The Everlasting Shadows Of Wrestling
Intro
In 1997 an incident in Pro wrestling, would shake the foundations of the industry as we know it, the incident in question was called The Montreal screwjob. Loyalty. Greed, and. Good vs Evil, were the themes that came to light in the documentary Wrestling With Shadows, a film made by the Canadian production Company High Road, and directed by Paul Jay, this started out as a normal career profile piece, but what unfolded, was, a morality play, as all the prior themes took centre stage.
Summer Of 1996
Production started in the summer of 1996, and at this time. WCW had started its near 2 year reign at the top of the tv ratings, as the Monday Night Wars was starting to intensify, The WWF at the time was coming off the back of a disasterous 1995, controversies, and contradictions, were married together at this point, and the tv show ratings had gone backwards. Times were changing, and Vince Mcmahon was struggling to keep up, so in order to stay relavent, he had to rely on parts of his old roster, whilst putting the focus on new stars. Bret The Hitman Hart, was a stallwart of The WWF's New Generation, gone were the days of the tired acts of the 1980's, and in their place, wrestlers that were younger and more polished. Bret Hart was the leader of this movement, and as time wore on, Mcmahon would become more reliant on him, and. Shawn Michaels, this would cause friction, and eventually a full blown, non keyfabe, hatetred. That years Wrestlemania, would see Shawn, over go Bret in a 60 minute Iron Man match, the build was centred around their mutual hatred of each other, and how their competitive edge, had spiralled out of control.
1997
They're feud continued into 1997, and the cameras caught this perfectly, from Shawns Sunny Days promo, and a smile. The effects of that would be felt when Bret got home, and he was asked by members of his own family, are you having an affair with Tammy Sych aka Sunny. Bret at this point felt that Shawn had crossed the line.
Legends As Fathers Dont Always Mix
Stu Hart, was a wrestling promoter, who had made his name working in the Canadian market. He at a young age, got into wrestling, when he fell in with a group of shooters. As a child. Stu had been in and out of care, the film examined Brets fears, from his childhood, as Stu would train hopefuls at their house, Owen. Brets younger brother, at one point when he was a child, went down to the famed dungeon, and recorded men, as they were made to cry like little children. Stu wanted all of his sons to go into Wrestling, and he wanted his daughters to marry Wrestlers, this would be something that annoyed his wife, who openly said that she wasn't a fan of the business. Bret wanted to study film at college, but when his dad needed him, he stepped up, and went to work for his dad.
Montreal Or Bust
In the months leading up to the 1997 Survivor Series, Bret had become Champion at that years Summerslam, by defeating The Undertaker, thanks to Shawn Michaels. WCW at this point had already seen WWF Stallwarts. Kevin Nash. Scott Hall. Hulk Hogan, and. Randy Savage amongst others, jump ship, and go to work for the competition in the years prior, the strain was still being put on the WWF's young stars at the time. Shawn was self medicating himself, and his issues with Bret were escalating. Roughly about a month before Survivor Series. Vince Mcmahon told Bret, that he was going to be cancelling their deal. The Cameras caught this, as he broke the news to his then wife Julie, his confliction, and distain for how things came to an end, wasn't nice to watch. He spoke about how he felt that the product, had become more sexually orientated, and its suitability for kids was starting to wain on a global level. Bret refused to keep his mouth shut, about how down the barrel the company had gone. As the end of October had come around, news that Bret was leaving had leaked, and fans were starting to show their opinions. Bret, and. Shawns relationship, was at a all time low. Shawn, was booked to face Bret, at that years Survivor Series, the intensity of their rivalry, was something that had become national news in Canada. Months before this. Bret had been offered a contract by Eric Bischcoff, to go and work for turners organisation, but nothing came from it, at that point. The 5th of November came around, and the film focused on how why this was his last night, because at one point. Bret was told by Vince, that it would financial suicide if he stayed with him. They agreed how the match would play out, and that he could go out anyway he wanted, but he had to drop the belt to Shawn in Montreal, Bret said no, and this would cause a rift between him and Vince, whilst putting handcuffs on Mcmahon, because he feared that if Bret showed up on WCW television with his Championship. It could spell the end for his company. The match, was what it was, and when the bell rung at the end. The industry had changed forever.
The Match
The Match got underway, you wouldn't be able tell that a double cross was underfoot, the evening before Vince Mcmahon, had a meeting in his hotel room, with HHH. Shawn Michaels, and the creative team, and even though the details are a bit sketchy, but I believe this was when screwjod plan got into action. The physicality that was on display didn't echo any issues, which if you watch with naked eyes, you wouldn't see it coming. The last exchanges of match, felt like a heated exchange, and I was right, Shawn put Bret in his own move the sharpshooter, and at that point you could hear referee Earl hebner shout. Ring the bell. Bret heard everything, and he knew, they screwed him, he was enraged, and the images of him smashing up WWF tv equipment, and Bret gesturing the initials WCW in the air, would put an end to one of Pro Wrtestlings best Characters, this was echoed in the final moments of the documentary
Career Counteractions
The aftermath of the screwjob saw both men, go down differant paths. Bret joined WCW, and his career suffered as a result, he would be under used, and after his brothers death, he reflected on what he wanted to do with his life, 1999 would be his last year as a professional, as he would have to retire in the year 2000, after he received a superkick from Bill Goldberg, at Starcade in december of 1999, he would suffer a stroke 3 years later, doctors would never clear. Shawn Michaels however, would have to retire in 1998, after he suffered a serious back injury, he would make a comeback 4 years later, and would go on to serve the WWE fans for another 8 years. He retired in 2010. Both men later on reconciled before this.
Documentary legacy
Wrestling With Shadows was released in the year 2000, and it unearthed the truth that most fans thought of Vince Mcmahon, whilst others thought that he was protecting his investment, in my opinion, this is vital viewing for new, and old fans, because it lays bare the issues of the industry that goes hand in hand, with any shakespherian novel. Lies. Greed, and. Good vs Evil.
I wasn't able to do a Monday Night Raw review this week, so given the fact that Bret is on the show, i thought i'd pivert, and do something differant.