Fantasy Booking: Bret Hart stays in WWF after Montreal

Booking Bret Hart if he stayed in WWF 1997-2000


For the purpose of this storyline, The Montreal Screwjob was a work. (However, for roster consistency purposes, Bulldog and Anvil still leave for WCW) Bret is off TV for a bit and Vince plays the evil chairman. Bret skips DX: In Your House and the Royal Rumble while Vince continues to iterate to the fans that “Bret Screwed Bret”. Austin wins the Royal Rumble, and No Way Out of Texas is business as usual, until the finish.



No Way Out of Texas

Main Event: Steve Austin, Owen Hart, Cactus Jack & Chainsaw Charlie vs The Outlaws, HHH & Savio Vega



During the wild 8 Man Tag, Michaels comes down and superkicks Austin. Bret then comes from the crowd and blasts HBK, knocking him over the guard rail. Bret chases him as Owen submits Savio with the Sharpshooter for the win.



The next week on Raw, Bret essentially holds the WWF hostage, interfering in matches and refusing to leave the ring until he gets a title shot. Austin, a former rival of Bret, says that he won the Royal Rumble, and won’t be replaced, but he respects the hell out of Bret, and they share a dislike for Vince McMahon and Shawn Michaels. He proposes a Triple Threat for Wrestlemania, and Bret says he is okay with that. Vince disagrees, but says he is a “fair man”. He says that if Austin and Bret can beat all of Los Boricuas in a Handicap Match, he will add Bret to the match. They succeed, and the Mania Main Event is made a 3 Way.



(Aside from Bret’s involvement in storylines, it is assumed that everything else stays the same.)



Wrestlemania XIV

Main Event: Shawn Michaels vs Steve Austin vs Bret Hart (Mike Tyson as Special Referee)



The match is a competitive three way dance, and all of the wrestlers get their big spots and near falls. The crowd response for Bret and Austin is about split, but Austin looks strong. The finish involves Bret getting Superkicked and falling through the ropes. Shawn then goes to kick Austin, but gets caught and hit with the Stunner for the win. The Tyson stuff plays out as usual and there is a shot of Bret nodding respectfully to Austin from the ramp before walking away.



The next night on Raw, Austin comes out to celebrate but Bret interrupts him, congratulating him while also challenging for the WWF Title at Unforgiven. Austin seems poised to accept, but Vince says that Bret has to earn his spot. Cactus Jack does his turn and becomes Dude Love again. He beats Bret on Raw to earn a shot, while injuring him with a chair in the process (Dude needs to look strong for Austin).



Things go as planned until Over the Edge ‘98, where Bret Hart runs in to assist in the finish, evening the odds for Austin by taking out Patterson and Brisco (He essentially replaces Undertaker). Austin gets the win over Dude and Bret leaves the ring to let him celebrate.



The King of the Ring is the next major Pay Per View. The build has clearly been for either Kane, Undertaker or Hart as Austin’s next challenger, but Bret is snubbed. Kane gets the shot after interference from a returning Mankind. Mankind and Undertaker feud, and Kane and Austin feud. Bret comes to the ring and complains, Vince offers him a spot in the King of the Ring. Bret Hart gets Marc Mero in the opener and beats him, and then beats Jeff Jarrett.



King of the Ring

At the PPV, Bret is paired up against Ken Shamrock, they have a competitive match, but The Rock interferes with the Nation, destroying both men, causing a No Contest. Both Shamrock and Hart complain, and the finals are made a Triple Threat. In this match, The Rock wins by pinning Shamrock. Many members of the Nation interfere, and The Godfather seems to single out Bret Hart.



