Many WWE fans think Bret Hart has become bitter with age and given how his wrestling career came to an end, one could forgive him for doing so even if he had.
In a recent interview with Jonny I Pro, Hart seems to have taken his frank observations to another level by insisting Sheamus’ punches are embarrassing and that he can’t watch modern day wrestling.
However, nothing beats his latest claim. You’ve clicked on the headline, you know what to expect. Yes, he believes Shawn Michaels and Vince McMahon were in a sexual relationship around the time of the Montreal Screwjob.
If you are a wrestling fan that doesn’t know what the Montreal Screwjob is, allow me to give you a brief overview.
In 1997 after spending much of the decade as one of WWE’s best workers and then top stars, Bret Hart accepted a vastly more lucrative offer to leave the company and join WCW.
WWE owner Vince McMahon had encouraged Hart to make this move, knowing he couldn’t or didn’t want to fulfil the 10-year, expensive deal he had handed Hart the year before.
The Hitman was WWE champion at the time. The natural thing to do on the way out is to drop the title. Hart didn’t want to do that in his home country of Canada and he didn’t want to do it for Michaels, a man he had a personal feud with behind the scenes that had seen them come to blows on occasion.
So, at Survivor Series 1997, Hart’s last night in the company, the Canadian was told the match would end in a DQ meaning the title wouldn’t change hands.
McMahon and Michaels, along with Triple H, conspired to have the referee call for a submission victory when the Heart Break Kid got the champion in a hold during the match, thus handing the title to Michaels.
The aftermath saw Hart spit on McMahon at ringside once he realised he’d been screwed. He then knocked the WWE chairman out backstage.
Now, some further context. Michaels was fired from WWE in the late 90s for alcohol and drug abuse, something he was very open about once he became a born again Christian in the 2000s.
McMahon had to retire from WWE in 2022 (and then 2024) after sexual misconduct allegations surfaced. He was accused of sex trafficking a WWE employee among other claims.
With all of that in mind, here is Hart’s latest comments.
“When Shawn was in the ring talking about, you know he lost some part of himself or he was going to go find his smile [1997 segment]. I remember Vince had the tear rolled down his cheek and I remember watching it and going, ‘I think there’s more going on here between these two guys.’
“Honestly. I’m just being honest and blunt, but I don’t know. I suspected and now I really have serious [feelings] I think that Shawn and Vince were sleeping with each other.
“I think I’m very close to the truth here. Shawn and Vince were lovers. I’m being dead honest and I’m telling you we all know what the H stands for.
“When I look back it’s like I got caught between two lovers, you know, and I got shafted and screwed over and Shawn was so envious and jealous of my position that he finally had to sleep with Vince to get it.
“I say all this with absolute – I would say it to Shawn if he was right here. I would say I would actually actually like to have Shawn come clean and say, ‘Look, we were lovers.’ Cuz I’m sure they were.
“I have absolute 100%. If I saw either Vince or Shawn here, I would say ‘I think you guys were lovers.’”
Is Hart just bitter or is there anything to his theory?
