NOVEMBER 9, 1997
The Prelude: Imagine going into the most anticipated match on the inside of pro wrestling in years and on the day of the show, not having any semblance of a finish?
McMahon and Hart met that afternoon and McMahon said something to the effect of, "What do you want to do? You've got me by the balls." Hart said that he just wants to leave the building with his head up. Hart said to McMahon, "Let me hand you the belt on Raw (the next night in Ottawa). Everyone knows I'm leaving. I'd like to tell the truth on Raw Monday." At this point the "truth" wouldn't include talking about finances, contract breaches, arguments about finishes or anything that would make McMahon or the company look bad publicly. McMahon said he agreed, that it was the right thing to do and the two shook hands on it. Hart and Michaels were dressing together putting together a match. Both were professional with one another and talking about putting on the best match possible in Hart's last hurrah, agreeing to a DQ finish in about 17:00 after a lengthy brawl before the bell wound even sound to start the match.
As they were putting their spots together, Patterson came in. He had a suggestion for a high spot in the match as a false finish. There would be a referee bump. Michaels would put Hart in his own sharpshooter. Hart would reverse the hold. Hebner would still be down at this point and not see Michaels tap out. Hart would release the hold to revive Hebner. Michaels would hit him when he turned around with the sweet chin music. A second ref, Mike Ciota, would haul ass to the ring and begin the count. A few paces behind, Owen Hart and Smith, and possibly Neidhart as well, would run down to the ring. Ciota would count 1-2, and whomever got to the ring first, likely Owen, would drag Ciota out of the ring. While they think they've saved the day on the pin on Bret, suddenly Hebner would recover, 1-2, and Bret would kick out. That would set the pace for about five more minutes of near falls before it would end up in a disqualification ending.
Before the show started, both Vader, with his Japanese experience, and Smith, told Hart to watch himself. He was warned not to lay down and not to allow himself to be put in a compromising position. He was told to kick out at one, not two, and not to allow himself into any submission holds. Hart recognized the possibility of the situation, but his thoughts regarding a double-cross were more along with lines of always protecting himself in case Michaels tried to hit him with a sucker punch when he left himself open. The idea that being put in a submission or one of the near falls while working spots would be dangerous for him would be something to worry about normally, but he put it out of his mind because he had Hebner in the ring as the referee.
The match: People on the inside were watching this as close as on the outside. Would Bret do the job? Would Shawn do the job? Would Bret give Shawn a real beating before putting him over? The Molson Center was packed with more than 20,000 rabid fans, who up to that point had seen a largely lackluster undercard.
While the fear going in about the word getting out of Hart leaving hurting the PPV most likely turned out to be just the opposite, the sellout was not indicative of that either as it was well known by the advance that the show was going to sellout one or two days early. It appeared that about 10 to 20 percent of the crowd knew Hart was leaving, and there were negative signs regarding his decision, and negative signs toward the promotion for picking Michaels above him or the direction that seemingly forced him to leave. Some things were also strange, and not just the absence of McMahon from the broadcast. Hart, the champion in the main event, wasn't scheduled for an interview building up the match. When his name was announced early in the show, there were many boos from fans who knew he signed with the opposition. Once he got in the ring for the introductions, Michaels wiped his butt, blew his nose and then picked his nose with the Canadian flag. He then put the flag on the ground and began humping it. Hart was immediately established as the babyface.
The two began the match as a brawl all around ringside and into the stands. The crowd was so rabid that it appeared there was genuine danger they'd attack Michaels. At one point, they were brawling near the entrance, knocking down refs as planned, knocking down Patterson, as planned, and as planned, Hart and McMahon had an argument almost teasing the idea of a spot later in the match where Hart would deck McMahon. But it was also clear that everything going on was 100% professional and the only curiosity left at that point was how good the match was going to be (it appeared to be very good) and how would they get "out" of the match (with something nobody will ever forget).
But one thing was strange. Why were so many agents circling the ring, and why was McMahon right there, and acting so intense? About eight minutes before the show was "supposed" to end, Bruce Prichard, in the "Gorilla" position (kind of the on-deck circle for the wrestlers) was screaming in his headset that we need more security at the ring. Why? They had already done the brawl in the crowd. The finish was going to be a DQ and it was still several minutes away.
The double-cross: Hart climbed the top rope for a double sledge on Michaels. Michaels pulled Hebner in the way and Hart crashed on him. Just as planned. Michaels for a split second, looked at McMahon and put Hart in the sharpshooter, just as planned.
The next split seconds were the story.
