Book Review: Hitman By Bret "Hitman" Hart Part II

A couple of weeks ago I was reading Hitman when I came to THE chapter: The Montreal Screwjob. I was tempted to continue on reading when I looked at the clock – around 11:30 p.m. – and I thought to myself, “No, I’m gonna save this part.” Which I did, until 12 hours later - a snowy Friday afternoon.

The story of Bret’s Hart last day with World Wrestling Entertainment has been well-documented by those involved, his adversaries, documentarists and Bret himself. However, Bret Hart outdoes himself in his autobiography by taking you through the entire day; from arriving at the Molson Centre in Montreal for Surivor Series '97 until the end of the evening when he stood tall after having one-punched Vince McMahon into la-la land.

We’ve all been in situations where our “belly barometer” told us something was awry, and that indeed was the case with Bret Hart. "The Hitman" stated that he had a feeling all day that he was going to get screwed in some manner.

I’ll never understand why Bret and Vince couldn’t work it out; allow Bret to win the match and then have him lose it the next night on Monday Night Raw to Shawn Michaels, instead Vince, at ringside, called for the bell to be rung when Michaels slapped on Bret’s finisher, “the sharpshooter,” on Bret. The referee, Michaels (with the W.W.E. Championship), Triple H and Chyna all got out of dodge, while Vince got spit in his face from Bret and then backstage a solid punch in the face and a sprained ankle, also courtesy of "The Hitman."

I wonder, though, if Vince didn’t know all along that he could prosper off of screwing Bret Hart. "The Hitman" talks about how he felt bitter sitting in a W.C.W. locker room and witnessing Vince McMahon play up the evil boss character on t.v. which led to a golden age for the W.W.E. Meanwhile, Bret was being completely misused as a performer for World Championship Wrestling.