On Raw the next night, Bret Hart challenges The Rock to a match at Fully Loaded. He doesn’t give a damn if the title is on the line or not, he is looking for a fight. Vince comes out to remind Bret that he hasn’t won a major match since coming back. Vince again says he is going to make Bret work for his spot. Bret starts tearing through guys aggressively, particularly D’Lo Brown and The Godfather. He sometimes even loses by DQ when he gets too rough and starts using chairs. Generally, he comes off as a whiner as opposed to the tough guy Austin (who is still embroiled in a feud with Taker, Kane and Mankind). Finally, Bret beats Triple H in a ⅔ Falls Match to earn his shot at The Rock, who has been bad-mouthing every challenger for the belt, including Shamrock, Bret and Helmsley. (Despite Bret’s claim that it’s not about the title, this is an IC Title match)



Fully Loaded

Bret finally gets his one-on-one match with The Rock. Triple H and Ken Shamrock, despite their personal opinion of Bret Hart, decide to come to ringside to keep The Nation at bay. The match is competitive, but Bret clearly has the advantage over his less-experienced opponent. Vince gets personally involved and costs Bret the match, screwing him out of a title yet again.



Bret starts to get pissed off. He challenges Vince to a 1 on 1 match on Raw. Vince ends up accepting a 3-on-1 in which The Stooges back him up. Bret loses by DQ when Vince refuses to enter the ring. Bret loses his temper and chairs Vince. With Vince out, Linda McMahon emerges as a face authority figure, and she proposes Austin vs Hart at Summerslam. (Undertaker is demoted to a rematch with Mankind, which Kane interferes, setting up the Taker heel turn/Brothers of Destruction a bit early).



Bret’s promotion of the match revolves around his bragging that Austin has never beaten him 1-on-1 (now coming off as both a whiner and a braggart). He also throws some jabs at Austin being a drunk and an alcoholic. Bret is not a full heel, but is certainly making it clear that he doesn’t like Austin.



Summerslam

Main Event: Bret Hart vs Steve Austin

No Shenanigans, no screwing, Austin straight up pins Bret clean after a Stunner. After the match, Bret reluctantly shakes Austin’s hand, but also trashes an announce table in a fit of anger.



The next night on Raw, Bret has a match with Val Venis. The match is billed as an eliminator for the European Title but Bret is disqualified after beating down Venis and holding the Figure Four around the ringpost for too long, injuring Val. Bret leaves, saying nothing. (The Val-Dustin Rhodes feud is omitted completely)



The next week, he explains that he is disgusted with everything about the WWF, from its corrupt CEO, to its alcoholic Champion, to the porn stars, pimps and garbage wrestlers that plague the roster. He name-drops Val Venis, The Godfather and Sable, and then claims that he is going to “clean up” the WWF. Edge comes out to defend Sable’s honor, but Bret destroys him, making him tap to the Sharpshooter.



Over the next few weeks, he seems to target The Godfather, and challenges him to a match at Breakdown: In Your House, but demands that none of his “hos” show up.



Breakdown: In Your House

Bret Hart faces of with The Godfather. Mid-way through the match, the Ho Train arrives. Bret goes out to confront them, and discovers Sable hiding among them. She nails Bret with a kick to the groin, and then throws him into the ring. Godfather goes for the Pimp Drop but Hart reverses and rolls out of the ring. Sable goes after him and Bret pushes her down. Godfather comes out and Bret nails him with a chair, ending the match in a DQ. (so he is also a hypocrite, because he criticized Hardcore wrestlers but used a chair) He then hits him in the leg with the chair and sets him up for the Figure Four around the ring post, but Val Venis returns to make the save.



Yet again, Bret Hart comes out to complain, and Sable, Venis and Godfather come out to shut him up. Bret challenges them to a Six Man Intergender match at Judgement Day. They accept, and are then ambushed by Jeff Jarrett and Owen Hart, who side with Bret Hart (along with Debra McMichael as their valet). In the build to their match, Bret’s stable defeats The Oddities in various Single and Tag matches, only occasionally losing by DQ when Bret loses his temper (usually at Sable, who sometimes valets for The Oddities)



Judgement Day: In Your House

The Six-Man is a pretty straight-forward affair. Sable rarely gets involved, and when she does, it is usually just to give one of Team Hart a stiff slap (although she does hit a Sable Bomb on both Debra and Owen). The match ends when Sable is the legal participant. Owen and Jarrett isolate the others and Bret submits Sable with the Sharpshooter (picking up his 1st PPV win since The Screwjob in the most heelish of ways)



