Bret Hart Q&A Report: New Post-Montreal Details, HBK Crying "Like A Girl," Knocking Out Vince, More
Thanks to WrestlingINC.com reader Gavin Horne for sending in this report from last weekend's "An Evening with Bret Hart" Q&A at Leicester City Football Club. Part two of the report is below. Click here for part one, where Hart discussed problems with The British Bulldog heading into their epic main event at SummerSlam, wrestlers crapping in Jerry Lawler's crown, working with Steve Austin and blading him for the first time and more.
Make sure to check back later this week for part three of the event, where Bret discussed his WWE return, his best opponent, a gross Yokozuna story, the current product and more.
They went on to discuss the Montreal Screwjob, and Bret said that his biggest mistake was in trusting Earl Hebner. He said that he had spoken to Earl the night before and that Earl had swore on his kids that he wouldn't let them screw Bret over. He did say that his anger towards Earl had faded very quickly and that after only a few weeks he understood that Earl had been given a raw deal. He said that Earl had been mic'd up and that they had told him that if he tried to alert Hart in any way that he would be fired. Hart said that he wasn't happy about it but could understand Earl's position.
Bret said that after the match he had destroyed half a dozen of the TV monitors and had thrown several commentators headsets into the crowd, and later found out that each headset was worth approximately $110,000 each. He said that he has taken a lot of stick from wrestling fans for his actions after the match, because they believe he shouldn't have acted the way that he did and shouldn't have been so invested in his character. Hart said that he is the only person who knows how he truly felt at the time and that he felt heartbroken. He commented that when he returned through the curtain after the match, Vince had locked himself in his room and Hart tried to shoulder the door open, but realized that the door was a heavy duty door and he would never be able to break it down. He said that at this point he calmed down as though nothing had happened and went to the locker room to get changed. He said that as he approached the locker room, someone (he still does not know who but speculated either Hunter or Shawn) had moved his bag and clothes out into the hallway so he had to pick them up and walk into the locker room. He said that this was the point that you see on the Wrestling with Shadows documentary where Shawn is saying "I swear to god I had no idea." Bret said that he was 99.9% certain that Shawn had been in on it, but didn't want to do anything in case he was wrong. He said he sent the documentary makers out into the hall because at that point he was sick of them for trailing him everywhere, and was actually a little annoyed by them too. He did say though that he appreciated them for the documentary and wishes he had let them stay.
He said that he then went and showered, and that Davey Boy Smith had borrowed his towel, so as he was showering he knew he had no dry towel afterwards. He elaborated that Davey Boy was always going to the events without shampoo and towels etc, and would frequently borrow Bret's as his matches were always before Bret's on the card so it became a little bit of a running joke with them. He said that while he was showering, both Davey Boy and Rick Rude confronted him and told him that Vince was waiting to speak to Bret. Bret told them that he didn't want a problem but if Vince was there when he came out then there would be a problem and so he asked them to relay the message. He said that both Rude and Smith were excited and giddy at this point and he could see that they were eager to see the fallout. He said that they returned after a few minutes and told him that Vince had said he was going nowhere until he talked to Bret. Bret said that he believes that McMahon was trying to show the other wrestlers that he would stand up to anyone and that he was trying to give a "don't cross the boss" type lesson to the locker room. Hart said that because Bulldog had borrowed his towel, he had to walk past McMahon completely naked, and toyed with the idea of confronting Vince straight away way but thought the image of a naked Bret Hart fighting with the boss was too silly, so he went to get dressed.
He said that as he got dressed he told McMahon to get out, and took his time to get dressed as he knew that he was going to punch him. He said that eventually he was completely dressed and had nothing left to put on so he realized it was time to do or die and walked towards McMahon. He said that they actually locked up in a collar and elbow tie-up and that he remembers having his hand on McMahons padded suit shoulder. He said that behind him was Rude, Owen, Neidhart and Bulldog and McMahon had Briscoe, Slaughter, Shane McMahon, Undertaker and Shawn Michaels behind him. He said that at this point Michaels had his head in his hands and was crying like a little girl. Bret said that he was just about to reach his arm back and swing at McMahon and he realised that if he did then someone would likely grab his arm and hold him back and so he would never get the chance again, so in a split second he decided to hit him with an uppercut. He said that he connected his right hand on McMahons jawbone, lifting him about 6 inches off of the ground and breaking his hand in the process. He said that he broke the bones in the bottom of his hand, just behind his pinky finger. He said that he was surprised when he saw that McMahon was out cold and turned and went and sat down. He then said that Shane McMahon went and propped Vince up into a seated position and Bret told him to get McMahon out of his sight or he would beat the hell out of him. Shane dragged Vince to the other side of the room and sat him on a bench and Bret warned him again, and he said that Shane said he didn't believe him. At this point Bret picked up his knee brace and walked towards Vince again preparing to swing it. He said that Shane, Slaughter and Briscoe dragged McMahon out of the room and again this is where the Wrestling with Shadows documentary kicks in and shows Vince being helped out of the room.
Bret said that he then looked at Shawn who was bent over double crying into his hands, and the thought crossed his mind that he could kick him right in the head there and then as his head was the perfect height for a punt. He said he hesitated, but approached Shawn and tapped his arm, held out his hand to shake and said, "thanks for the match". He said that Shawn buried his head again in tears and that was the moment he knew for sure that Shawn had been in on it. Bret then said that he considers punching out McMahon one of his greatest achievements.
Bret said that Jim Neidhart broke the tension in the locker room after the Hitman had knocked out Vince McMahon by saying, "I guess they aren't going to say anything to me about breaking TV's anymore?" and this led to the whole locker room, Shawn included, busting out into laughter. Hart elaborated that Neidhart had been released at the end of his tag run with Owen (1993/94) because he had picked up a large 20 inch monitor and hurled it at someone while they were having an argument. Hart said that Neidhart had a lot of physical upper body strength and that he had been a shot-putting champion before his wrestling career had started. Hart said that because the monitor was an expensive one, it had cost Neidhart his job and he cracked the joke because at the end of the screwjob, Hitman had destroyed multiple television monitors at ringside.