Editor's Notes: Heath McCoy is the writer of the highly praised book entitled Pride & Passion: The History of Stampede Wrestling and is also a writer for the Calgary Herald newspaper. Mr. McCoy sent this article to me last week and I thought it was so good that I should post it on OWW. Upon receiving his permission, here it is! Keep in mind this was written prior to Bret's Hall of Fame induction. Enjoy. Did Bret "The Hitman" Hart make a deal with the devil to protect his legacy? Or, has he genuinely mended fences with his former boss Vince McMahon, the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) kingpin who he once perceived to be his mortal enemy, his great betrayer - indeed, his demon? Hart himself seemed torn on the issue in an interview this week leading up to his induction into the WWE Hall of Fame, tonight (April 1) in Chicago, the day before WrestleMania 22 at the Windy City's Allstate Arena.

"I'll never forget what they did to me, or forgive it," says Hart, 48. "But I have earned this (Hall of Fame honour) and they can't take that away from me. . . . We've finally gotten to the point where we're on decent terms. . . . If I see Vince, I don't have a problem with talking to him or shaking his hand." The retired professional wrestling legend has been embroiled in a bitter war with the WWE since 1997 when he was cheated out of his world heavyweight title in what has come to be known as the Montreal Screwjob. As part of the ongoing soap opera of the wrestling game, Hart, whose contract gave him "reasonable creative control" over his character, was led to believe he was going to retain his title when he fought his real life nemesis Shawn Michaels at the Survivor Series in Montreal. Instead, on orders from McMahon, the referee rang the bell while Hart was locked in a hold, as if the world's most famous Calgarian had submitted. Humiliated in front of his Canadian fans, Hart spit in McMahon's face on camera, and later knocked the promoter out cold in the dressing room before leaving the company.

Bitterness turned to bile in 1999 after Bret's brother Owen Hart died during a televised WWE event in Kansas City when an ill-advised stunt went awry during the show. Owen's widow Martha and his late parents, Stu and Helen, former promoters of Calgary's legendary Stampede Wrestling, launched a civil suit against McMahon and others for wrongful death due to negligence. Bret stood firmly in their corner. Some Hart family members wanted to settle out of court however and the venomous dispute tore the family apart. Eventually the case was settled with the Harts receiving $18 million U.S. As the Hall of Fame induction comes on the heels of the The Best There Is, The Best There Was, The Best There Ever Will Be, a triple DVD of Hart's greatest matches, released last November through the WWE, some observers have accused the Hitman of selling out on his convictions against McMahon, in order to cash in on his past. But Hart defends his decision. After his falling out with McMahon, he was denied access to his legacy. The footage of his matches, his classic pictures, it was all owned by the WWE. Hart had no creative control over its use. He says after Owen died, McMahon promised him he would again have certain rights over his image, but the promoter soon denied such a promise was made. Yet again, Hart felt double-crossed, consumed with hurt and resentment.

It was in the midst of another tragedy, that McMahon again entered Hart's life after the wrestler suffered a severe stroke in the summer of 2002. The once mighty Hitman was lying in a hospital bed, emotionally devastated and in near total paralysis, when he received a call from McMahon, who wished him well. It was a watershed moment that put the two men back on speaking terms, where they could again consider doing business. But the WWE still showed a mean streak when they began producing a less than flattering Bret Hart DVD called Screwed, which focused on the infamous Montreal incident. The company asked for Hart's input on the project. "I can't believe they let me watch it," Hart says. "I told them: 'You can take every bit of it out.' It was brutal. They cast me in the worst possible light. I had all these wrestlers from Shawn Michaels to Hulk Hogan burying me, talking about how difficult I was to work with, saying I was never very good. Hogan said none of the other wrestlers could trust me and I was never one of the boys. That would have been released and 25 years from now people would remember that stuff about me, rather than the truth." Last summer, Bret sat down with McMahon for "nose to nose negotiations" about the DVD. Finally, Bret heard the words he wanted to hear. "He said 'We can do this your way,'" the Hitman recalls. "'You can have final approval on the finished product.' That's what I've been fighting for all these years.

