Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels infamously came to blows backstage in 1997.
The pair had been at loggerheads for years beforehand, but that year Michaels took things too far for Hart on the May 19th edition of Raw that year. During a promo, Michaels implied that Hart was having an affair with Sunny, who was an onscreen manager at the time.
The comments led to Hart getting ‘heat’ with his wife and family at home, and then to a brawl with HBK backstage.
One man who saw the clash in person was Al Snow. During a recent interview with Wrestling Shoot Interviews, the veteran explained that it was the most memorable backstage fight he has seen because it had been building up for some time.
“The most memorable backstage fight was probably the one that took place between Shawn and Bret because there was such a build-up to it. You knew there’s real personal heat there and these guys were to the point they were crossing the line on TV.”
“They were starting to go way overboard, Shawn making remarks about Bret, that really got Bret heat with his wife and family. You know, you can go too far, and that’s what resulted in that fight.”
Snow says Hart came out in top of the brawl, having “snatched Shawn bald” and leaving a bald patch that remained for years.
“Bret like snatched Shawn bald, like there was literally, not bald like [he is] now, where he has lost his hair, but years later there was a bald spot on the side of Shawn’s head where Bret had snatched the hair out of his head.”
Al Snow believes Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels were equally good workers
When it comes to who was the best in the ring between Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels, Snow says the pair were actually “pretty even,” but had different approaches to wrestling.
“I’d have to say they’re both pretty even in that regard, just different approaches. Bret was more no-nonsense, just very, ‘I’m here to win,’ and Shawn was more flourish, ‘Yeah, I’m gonna win, but I’m going to do it spectacularly.’
“Shawn was better at looking like he was in jeopardy of losing, Bret was better at selling the intent that he was attempting to win.”
Michaels and Hart’s animosity continued for many years after the fight, not least because of the ‘Montreal Screwjob.’ However, the pair finally buried the hatchet onscreen on Raw in 2009.
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