Bret continues to pick up Singles wins against Godfather and Val Venis, while also stretching out to take on Oddity members, Gangrel, and feuding with Goldust, who Bret considers a “vile, transvestite freak.” During their feud, their respective heritage is brought up as the sons of Stu Hart and Dusty Rhodes respectfully. This is Bret’s ticket out of the “clean up” angle, and into serious competition. They put together two Survivor Series teams. Team Bret has Bret, Owen, Double J, and Ken Shamrock, and Goldust’s team has Goldust, Venis, Godfather and Al Snow. (The Deadly Games Tournament gets shuffled around a bit but still has the key matches and the same finish, leading to a Rock/Mankind feud.)



Survivor Series

Team Bret vs Team Goldust is pretty standard as far as Elimination Matches go, rather back and forth. Bret and Owen are the sole survivors, and Bret submits Goldust for the finish.



Bret’s team splits up a bit, as Owen and Jeff go to the Tag Team Division. Bret, now with two (count ‘em, two!) victories in a row, he believes he should be next in line for a title shot, but he is in an awkward position, as he is both a heel and anti-Vince, and thus can’t feud with Austin, Rock or Mankind at the moment. He forces his way into the main card by calling out Triple H and DX (still well within his gimmick of self righteous cleaner of WWF) and challenges him to a match at Capital Carnage. (Owen and Jarrett also challenge The Outlaws on the same card). Hunter and Bret go back and forth in promos, and Bret also takes on Chyna in some matches on Raw, either winning clean or losing by DQ due to aggressive behavior, prompting HHH to save his enforcer/girlfriend.



Capital Carnage

Bret Hart and Triple H have a competitive match. Chyna gets on the apron and Bret pushes her off into the guard rail. While the ref checks on her, Hunter hits Bret with the ring bell, and pins him for the win.



Their feud continues to a Steel Cage Match at Rock Bottom.



Rock Bottom: In Your House

Bret escapes the cage after a tough fight. Chyna throws in a chair for Hunter but Bret gets it and hits a Piledriver to Hunter on it.



Bret qualifies for the Royal Rumble by defeating Steve Blackman, but has little in-ring action until the PPV, instead opting for promos and interviews to get his point across that he is going to win.



Royal Rumble

After Vince and Austin brawl to the back, Bret enters at #4, and proceeds to throw out Golga and the next few men, which are all former rivals (Venis, Godfather, some more Oddities). After every elimination, Bret grabs a microphone and starts insulting the people he is tossing, calling them freaks, hypocrites, and “Degenerates”. Cue Triple H. They brawl, and then get lost in the shuffle for a bit. When Austin returns, Bret tosses Hunter, leaving Bret, Austin and Vince as the final three. Bret is the last man eliminated before it is down to Vince and Austin again. Vince wins with an assist from The Rock.



While Rock and Mankind trade the titles, Bret quietly continues his crusade, taking on the filthiest the WWF has to offer. He sits out St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, but gets directly involved in Rock and Mankind’s Ladder Match, taking out Mankind. He says that although he doesn’t like The Rock, the biggest injustice possible is having that garbage wrestling freak as champion. He challenges Mankind to a Hardcore Match at Wrestlemania, which Mankind accepts



Wrestlemania XV

This match is reminiscent of Foley’s match in ECW with Tommy Dreamer. Despite being a Hardcore Match, Bret wrestles Foley, using drop-toe holds and headlock takeovers. When Mankind finally does get Hardcore, it is certain to get a huge pop from the crowd. Weapons are slowly introduced. First a chair, then a table, and then tacks are placed on the table. It is Mankind who takes the big bump though, as he is suplexed through the table. He comes back with a Socko Claw out of nowhere to put Bret away for good.



After Wrestlemania, they meet again at Backlash in a Boiler Room Brawl. Along the way, Bret starts beating wrestlers in the Hardcore Division, including Hardcore Holly, Al Snow and Steve Blackman, but he beats them all cleanly with no weapons, drawing the ire of fans who paid to see a Hardcore Match.



