Interesting. I'd heard he was having some mood/emotional symptoms following his stroke, which were often cited as a reason for some of his more erratic/extreme actions or statements over the years. Maybe that's responsible for some of the increased hostility.

Makes sense he'd become angrier in general after what happened with Goldberg and his stroke.

Also, I suspect people weren't always entirely forthcoming with you for a variety of reasons in the WCW magazine. Who's to say he wasn't talking to Vince about returning to WWE at the time, with Michaels out, and didn't want to cause problems?

There are a million options.

Then again, this just gives fuel to the Screwjob Deniers.

For the record, the Goldberg incident had already happened, but not the stroke. Bret seemed like he was being pretty honest in the interview. He was very critical of McMahon.Here's an excerpt:
"He has such an incredible track record for being a slime that, in my personal opinion, anyone who is not aware that he's a total slime and a pathological liar seems really uninformed."

as to why bret became more "enraged" over the years:
first, it kept bret relevant.
second, his career did not particularly have too many rememerable moments after he left wwe, while on the other hand shawn went on to have a good few years, retire, come back, and continue with a stellar career. There is no doubt that my selfish-ass would become more jealous and bitter.

Hey Kevin,

Good work on digging this interview up. Certainly is good to have as many perspectives as possible. One question though:

If memory serves, Bret retired in 2001 and this interview was in 2000. In his autobiography, he mentioned at the beginning that there had never been a true and acurate portrayl of wrestling because when wrestlers who are active write (or talk) negatively about the business, that could affect them, which is probably true.

I know he was with WCW then, but do you think it is possible that since he was still active at the time of this interview that he wasn't letting his true thoughts out -maybe still being protective of the business and protecting any possible future interest of himself in some way?

If this isn't the case, you're absolutely right - he let it fester and his feelings became more volitale over the years.

One thing I am looking forward to seeing is if he is in a match at WM26. Even though I agree with Shawn Micheals' point of view on the Montreal screwjob, if Bret does enter a match of any kind at WM, I hope it isn't too much of a health risk for him. It would be a real shame to see him get badly hurt with a history of concussion and stroke.
I had thought Bret would be a referee between Shawn and HHH at WM26, but it seems I was wrong.

Well done on the blog.

Q: Have you seen Michaels since your last match in the WWF?

A: No.

I would guess that in the time period between this interview and the Jan 4 RAW they did meet and settle things before the show even started. I didn't really believe the handshake-hug-i-luv-you-shawn-i-luv-you-brett deal. Perhaps HBK will still be involved in a story with Hart for Wrestlemania?

Didn't Michaels only publicly admit that he was in on the Screwjob somewhere around 2002 to 2004? It was on WWE Confidential, which aired around that time. That may be a reason why Bret was more bitter later on.

RESPONSE FROM KE: Unless I'm mistaken, Bret said he was pretty sure Michaels was in on it from the beginning even though Michaels denied it that night.

Maybe all his hardships and stresses over the years left him embittered and strenthenged his lingering hard feelings towards HBK. Between 2000 and 2007 Hart had to go through a career-ending injury which eventually led to a stroke, two divorces, and the deaths of several people close to him in the wrestling injury, including his father Stu (and that's not even mentioning the death of Owen which occured before this interview). I know most longtime wrestling fans are cynics who realize that most wrestlers will do anything for a big payday, but I say let's cut Bret some slack and give him the benefit of the doubt. Call me a mark, but if Bret says he wants to move on, even in a promo on Raw, I'll believe him.

Not sure what you're getting at here Kevin. If your point is Bret is a hypocrite for coming back to work for Vince, well I think we've agreed that it's not unreasonable for anyone to have a change of heart. One can only be bitter and hold on to that much anger before it becomes a burden and starts to eat you alive. Bret finally decided to let it go. Was some of that based on earning a living doing the only thing he really knows how to do? I'm sure it was, but I sense Bret is genuine in his deisre to put his animosity for Vince and Shawn behind him.

On the same hand, I don't doubt Shawn's sincerity to deal with his past behavior by becoming a born-again Christian. However, I don't see you continually bringing up Shawn's past actions, along with his unwillingness to drop the belt while "looking for his smile", etc.

If you believe Shawn can and has changed, I see no reason for you not to give Bret the same opportunity, especially when you have advocated for Bret to let go of Montreal and the events surrounding it. I'm not quite sure how you can ask the man to do that and then on the other side question his motivations in doing so.