I have a right to be remembered. I worked so hard and put so much passion into what I did, and for me to stand back and see that erased, to become non-existent and unimportant, I didn't think it was fair." Carl DeMarco, president of WWE Canada Inc. says Hart was wise to again do business with McMahon for the DVD. "I think both Bret and Vince have taken a step forward, together," DeMarco says. "I don't they've forgotten what happened. But it was important to Bret to make sure his career is not forgotten about.

Yes, some sort of DVD was going to come out and Bret realized he'd rather be involved and have a say on it, instead of having it be overly focused on Montreal. He doesn't want his career being remembered for that one moment. . . . "No matter what the issues are between him and Vince, that should not take away from what Bret has accomplished. He was not only only a big star in Canada, (where he is) probably one of the biggest stars of all time, but he was also a big star in countries around the world." When the DVD was released, a major fence had been mended between Hart and McMahon. "A lot of the hard feelings I had centred around my archives and my history, and them locking it up in a basement," Hart says. "When they did the DVD and let me do it my way, a lot of the really hard feelings I had towards Vince dissipated." When Bret was asked to be a part of the WWE's Hall of Fame prior to WrestleMania 22, where he would be honoured for his achievements, he agreed to put the past behind him and attend. "I can't carry (this anger) around forever. The biggest reason I had the stroke was related to stress," he says. "I've got a new life and a new wife. I've moved on." But things can never be like they once were, when Hart felt at home in the WWE. Despite rabid speculation on the Internet, and urging from the WWE, the Hitman says he's going home after he collects his award. He will certainly not be taking part in any storyline at the WrestleMania event. "It will never happen," he says. "I'll never walk out to a ring for them no matter how friendly things get. . . . I know they had designs on me doing more (than just the award show). . . . They put a lot of pressure on me. It would mean the world to them if I would just walk out at WrestleMania and wave. Nah. . . . They always throw these contracts around and I think to myself, since when do contracts mean anything to these people? I had a contract and they screwed me over like I was garbage."Hart's also adamant that if he sees his old nemesis Shawn Michaels at the awards show, he'll walk out the door. "If I see him anywhere, even if he walks past me, I'm getting in a cab," he says. "I just can't be around the guy.

I'm here for my fans and if anybody wants to upset me in any way, I don't mind walking off. . . . "I'm here on good faith and I believe they mean well by inducting me. I'm honoured that they're giving me this moment. I had a great career. I loved my matches and the memories I had. The end was really bad, but my life and my career wasn't about what happened in Montreal or what happened with my brother Owen. . . . It's all done and over with and it's got nothing to do with my decision to be remembered."

Has Calgary's most famous son gone Italian? Senza possibilita! Er, that is to say, not a chance. Bret "The Hitman" Hart was remarried in September 2004 at a ceremony in Milan and since then he has spent a great deal of time overseas, going back and forth between his home in Calgary and his bride Cinzia's residence in Italy.He was in Italy for such a long time this winter, he's started joking that his dog, the pug Coombs, "has gone completely Italian." But Hart gets homesick when he's away for too long. "I'm always anxious to get home," he says, in a tone of mock frustration. "The food and the lifestyle is just not what I'm accustomed to. . . . I miss the hockey. I miss pancake breakfasts and (Canadian) TV and newspapers. . . . I like 7-Elevens where you can get a quart of milk. And God knows why these take breaks in the middle of the day. These siestas. . . . "Everyone tries their hardest to make me feel at home there, but it's not home and it's never going to be." The Hitman stresses his relationship with his new wife is a beautiful thing, despite his yearnings for the land of the maple leaf when he's away. "I'm just paying my dues," he says. "I'm making my moves on her to get her to come back to Canada. "I won't be away from Calgary for long."

by Heath McCoy
Calgary Herald ..