(May 27)
(tsn.ca) This past Friday, the WWE unveiled their new show called
"CONFIDENTIAL" hosted by none other than Mean Gene Okerlund. As great
as it was to see Okerlund, he was not the reason why the wrestling world was
buzzing after the show went off the air.
The first episode of the show looked back at the Montreal Screw Job of 1997 at Survivor Series. What made the episode unique was the candid comments provided by Shawn Michaels.
During the episode, Micahels finally admitted to the world that he knew what was going to happen in his match with Bret Hart, and the subsequent "screw job" that would happen at the end of the match.
As much as I respect Shawn Michaels for his contributions to the wrestling industry throughout his career, he is a liar, and that is what I always remember him as. In the "Wrestling with Shadows" documentary, Michaels clearly pleads to Bret after the match that he knew nothing about what was planned. He swears that he was just as shocked by the outcome as Bret was, and he was not pleased with winning the title in that manner.
It's been almost 5 years since the incident in Montreal, and I constantly defended Michaels. The Hitman fans were calling for Michaels head, as well as Vince McMahon's. Not I though. I believed that McMahon never told Michaels, and that the HBK was just a victim of circumstance, or so I thought.
Through out his in-ring career, Michaels performed at a level never seen before by fans in North America. However, his greatest performance ever was in the locker room of the Molson Centre as he pleaded with Hart. He feared for his own safety, and begged Bret to believe him.
Fortunately for Michaels, Hart looked past him and went after McMahon instead. The question that keeps going through my mind is why did it take Michaels this long to confess?
For tsn.ca, I'm Sammy "The Bull" Cicirello.
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