WWE News: Bret Hart Reveals Details Behind ‘Payback’ Meeting With Triple H & Creative Plans For The Finish To The Women’s Championship Match
Bret Hart recently returned to WWE, accompanying his niece Natalya to the ring for her WWE Women’s Championship match against Charlotte at last week’s Payback. The Hitman’s presence helped even the odds with Charlotte, who’s been consistently aided by her father, Ric Flair. The Nature Boy has provided a helpful distraction for his daughter in retaining her championship, so Bret Hart was booked to make sure none of those shenanigans went down at the pay-per-view.
Of course, the match still went down with controversy, as WWE decided to rehash the Montreal Screwjob as it pertained to the finish. Referee Charles Robinson called for the bell before Natalya tapped out and awarded the victory to Charlotte, which was met with largely negative reviews. But Bret Hart and Natalya each got their comeuppance to some degree when they both applied their signature sharpshooters to the Flairs.
Bret made his weekly appearance on WrestleZone Radio’s The Sharpshooter Show w/ Bret “The Hitman” Hart, where he agreed with the detractors of the finish. Bret revealed that the Chicago Screwjob idea came from Vince McMahon, and originally Vince wanted Bret to simply block Flair on the ramp from leaving the arena with his hands on his hips. Hart suggested he and Nattie get physical with the Flairs and that the double-sharpshooters was Bret’s idea. He took the credit for the pop that received but said the finish of the match was flat, and he told Vince that.
In somewhat of a surprise, he also said that he enjoyed working with Ric despite their rocky past and that he credits both women for putting on a solid match.
It had been reported earlier in the week on Wrestling Observer Radio that Bret Hart was spotted in a meeting with Triple H before Payback as well. It was noted that the meeting seemed friendly and no hostility was on display. The Hitman revealed the tone of that backstage meeting that had wrestling fans buzzing this week.
“We met and we talked but it was nothing special. If anything it was just more about our health. We had some more laughs than anything about Ric Flair and stuff like that. Triple H was very cordial to me and treated me like a million bucks. He treated me great and I have no complaints about anything. He treated me really good and so did Stephanie for that matter. With Stephanie I felt that she was honestly or genuinely worried about me when I had the cancer. I think she was just really glad to see me. Maybe it was the same with Triple H. That can never be a bad thing. I sensed a lot of sincerity there on everyone’s part. From Vince down to Triple H to Shane.”
Those kind words from Bret Hart are in stark contrast to his thoughts on Triple H as recently as a week ago. The Hitman has called out The Game on many occasions, and last week he laid it on again, albeit mostly misguided.
“I’m always happy to be proven wrong, but I’ve never seen any real genius come from Triple H yet. I sound like I’m always knocking him, but it seems like he’s quick to push the great wrestling to the side and push the bodies, guys who have [good] physiques, all the time. They wonder why CM Punk quit and they wonder why Daniel Bryan got hurt. It’s because they squeeze so much out of those guys.I’m just calling it the way it is. Triple H is a former bodybuilder. He’s all about bodies. He thought that Hulk Hogan was the greatest wrestler in the world. They think Ultimate Warrior was the greatest wrestler in the world because that’s what they’re attracted to, but he’s not really a wrestling fan like I grew up. I was a wrestling fan.”
Bret went on to say that the best wrestling during WrestleMania weekend came from NXT. So perhaps he failed to realize that Triple H is largely responsible for the talent on that roster and that Vince still has final say on WWE’s main programming. Maybe his Payback appearance changed his tune.
[Image via WWE]
