Black and White Report for February 9, 2010 -- Madusa Screwed Bret
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Feb 9 2010, 8:02 AM
Over the last several weeks, wrestling fans have been forced to endure constant reminders of the Montreal Screwjob from 1997. Both WWE (with Bret Hart's return) and TNA (restaging the event with Angle) have gone back to the "screwed" well to the overkill point. As WWE has marketed to younger fans in recent months, much of their audience wasn't alive or watching wrestling when Bret Hart, Vince McMahon, Earl Hebner, and Shawn Michaels were involved in the revolutionary incident at Survivor Series. It must seem to these fans that the current industry is making too big a deal out of the incident from a decade and a half ago.
It's certainly understandable why young fans might feel that way. Even adult fans watching may see all this Montreal "screwed" talk as a bit too much. But it's generating interest. TNA garnered their highest rating ever the week after screwing Kurt Angle. And The Bret Hart stuff is among the hottest WWE has going as we head into WrestleMania. Fans haven't let go of Montreal either. It keeps coming back because it was so important to the wrestling business.
Promoters often talk about revolutionizing the industry. It's become a cliche almost on the level of Tony Schiavone saying that every Nitro was the biggest night in the history of our sport. But Montreal really was the most revolutionary night in the history of wrestling. The sockwaves are still being felt today. It was, in my mind, the real jumpstart of the WWF's Attitude era. It was the beginning of the end for WCW, ironically enough since that company thought it was the move that would ultimately kill the McMahon family business. (For his part, Bret has also talked about how this was the end of the Hitman character, being revived right now. He has also recently stated that he would never work for TNA if it would give Hogan and Bischoff a chance to get their hands on his character again...I wonder if he'll want "closure" with them in a couple of years...)
All of these points have been discussed ad nauseum for the last 12 years. Many other theories, conspiracies, questions, and points of discussion have been dissected by wrestlings fans and pundits. It is certainly the most talked about moment in wrestling history. Who really screwed Bret? Vince? Earl? Shawn? Bret?
I blame Madusa.
As the Monday Night Wars were heating up, everyone knows Madusa, then-WWF Women's Champion, showed up on WCW Monday Nitro and trashed the belt she held for Vince McMahon. That moment, engaging television and something "revolutionary" was a shot heard 'round Titan Towers in Stamford. It was such a slap in the face that a WWF champion would not only appear on the competition's programming, but throw away the belt. Never mind that Ric Flair had taken the NWA/WCW belt to the WWF about three years earlier.
In any case, a precedent was set. If a WWF champion was signed by WCW, there was no security that that champion wouldn't trash the belt either. As Bret Hart approached his WWF departure, Vince McMahon had a very real fear that his top championship would be thrown in the garbage. It had, after all, happened before.
It can be argued that Bret swore he would never show up on WCW television with the WWF belt, but where was Vince's guarantee? Madusa had, as I said, set a precedent. All bets were off. I believe that if Madusa hadn't thrown her belt away, Vince McMahon never would have been so scared that Bret would do the same thing, and Bret would never have been screwed.
The modern wrestling industry would be a vastly different. I think WCW would still have gone out of business, but the stories told by the top promotions in the country would be different. Would the Mr. McMahon character have come to fruition? Austin/McMahon? The directions wrestling could have gone are interesting to think about.
It's been said that Madusa really regretted throwing her belt away. That she was hesitant. This is understandable, of course. But the entire wrestling community owes her a debt of gratitude. For, if she hadn't trashed the belt, the most revolutionary moment in wrestling history may not have happened. The WWF might not have overcome WCW. The biggest stars of the last decade might not have been made. But one thing is for certain: Madusa screwed Bret.
Over the last several weeks, wrestling fans have been forced to endure constant reminders of the Montreal Screwjob from 1997. Both WWE (with Bret Hart's return) and TNA (restaging the event with Angle) have gone back to the "screwed" well to the overkill point. As WWE has marketed to younger fans in recent months, much of their audience wasn't alive or watching wrestling when Bret Hart, Vince McMahon, Earl Hebner, and Shawn Michaels were involved in the revolutionary incident at Survivor Series. It must seem to these fans that the current industry is making too big a deal out of the incident from a decade and a half ago.
It's certainly understandable why young fans might feel that way. Even adult fans watching may see all this Montreal "screwed" talk as a bit too much. But it's generating interest. TNA garnered their highest rating ever the week after screwing Kurt Angle. And The Bret Hart stuff is among the hottest WWE has going as we head into WrestleMania. Fans haven't let go of Montreal either. It keeps coming back because it was so important to the wrestling business.
Promoters often talk about revolutionizing the industry. It's become a cliche almost on the level of Tony Schiavone saying that every Nitro was the biggest night in the history of our sport. But Montreal really was the most revolutionary night in the history of wrestling. The sockwaves are still being felt today. It was, in my mind, the real jumpstart of the WWF's Attitude era. It was the beginning of the end for WCW, ironically enough since that company thought it was the move that would ultimately kill the McMahon family business. (For his part, Bret has also talked about how this was the end of the Hitman character, being revived right now. He has also recently stated that he would never work for TNA if it would give Hogan and Bischoff a chance to get their hands on his character again...I wonder if he'll want "closure" with them in a couple of years...)
All of these points have been discussed ad nauseum for the last 12 years. Many other theories, conspiracies, questions, and points of discussion have been dissected by wrestlings fans and pundits. It is certainly the most talked about moment in wrestling history. Who really screwed Bret? Vince? Earl? Shawn? Bret?
I blame Madusa.
As the Monday Night Wars were heating up, everyone knows Madusa, then-WWF Women's Champion, showed up on WCW Monday Nitro and trashed the belt she held for Vince McMahon. That moment, engaging television and something "revolutionary" was a shot heard 'round Titan Towers in Stamford. It was such a slap in the face that a WWF champion would not only appear on the competition's programming, but throw away the belt. Never mind that Ric Flair had taken the NWA/WCW belt to the WWF about three years earlier.
In any case, a precedent was set. If a WWF champion was signed by WCW, there was no security that that champion wouldn't trash the belt either. As Bret Hart approached his WWF departure, Vince McMahon had a very real fear that his top championship would be thrown in the garbage. It had, after all, happened before.
It can be argued that Bret swore he would never show up on WCW television with the WWF belt, but where was Vince's guarantee? Madusa had, as I said, set a precedent. All bets were off. I believe that if Madusa hadn't thrown her belt away, Vince McMahon never would have been so scared that Bret would do the same thing, and Bret would never have been screwed.
The modern wrestling industry would be a vastly different. I think WCW would still have gone out of business, but the stories told by the top promotions in the country would be different. Would the Mr. McMahon character have come to fruition? Austin/McMahon? The directions wrestling could have gone are interesting to think about.
It's been said that Madusa really regretted throwing her belt away. That she was hesitant. This is understandable, of course. But the entire wrestling community owes her a debt of gratitude. For, if she hadn't trashed the belt, the most revolutionary moment in wrestling history may not have happened. The WWF might not have overcome WCW. The biggest stars of the last decade might not have been made. But one thing is for certain: Madusa screwed Bret.
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