Rumour Nick Meaney unhappy

[Flanagun]

That whole tribal chief storyline is so fkn cringey

I think it has been easily the best thing about WWE for the past few years.

 

[Nano]

Who?

 

[Flanagun]

Who?

Star Melbourne Storm recruit Nick Meaney.

 

[ddt192]

I think it has been easily the best thing about WWE for the past few years.

Heel Roman on top is best for business

 

[Flanagun]

Heel Roman on top is best for business

Yep, love him as a heel. He really found his niche.

 

[Bazildog]

Prozac

 

[Philistine]

Yep, love him as a heel. He really found his niche.

Isn't it the point that you are supposed to hate him as a heel? Anyway you have reminded me of something that I thought I should share (it's way more interesting than Nick Meaney).

back in the nineties Bret "The Hitman" Hart had a long run as a babyface, and, when the powers-that-be decided to turn him heel, it was harder than they thought it would be. Bret was (still is) Canadian, and, when he started doing the heel things in Canada, the crowds loved him anyway. They just wouldn't accept him as a heel. The writers came up with a typically wrestling solution - they made him a heel in the USA and let him remain a babyface in Canada. And this dual status helped set in motion the events that led to the "Montreal Screwjob" (any visitors from Alpha Centauri that have never heard of the Montreal Screwjob can google it).

 

[Philistine]

I’m getting a sense that the whole of the Kennel is waiting with bated breath for me to expand on my comment about the Montreal Screwjob, and you are all too polite to ask, so here goes:

Bret Hart, the WWF champion, was on the point of leaving the WWF (as it then was) for more money at WCW. It was embarrassing for WWF to lose the face of the company to their opposition, and it would be worse if he left as champion, and took the championship belt with him. The bookers wanted Bret to drop the belt to Shawn Michaels at a PPV in Montreal, but Bret was more of a prima donna than they had previously realized. He wouldn’t drop the belt to Michaels, who he despised, and he wouldn’t drop it to anybody else in Montreal, because he was a beloved babyface there (refer previous comment). The deal that was finally agreed upon was that he would beat Michaels in Montreal and drop the belt at a later date back in the USA.

Time was running out and Vinnie Mac wasn’t sure when, or even if, he would be able to get Hart back into a WWF ring again, and so the screw job was born. There was discussion regarding what, if anything, Hart could do about it. It wasn’t as if he could go crying to the media, because that would be tacitly admitting that the whole business was fake, including his multiple championships. But that was exactly what he did!

There was genuine bad blood between Hart and Michaels, and Hart had threatened many times to give Michaels a real spanking, as opposed to a kayfabe one. So much so that Michaels had officially complained about WWF maintaining an unsafe work place (have these people no shame?). On the night of the screw job some other members of the roster were detailed to follow Michaels around after the match to babysit him in case Hart became violent. In other words the newly minted “World Champion” had to have minders around him in case the man he had just “defeated” turned nasty.

As a footnote, Bret Hart was so “over” that he was universally regarded as the injured party, and Vince was cast as the villain. Thus, by pure serendipity, the character of Mr McMahon, the evil boss, sprang into life, and went on to become the most successful and enduring story line in WWE history.

 

[Disposable Hero]

Some real wrestling for yas. And yes XPW is back but highly watered down from the 90's unfotunately

 

[Flanagun]

Isn't it the point that you are supposed to hate him as a heel? Anyway you have reminded me of something that I thought I should share (it's way more interesting than Nick Meaney).

back in the nineties Bret "The Hitman" Hart had a long run as a babyface, and, when the powers-that-be decided to turn him heel, it was harder than they thought it would be. Bret was (still is) Canadian, and, when he started doing the heel things in Canada, the crowds loved him anyway. They just wouldn't accept him as a heel. The writers came up with a typically wrestling solution - they made him a heel in the USA and let him remain a babyface in Canada. And this dual status helped set in motion the events that led to the "Montreal Screwjob" (any visitors from Alpha Centauri that have never heard of the Montreal Screwjob can google it).

Lol I hated heels when I was a six year old who thought wrestling was real.... but don't think you could find anybody who knows wrestling is fake and doesn't think heels are more entertaining. Unless the babyface has a once in a lifetime gimmick like Austin, heels are more fun.

 

[Flanagun]

I’m getting a sense that the whole of the Kennel is waiting with bated breath for me to expand on my comment about the Montreal Screwjob, and you are all too polite to ask, so here goes:

Bret Hart, the WWF champion, was on the point of leaving the WWF (as it then was) for more money at WCW. It was embarrassing for WWF to lose the face of the company to their opposition, and it would be worse if he left as champion, and took the championship belt with him. The bookers wanted Bret to drop the belt to Shawn Michaels at a PPV in Montreal, but Bret was more of a prima donna than they had previously realized. He wouldn’t drop the belt to Michaels, who he despised, and he wouldn’t drop it to anybody else in Montreal, because he was a beloved babyface there (refer previous comment). The deal that was finally agreed upon was that he would beat Michaels in Montreal and drop the belt at a later date back in the USA.

Time was running out and Vinnie Mac wasn’t sure when, or even if, he would be able to get Hart back into a WWF ring again, and so the screw job was born. There was discussion regarding what, if anything, Hart could do about it. It wasn’t as if he could go crying to the media, because that would be tacitly admitting that the whole business was fake, including his multiple championships. But that was exactly what he did!