Ciota, listening to his headpiece for his cue to run-in, heard the backstage director scream to Hebner that it was time to get up. Hebner, listening himself, immediately got up. Ciota started screaming that he wasn't supposed to get up. Owen Hart and Smith, readying their run in, were equally perplexed seeing him get up. Prichard was freaking out backstage saying that wasn't supposed to happen.
Bret, still not realizing anything was wrong, laid in the hold for a only a few seconds to build up some heat before doing the reversal. Michaels cinched down hard on the hold, glanced at Hebner and then looked away, which more than one wrestler in the promotion upon viewing the tape saw as the proof he was in on it, but then fed Bret his leg for the reversal. Hebner quickly looked at the timekeeper and screamed "ring the bell." At the same moment, McMahon, sitting next to the timekeeper, elbowed him hard and screamed "ring the f***in bell."
The bell rang at about the same moment Bret grabbed the leg for the reversal and Michaels fell down on his face on the mat. Michaels' music played immediately and was immediately announced as the winner and new champion. Hebner sprinted out of the ring on the other side, into the dressing room, through the dressing room, and into an awaiting car in the parking lot that already had the motor running and was going to take him to the hotel, where he'd be rushed out of town with his ticket home, instead of staying to work the two Raw tapings.
Michaels and Hart both leaped to their feet looking equally mad, cursing in McMahon's direction and glaring at him. Hart spit right in McMahon's face. The cameras immediately pulled away from Hart and to Michaels. Vince screamed at Michaels to "pick the f***in belt up and get the f*** out of there." Michaels, still looking mad, was ordered to the back by Jerry Brisco who told him to hold the belt up high and get to the back.
The show abruptly went off the air about four minutes early.
The aftermath: The officials left the ring immediately. McMahon went into his private office in the building with Patterson and a few others, and locked the door behind him. Hart, in the ring, flipped out on the realization of what happened, and began smashing the television monitors left behind until Owen, Smith and Neidhart hit the ring to calm him down. The four had an animated discussion in the ring, all looking perturbed. Finally, Hart thanked the fans, who for the most part left with the air let out of their sails, gave the "I love you" sign to the fans, and finger painted "WCW" to all four corners of the ring, which got a surprisingly big pop, and went back to the dressing room.
He first confronted Michaels, who swore that he had nothing to do with it. Michaels, obviously afraid Hart would punch him out right there, told Hart that he gets heat for everything that happens but this time it wasn't his fault and he was as mad as Hart about the finish. He said he didn't want to win the belt that way, was disgusted by what happened, and to prove it, would refuse to bring the belt out or say anything bad about Hart on Raw the next night. Hart said that Michaels could prove whether he was in on it or not by his actions on television the next night.
The entire dressing room was furious at McMahon by this point. The feeling was that if Hart, having worked for the company for 14 years and not missing shots due to injuries the entire time, and having made McMahon millions of dollars throughout the years, could get double-crossed this bad, then how could any of them trust anything he would say or do? People were saying that how could anyone trust anyone ever again, and that it was an unsafe working environment.
Undertaker was furious, pounding on his locked door, and when he came out to talk with him, Undertaker told him, in no uncertain terms, that he needed to apologize to Hart. Vince went to Hart's dressing room, where Hart had just come out of the shower.
Smith answered the door and Hart said he didn't want to see him. Vince and son Shane McMahon came in with Sgt. Slaughter and Brisco anyway. Vince started to apologize, saying that he had to do it because he couldn't take the chance of Hart going to WCW without giving back the belt and he couldn't let Bischoff go on television the next night and announce Hart was coming while he was still his champion and said how it would kill his business. Hart shot back that he had no problem losing the belt and told McMahon that he was going to dry off and get his clothes on and told McMahon, "If you're still here, I'm going to punch you out."
Hart called McMahon a liar and a piece of shit, and talked about having worked for him for 14 years, only missing two shots the entire time, and being a role model for the company and the industry and this was his payback. McMahon tried to say that in 14 years, this was the first time he'd ever lied to him and Hart rattled off 15 lies over the last year alone without even thinking about it. Those in the dressing room watching were stunned listening to Hart rattle them off, and McMahon not offering a comeback.
Hart got dressed and twice told McMahon to get out. Hart got up, and a scuffle started, with them locking up like in a wrestling match, Hart breaking free, and throwing a punch to the jaw that would have knocked down a rhino. One punch KO in 40 seconds. McMahon growled like he was going to get up, but he had no legs. Shane McMahon jumped on Hart's back, and Smith jumped on Shane's back pulling him off. Not realizing there would be trouble, Smith had already taken off his knee brace, and hyperextended his knee in the process of pulling Shane off. Hart nearly broke his hand from the punch. McMahon's jaw was thought to be fractured or broken. Hart asked Vince if he was now going to screw him on all the oney he owes him and a groggy Vince said "No." He told Shane and Brisco to get that "piece of shit" out of here and glaring at both of them, told them if they tried anything, they'd suffer the same result. In dragging McMahon out, someone accidentally stepped on his ankle injuring it as well.
