What is the biggest ‘what if?’ in the world of professional wrestling?
What if WCW was never purchased by WWE? What if ECW never went out of business? What if Hulk Hogan never left WWE for WCW? I challenge you to think about that very question and I’m going to present what a close friend and I think is possibly the biggest what if scenario ever in the world of professional wrestling. So many things could have ended up differently as a result of.
Quite simply, the biggest ‘what if?’ in the history of professional wrestling in my opinion is the Montreal screw job.
So, you’re asking yourself why?
Well let’s think about this for a moment, how many things could have been different coming out of WWE Survivor Series ’97, does Shawn still injure his back at Royal Rumble ’97? Does Bret still get kicked in the head by Goldberg that ultimately ended his career? Does Stone Cold Steve Austin main event WrestleMania 14 in Boston? If you remember the rumored main event was a re-match between Bret and Shawn at WrestleMania 13. Does The Rock go on to find the success that he found and become the mega superstar he became? What about Triple H?
There are so many dominos that came out of this landmark event that it has to be the biggest ‘what if?’
The infamous Montreal incident took place on 11/9/97 at the Molson Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The then World Wrestling Federation Champion Bret ‘the Hitman’ Hart was leaving WWE for rival World Championship Wrestling and was still Champion.
But what if Bret and Shawn would have worked out their differences? Would it have mattered?
I think so. If Bret and Shawn could have worked out their differences, WWE would have taken a different approach I believe. We could have seen an entirely different attitude era, where good backstage storylines were emphasized but also good in-ring professional wrestling. Can you imagine Shawn Michaels vs. Eddie Guerrero or Bret Hart vs. Chris Jericho? All these things could have happened if they would just gotten past their problems.
But at the end of the day, I think Bret had to go. There was too much talent on their way up and Bret had to be ‘the guy’ and wasn’t ready to be anything other than ‘the guy’ and this is coming from someone who considers Bret as the greatest of all time. So, in reality, did it all play out the way it should have? You tell me.
Bret is retired and living in Calgary with his wife, he recently mentioned in an interview with that he was in a “good place” and that he’s actually a happy person.
Shawn is working creative with WWE NXT and he recently mentioned that he is hopeful that NXT will sell out larger arenas sooner than later.
Here is the current lineup for tonight’s WWE NXT.
Follow Charles On Twitter: @CharlieBadass3
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