You dislike being called a HBK mark, but posts like this as Gorilla Monsoon would day, have you "resmble that remark."

RESPONSE FROM KE: I wasn't trying to get at anything, other than I found it interesting that Hart said that he had no animosity toward Shawn, and then for the next several years he said time and again how was so angry that he couldn't be around him for fear of what he'd do to him. Until I re-read this interview, I had forgotten how much Hart really seemed to be at peace with the whole thing. I honestly am curious as to why he suddenly became so angry.

It's a good thing Bret made Shawn his first order of business on RAW. Can you imagine Bret's mood and how differently that segment might've turned out if it had to come AFTER getting kicked in the groin by Vince and then finding out Melina won't be around again until he's gone?

I guess having his career ended by a Goldberg kick to the head really embittered Bret. A real shame too, Bret Hart was my all-time favorite wrestler growing up.

RESPONSE FROM KE: The kick to the head was prior to this interview. In fact, he talks about the incident and how he's a lot more hurt than people realize.

Bret Hart and the entire industry has gotten their fair share of mileage from the Montreal Screwjob. His comments on it in his book certainly helped sell a few extra copies and was a focal point in his "Wrestling with Shadows" documentary. VKM always made it a part of any "shoot" interview:
"Bret screwed Bret"
And Michaels always seemed to come across as a pawn in that checker game I like to call Professional Men's Wrestling. It never hurt his career none.

Seeing Michaels and Hart was surreal, Seeing Flair in the WWE was surreal in its time too.

Was the return of Hart one of the best moments in WWE? No doubt.

And it just so happened to come on the same night as Hogan appearing on TNA.

There is an old wrestling adage that says "Always go home with the girl what took you to the ball".

For Hart, that girl is Vince McMahon

Always was

Always will be

That comes off to me as extremely level-headed.

Bret clearly was angered by Shawn constantly mocking him as the years went on. See Mtl Raw in 2005 as an example. WWE has screwed this up. Nobody wants to see Bret wrestle McMahon. They want Bret against the defiant and egotistical Shawn that was mocking him for years. That's why McMahon was getting the boring chants Mon night.

RESPONSE FROM KE: You could very well be right about that. But, on the other hand, that promo in 2005 was to get Michaels over as a heel for his match against Hogan.

Kevin, there was a shoot interview that Bret Hart did in 2009 with WrestleCast I believe after Wrestlemania where he was much more relaxed in terms of his attitude towards Shawn. I think his matches at the last 2 Wrestlemanias really impressed him and I get the feeling that Bret was getting back into watching Wrestling again after McMahon's move to make it PG again. Theres also another interview which I found interesting in terms of Bret's comeback-- post-stroke, he was on Off the Record and he said if he were to do one last match to sell tickets, it would be against Vince McMahon.

KE, when did Bret get his concussion? It seems like he could have just gotten more and more bitter that he was forced to retire, and could have traced his lackluster WCW career (and that kick to the head) in a line to all his dealings with McMahon. Remember, the Screwjob had its roots in the huge contract that Vince offered Bret that he subsequently had to void. If you have nothing but time on your hands to think about your glory days and can trace your current plight to a bad business decision by McMahon, the bitterness will just compound.

I have to give Bret Hart credit for something I don't think he gets enough credit for. He will always give respect were it's due. He never took away Shawn Michael's accomplishments in the ring and acknowledges Michaels place in wrestling history. Kevin, how was Bret Hart when you met him and worked with him in WCW? He gets a lot of respect because of how informative he is and just recently by finally making peace with Shawn Michaels and putting Survivor Series 1997 behind. I am a huge fan of Michaels and Hart and just curious, did Michaels talk about Bret Hart's in-ring abilities with you whenever you interviewed him? I got a lot of respect for Michaels and place him at the top of my list or top 3 of all time. I have to agree with you though, I miss The Rock

RESPONSE FROM KE: I only interviewed Bret that one time, and he was a total class act. As you can see in his comments, he didn't come across as bitter at all. It's just amazing to me how angry he became in subsequent years. It's like he got past Montreal, then thought more about it and got angry all over again.

