Bret Hart refelects on knocking out Vince McMahon.
Bret Hart lost the WWE Championship to Shawn Michaels at Survivor Series 1997 when Vince McMahon orchestrated a screwjob that saw referee Earl Hebner ring the bell while Bret was in the sharpshooter despite not tapping out.
In the backstage area, Bret and Vince got into a confrontation that ended with two hits, Bret hitting Vince and Vince hitting the floor.
Speaking to DNA on the Attitude Era Podcast, Bret recalled what happened in Montreal.
"The Montreal Screwjob and all the lies and things they did to me. I have so much respect for what I did. If you were in my shoes, after everything that I did for them, for them to do what they did to me. I always hear this crap like I heard Undertaker say, 'they had to do what they were going to do. There was no other option.' Bullshit. I had another six weeks left on my contract. There were a million things that could have been done. It was a case of liars, cheaters, backstabbers, and guys that made that moment happen. Shawn, Triple H, Vince McMahon. I wish I knocked them all out. I have no regrets. It was the single greatest thing I ever did.
"All I'll say is this. Jimmy Snuka came up to me about three years after the Montreal Screwjob. He came up to me and shook my hand. He goes, 'I want to shake the hand of the man that knocked out Vince McMahon. Everybody talked about doing it.' He lied and screwed over so many guys. 'Everybody talked about doing it, but the one guy who did it was you.' That's why he shook my hand. I think it says more about my real personality. I was never a hot head or a guy that acted out and went off and punched everybody that I wanted to. If you were in my shoes that day, Vince was calling my bluff. He was going to confront me and wanted me to back down and take the high road. It was a gamble that he made and he thought he was going to try and get into a little altercation with me. He wanted it to be a pull apart. Everybody pulls us apart and he can act like he stood his ground against me. In those fleeting seconds of having to think about this, 'I can't believe Vince McMahon is actually going to confront me.' I didn't charge him. We actually walked up to each other and locked up like a wrestling match. Then I knocked him out with one punch and it was the greatest punch I ever threw. Absolutely beautiful uppercut. I lifted him about a foot off the ground, broke my hand. It was the sweetest punch I ever threw. I wouldn't change anything about it. Vince McMahon can rot in hell."
Stong words from a strong man.
Vince and Bret would reconcile in 2005, leading to Bret being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006. He has called out Vince regarding the allegations levied in the lawsuit by former employee Janel Grant.
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