Bret ‘Hitman’ Hart recently looked back on his significant return to WWE programming in 2010, culminating in a WrestleMania match against Vince McMahon. Hart emphasized the profound personal importance of this period, viewing it as a crucial opportunity to reshape the narrative surrounding his controversial exit from the company in 1997 and provide a more positive final chapter to his in-ring story.
Hart acknowledged that his post-WWE life was often dominated by the “Montreal Screwjob.” “Once I left WWF… it was always a bad ending,” he stated. “Everything they talked to me about was sort of stuff that triggered bad feelings… ‘Was the screw job a work’… I remember Scott Hall and different guys circulated this idea that it was all planned out… which is not true. I was always really frustrated that that was the final chapter.”
The 2010 return offered a path to closure. “When that whole opportunity presented itself with Vince, I knew it was a chance to rewrite the ending a little bit,” Hart explained. While admitting it wasn’t his best work from a purely technical wrestling standpoint (“It wasn’t the greatest wrestling that I ever did”), he cherished the experience. “People don’t think about it or rate it that much… but I loved the stuff I did with Vince in that time period… it was a lot of fun, and I enjoyed every bit of it. I wouldn’t change any of it.”
Ultimately, Hart views the return storyline and match as a success on a personal level. “I thought the final match that I had at WrestleMania was everything you get hoped for under the circumstances. I was always really proud of it,” he said. “I think it was an important page for me to turn the corner and move on… I’ve never been asked that much about the screw job… since then.”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit Ariel Helwani with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
