. I just hope I'm right. Because if I am, we are looking at a HUGE angle brooding in the next year or two and a return to the WWF by Bret Hart. :)
Please respond to this column as I would love to hear the opinions of those who agree and those who don't.
