One of the most infamous moments in WWE history took place on November 9, 1997. Bret "The Hitman" Hart was scheduled to defend his WWE Championship against "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels at Survivor Series. The planned finish was for Hart to win and then lose the title at a later date to anyone but Michaels.
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That isn't what happened, and the story goes back many years before Vince McMahon screwed over Hart. The two men came into WWE as tag team wrestlers and worked up the rankings together, eventually changing how WWE fans viewed professional wrestlers. Here is a look at the rivalry between Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart.
10 TAG TEAM SPECIALISTS
Bret Hart joined WWE when Vince McMahon raided Canada for talent and came in as a tag team wrestler with Jim Neidhart in the Hart Foundation. Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty joined WWE after working in AWA as the Rockers.
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The two teams were on top of WWE, and there was even a moment where The Rockers beat the Hart Foundation for the tag titles, but WWE reversed the decision after the fact, starting in motion a series of strange title changes involving HBK.
9 THE INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP
It was Bret Hart who saw singles success first, and he went on to have two great reigns as the Intercontinental Champion for a total of 290 days. During that time, Michaels challenged him more than once but could never win the title.
After Hart moved on to the world title scene, Michaels got his chance to run with the IC title. He held the title three times and forfeited it twice. While Hart was an honorable champion, Michaels made the title look bad.
8 REPLACING HULKAMANIA
While Hart and Michaels were on their way up the roster, names like Hulk Hogan, Macho Man Randy Savage, and Ultimate Warrior were on their way out of WWE.
It was time for WWE to move on from the colorful cartoon characters of the past, and they wanted to build up the men who could wrestle five-star matches. That put Hart and Michaels on top and made them instant rivals.
7 THE BOYHOOD DREAM
The rivalry between Hart and Michaels almost always saw The Hitman end up on top in every meeting. That all changed at WrestleMania XII. The story was set heading into the match. Hart was the long-running fan-favorite, and Michaels had just turned babyface as well.
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However, neither man liked the other. Michaels was trying to win his first title after Hart was a three-time champion, and in overtime of a 60-minute Iron Man match, HBK fulfilled his boyhood dream and beat Hart.
6 SUNNY DAYS
Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart started to feud not only in the ring but also backstage. The two men even got into a fight backstage that ended with Michaels going home.
This happened after Michaels cut a promo in the ring and commented on Hart having "Sunny Days," which referred to rumors that he cheated on his wife with Sunny. These are the things that caused intense hatred between the two men.
5 DX VS. THE HART FOUNDATION
WrestleMania XIII featured one of the best matches of all-time when babyface Bret Hart and heel Stone Cold Steve Austin pulled off a brilliant double-turn. After this, Hart was one of the most hated men in WWE and reformed the Hart Foundation as a faction. Meanwhile, Michaels was growing more influential in DX.
It was one of the iconic moments in WWE history. When the company went to Canada, Hart was a national hero. When he was in the United States, he was a hated villain. And his feud with Shawn Michaels, both in front of and behind the camera, intensified.
4 THE UNDERTAKER MATCH
One year later, The Undertaker was the WWE Champion, and Bret Hart had set his sights on The Dead Man for the title. Undertaker had won the title at WrestleMania 13 from Sycho Sid, and he finally faced off with Hart at SummerSlam 1997.
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Shawn Michaels was the guest referee and accidentally hit Undertaker with a chair and counted to three to make Hart the new world champion.
3 THE MONTREAL SCREWJOB
The Montreal Screwjob happened for one big reason. Bret Hart and Vince McMahon couldn't agree on a new contract, so he had signed a new contract to go to WCW. The problem was he was the champion and needed to drop the title.
He refused to drop it to Michaels, so Vince McMahon pulled strings and called for the bell when Michaels had Hart locked in the Sharpshooter. Hart lashed out at McMahon and left with hard feelings. Fans sided with Hart and made Mr. McMahon a hated heel himself and never forgave Michaels.
2 BRET HART LEAVES WWE
Bret Hart moved on to WCW. He started feuding with everyone from Sting to the nWo and eventually Bill Goldberg. He had nothing but bad things to say about WWE, especially after his little brother Owen Hart died during a WWE PPV.
Hart ended up with a severe concussion thanks to Goldberg and retired. Meanwhile, Michaels injured his back in a match with Undertaker and also retired. The top guys in WWE were gone by 2000.
1 THE APOLOGY
Shawn Michaels came back in 2002 and was stronger than ever. He was also a very different person in and out of the ring. He was a Christian now and was trying to make amends for his past actions.
Meanwhile, Hart returned to WWE in 2005 when he accepted a Hall of Fame induction. This allowed the two men a chance to meet up in the ring, and Michaels offered an apology, which Hart accepted, putting an end to their rivalry.