And later: Hebner, at the hotel and on his way out of town, was confronted by one of the wrestlers who asked how he could do that to one of his best friends. Hebner claimed ignorance and swore that he knew nothing about it and was so mad about it he was going to quit. Jack Lanza, likely as part of another facade, was begging him not to. Patterson, Michaels and Prichard all denied any knowledge to the boys.
Everyone denied it, but it was clear everyone had to know, from the production truck to go off the air several minutes early, to the director to get the shot perfect of the sharpshooter where you couldn't see Bret's face not quit, to Hebner in particular, to the ring announcer to get the announcement so quickly, so the man handling the music to have Michaels music all cued up, to all the agents, who were surrounding the ring knowing the possibility of something unpredictable happening.
When Hart got back to his hotel room in a total daze, he was furious at McMahon because he knew he was screaming at the timekeeper to ring the bell but almost recognizing it as a reality of a business that he should have known better than anyone. But when he had a tape of the finish played to him, he clearly heard that it was Hebner's voice screaming "ring the bell" and at that point was personally crushed.
Phone lines were ringing off the hook around wrestling-land that night. People closest to the inside of the business were thinking double-cross, although the big question was whether Michaels, since he looked so pissed at the finish, was in on it. Some more skeptical types, remembering Brian Pillman and Kevin Sullivan, thought it because of the prominence of the match and the interest, that it had to be a very well acted work. Virtually all the wrestlers backstage thought it was a double-cross, but a few, not wanting to be marks, were wary of fully committing to the idea. Some people who were close to inside thought it was the greatest worked finish in the history of wrestling, because it got everyone talking. Others, particularly people who had casual fans watching with them, or those attending the show live, saw how the finish to a casual fan came off looking so badly, thought it was either a poorly conceived angle that was well acted by a company trying too hard to fool smart fans; or maybe a double-cross.
But by the morning the true story had become obvious.
Epilogue:
One of the first major moves when Vince McMahon Jr. took over the World Wrestling Federation from his father was on December 26, 1983, when the Iron Sheik captured the WWF title from Bob Backlund. The title switch was basically a prelude for Hulk Hogan winning the title a few weeks later. The finish of the match saw Sheik have Backlund in a camel clutch, and Arnold Skaaland, a former part-owner of the company who worked as Backlund's manager, threw in the towel signifying submission.
Backlund remained with the company for the next eight months, largely buried in the middle of the card despite being the face of the company for six years. After all the big gates he'd headlined, just a few months later, in August, McMahon, who was starting on the road to changing the entire face of wrestling and Backlund represented the old, asked him to die his hair and turn heel. He refused and was fired.
Backlund spent the next several years claiming that he didn't know the finish of the match and was double-crossed on it when Skaaland threw in the towel. Everyone in wrestling heard the story but really very few took it seriously, figuring Backlund was just clinging onto a worked story to protect his image claiming he never really submitted and was robbed of the title.
On November 25, 1985, before a match in Madison Square Garden, Victoria "Wendi" Richter, literally minutes before going into the ring for a match with Spider Lady in Madison Square Garden, was given a contract by McMahon and asked to sign off on all her merchandising rights.
She actually didn't refuse to sign the contract, but said she wanted to read it before signing it because she was literally on her way to the ring. McMahon told her, actually she has claimed, demanded to her, to sign the deal. She told him to wait until after the match so she could read the contract and then maybe sign it.
As it turns out, Spider Lady wasn't the wrestler who had been Spider Lady in the past, but was instead Lillian Ellison, better known as Fabulous Moolah. Although Lillian was probably closing in on 60 by that point, she maneuvered Richter into a position, and the unsuspecting Richter was held in position and had her shoulders counted out for the pin, and never worked in the WWF again. After the match and to this day, Moolah had always maintained to Richter, like Michaels to Hart, that she wasn't aware of the set-up either and the three count came as just as big a surprise to her.
It brings to mind a few old sayings. History repeats itself. Leopards don't change their spots. Perhaps as much as we would all like to believe otherwise, deep down to its core, the wrestling industry really doesn't change either.
_________________ Power is always in the hands of the masses of men. What oppresses the masses is their own ignorance, their own short-sighted selfishness. - Henry George
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