Do you ever get the feeling that Michaels and Hart should have just sat down with Dr. Phil and talked about their lack of communication skills?

very interesting read ; thnx fr the article

Kevin , off-topic - would like to ask about the influence of the internet on the prowrestling business. Ofcourse , the IWC was formed with it , but with superstars like Bret Hart setting up their own facebook pages and personally responding : www.facebook.com/brethitmanhart ( his personal account had already exceeding 5000 friends request :( ) interacting with fans themselves , would break the kayfabe that was existing if any ?

I think it's clear that from some of what he said there, signs were present that would lead to things deteriorating to the point they did. Maybe he wasn't as upset then but clearly things worsened pretty rapidly.

It looks like pride played a big part in it, particularly with Bret saying Shawn would have to be the one to initiate any kind of interaction toward an apology. Then things just got worse and worse.

The way it looks, there was a wound that was allowed to fester over time instead of being healed earlier like it could have and should have, and that's the real unfortunate thing.

@Atomicdog3

I'm sorry but you just come off as a Bret Hart mark in trying to criticize Kevin for posting this.

It would be the right time to go back and review old stories/interviews regarding Hart seeing as HE JUST CAME BACK AFTER 12 YEARS!

Please don't be ignorant and act like someone is trying a negative light on someone by posting a interview from the past and then reflecting on it as it pertains to today.

It causes you to look stupid and hypocritical.

I'm going to link back to a comment I left in the earlier post about the video from after RAW went off the air because I think some people may miss it, but there was a decent little interview in the Calgary Herald where Bret talked about that night and some other things:

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/wrestling/blog/2010/01/video_bret_hart_saluted_by_wwe_stars_after_raw_went_off_the.html#comment-5860855

Also, another blog I've followed off and on for a number of years is Lance Storm's and I liked a lot of what he had to say in talking about both the RAW and TNA shows last week, including the Hart/Michaels moment:

http://www.stormwrestling.com/010710.html

Michaels career extended through the last decade whereas Hart's did not. Likely that envy would lead hart to increasingly resent Michaels.

The whole Michaels/Hart thing is way overblown and revisiting it 12 years later is not all that compelling in real life, other than as a typical wrestling work. They are both grown men and should have moved on as should WWE.

Kevin in his book Bret says Taker rang him up the next day after Montreal and told him "that little s@@t shawn was in on it".

Your also probably not aware that before his Best of DVD came out the WWE had made a Warrior style burial called Screwed The Bret Hart Story DVD where Shawn/Hunter/Flair and Hogan all talked trash about him. No wonder he didnt want Shawn at his Hall of Fame and refused to shake Hogans hand (who also had him buried in WCW) And if you read Shawns book its not the nicest stuff said in there either.

RESPONSE FROM KE: I do know about the proposed "Screwed" DVD, and I have read Shawn's book.

Dan, give me a break. It was my initial opinion that this post was just more Bret bashing. Based on Kevin's response I'll concede I jumped to the wrong conclusion about his intent. And yes, I am a fan of Bret. However, I've never been overly critical in my posts about HBK, all I ask is to call it down the middle when it comes to the two of them. They both have their warts. If that makes me stupid and a hypocrite, then I guess I'm stupid and a hypocrite. I've certainly been called worse by better.

Mr.Eck, what do you think of Triple H referencing Bret Hart not wanting to do business in Montreal at the Survivor Series1997 multiple times throughout the years? It seems like Triple H holds that against Bret Hart like it's the biggest slap in the face to the business then anything anyone past or present has done before. I like Triple H a good deal to but it seems like there is some resentment coming from Triple H towards Bret Hart. Triple H references Bret Hart not wanting to lose on the Larry King Live episode before Wrestlemania XXIV in Orlando Florida and late last year in an interview with Powerslam Magazine. Also Shawn Michael's Heartbreak and Triumph DVD. Do you think Triple H has a point in regard to the "Hitman" not wanting to lose in Montreal or is he justified?

"RESPONSE FROM KE: I wasn't trying to get at anything, other than I found it interesting that Hart said that he had no animosity toward Shawn, and then for the next several years he said time and again how was so angry that he couldn't be around him for fear of what he'd do to him. Until I re-read this interview, I had forgotten how much Hart really seemed to be at peace with the whole thing. I honestly am curious as to why he suddenly became so angry."

No matter what the reason for his increased animosity may have been, I can say with 100% confidence that the stroke has had a lasting effect on his emotions.