There was genuine bad blood between Hart and Michaels, and Hart had threatened many times to give Michaels a real spanking, as opposed to a kayfabe one. So much so that Michaels had officially complained about WWF maintaining an unsafe work place (have these people no shame?). On the night of the screw job some other members of the roster were detailed to follow Michaels around after the match to babysit him in case Hart became violent. In other words the newly minted “World Champion” had to have minders around him in case the man he had just “defeated” turned nasty.

As a footnote, Bret Hart was so “over” that he was universally regarded as the injured party, and Vince was cast as the villain. Thus, by pure serendipity, the character of Mr McMahon, the evil boss, sprang into life, and went on to become the most successful and enduring story line in WWE history.

Lol ok, if you really want to talk about this, I'll bite.

I think you'll find Bret offered to drop the belt to Austin. I'm sure he would have gone along with dropping it to someone like Taker, too. He didn't want to drop the belt to Shawn in Montreal because Shawn faked an injury rather than returning the job Bret did for him at WM 12 at the following year's Mania. He also constantly disrespected Bret with comments such as the infamous "I wouldn't do the same for you" line when Bret said despite their personal differences, HBK could count on him acting professionally and keeping him safe in the ring...... disrespecting Bret's Dad and family, etc.

Should Bret have dropped the belt to Shawn? Probably.... but Michaels was the prima donna in the situation, not Bret.

Bret also had a stipulation in his contract affording him creative control, so he was actually legally within his rights to not do the job to Shawn. Vince is the one who gave him that creative control.... probably never a good idea for a promoter to do that. Although in this case, it worked out pretty well, setting the wheels in motion for heel Vince, which is really the angle that blew Austin's character through the ceiling. Happy accident.

The plan was never for Shawn to lose to Bret at SS....I believe the plan was for the match to end in no contest and for Bret to drop the belt the following night on Raw.

Also, Bret didn't leave for money....he had already re-signed with the promotion and Vince made the call to release him after the fact to save money (and also because of the ongoing conflict with Michaels who was on a less lucrative contract.)

Bret probably did allow himself to become a little blinded by his contempt for Shawn at the time. But Bret was a tough, old school guy who just couldn't bring himself to put over a guy who had constantly disrespected him and acted less than professionally (for a second time.)

With the exception of HBK's Kliq buddies, the rest of the locker room were on Bret's side, which should tell you all you need to know about how dodgy that business was, and how much of a bunch of diqs Michaels and his Kliq buddies were at the time.

Oh and as for Bret letting the world know wrestling was fake....I don't think he exactly let the cat out of the bag. Most had cottoned on by that time....lol

Bret Hart is still the greatest ring technician to ever enter a ring, IMO. It's a shame his career went downhill after Montreal, whereas WWE's stocks continued to rise.

 

[Bulldog1966]

Only good wrestling used to be the jelly wrestling at Oxford Tavern...ohh and Sefton Playhouse too I recall.

 

[Flanagun]

Only good wrestling used to be the jelly wrestling at Oxford Tavern...ohh and Sefton Playhouse too I recall.

Pro rasslin is da bomb, dude.

 

[Philistine]

Oh and as for Bret letting the world know wrestling was fake....I don't think he exactly let the cat out of the bag. Most had cottoned on by that time....lol

Bret Hart is still the greatest ring technician to ever enter a ring, IMO. It's a shame his career went downhill after Montreal, whereas WWE's stocks continued to rise.

Thanks for an excellent post.

A question for you. According to legend, Hart had to retire because he got a concussion when he was carelessly kicked in the head by Bill Goldberg. I recently saw a Youtube video of Hart confronting Goldberg shortly after the incident, and it seemed like a work to me. I don't doubt he retired because of concussion(s), but it is hard for me to believe an otherwise fit and healthy individual would have to call time because of one hit. Any thoughts?

 

[Flanagun]

Thanks for an excellent post.

A question for you. According to legend, Hart had to retire because he got a concussion when he was carelessly kicked in the head by Bill Goldberg. I recently saw a Youtube video of Hart confronting Goldberg shortly after the incident, and it seemed like a work to me. I don't doubt he retired because of concussion(s), but it is hard for me to believe an otherwise fit and healthy individual would have to call time because of one hit. Any thoughts?

Are you talking about the promo he cut? He cut a promo on live TV shortly after the incident, but before his stroke. The promo itself was a work, but I think it was also part shoot as there was genuine anger from Bret about the incident.

The concussion led to post concussion syndrome....and not long after, Bret also had a stroke which may have been worsened by the lingering effects of that concussion, so yeah, in some cases one misplaced kick can do a lot of damage.

Bret Hart has expressed many times post retirement that he thought the kick from Goldberg was reckless and may have caused the stroke (or at least made its impacts more severe). So there is some genuine ill feeling there, for sure. Although as I understand it, they have buried the hatched now and are civil with one another.

I don't know if the kick was really Goldberg's fault, tbh. I mean, it was clumsy and reckless, for sure. But there is also the argument that WCW rushed his development and he wasn't given adequate training to be really safe in ring. Having said that, I think he is still a bit clumsy in ring.

I think Bret's anger towards Goldberg is based on two things: He thought the kick was clumsy and unprofessionally delivered, and also he says Goldberg didn't check on his welfare after the incident (possibly due to feeling guilty, I don't know.)

I think Bret does still harbour a fair bit of bitterness about certain things that happened during his career, but I think Shawn was the primary antagonist in the whole Montreal situation, for sure.

Shawn has matured a lot since then. He apologised to Bret back in 2010 and Bret says they actually get along well now.