Backlash

Mankind and Bret Hart have a barn-burner of a Boiler Room Brawl. Bret actually fights a brawling, hardcore style in this match, and eventually wins after incapacitating Mankind with a lead pipe-assisted Sharpshooter.



Over The Edge 1999 is a tough scenario to book, because it is such a shitty situation, that I wish hadn’t happened. Assuming Owen’s fall and death are inevitable, Bret wouldn’t compete that night. Like in WCW, I’m taking him off TV for a few months. Undertaker wins the title, “it was McMahon all along, Austin!” and all of that still happened. This layoff is also the perfect opportunity to turn Bret face again.



Fully Loaded

Main Event: Steve Austin vs Undertaker (First Blood)

The match goes as planned, but Bret Hart makes his return (as a face) to fight off the Corporate Ministry. Austin makes Taker bleed to win the title and send Vince away from the WWF. Bret shakes Austin’s hand and leaves him to celebrate.



The next night on Raw, Bret cuts a promo similar to his one on WCW, where he thanks the fans for their support of the Hart Family. He then announces his intention to challenge Steve Austin for the WWF Title. Shane cuts him down, and tries to say that Triple H is next in line. Bret feuds with the Corporate Ministry for a bit, reconciles with Mankind, and has some matches with The Mean Street Posse. Through swerves and happenstance, the main event of Summerslam becomes a Fatal Four Way between Austin, Hunter, Bret and Mankind, with Jesse Ventura as the referee.



Summerslam

Main Event: Bret Hart vs Stone Cold vs Triple H vs Mankind.

The match is similar to how the 3 Way went in real life, but Bret takes some of Mankind’s spots. In the end, Bret pins Hunter as Jesse Ventura makes the count, making Bret a 6-time WWF Champion.



The next night on Raw, Bret thanks all of his fans, and dedicates his win to Owen and the Hart Family. Shane makes him defend the title that night against Shane himself in a Ladder Match, which Bret wins despite Posse interference, when The British Bulldog returns to save him. They shake hands and celebrate the victory, and then agree to a WWF Title Match at Rebellion in England. In the meantime, they also team up to face some heel tag teams like The Mean Street Posse and Edge & Christian.



Rebellion

Main Event: Bret Hart vs British Bulldog

Despite normally wrestling in jeans, Bulldog comes out for this match in his classic long Union Jack tights. They have a match similar to the Summerslam ‘92 match, except the finish is reversed and Bret goes over. After the match, a group of heels (HHH, Shane, The Posse and The Stooges) hit the ring, but are fought off by Bret and Bulldog. After the match they both celebrate as Bret’s music plays.



Bret and Bulldog split up for a bit (This match/alliance was really only to pander to UK fans in time for Rebellion) and Bret returns to his feud with Triple H. The main event is packed right now with top stars in Bret, HHH, Rock, Big Show, Austin and sometimes Mankind, so guys get lost in the shuffle a bit. I propose that Austin gets run over at No Mercy, (only 1 month earlier than he would have normally) leaving Triple H as the replacement.



No Mercy

Main Event: Bret Hart vs Triple H

This match is a similar brawl to what Hunter and Austin had in real life. The finish is the same too. The Rock comes down with a sledge hammer to nail The Game, but misses and hits Bret. HHH gets the pin and wins the WWF Title.



Bret Hart sells the sledgehammer attack as a severe concussion, and is off TV until a surprise appearance at the Royal Rumble. While he is out, Triple H forms an alliance with Stephanie McMahon and Shane. Vince is destroyed by Triple H and taken off TV. Triple H is set to defend the WWF Championship against Cactus Jack at the Rumble.



Royal Rumble

Bret Hart is a surprise entrant, and is battling furiously, temporarily allied with The Rock to take on and eliminate McMahon-Helmsley stooges, such as D-X and The Boss Man. The final four entrants are Bret, Rock, Big Show, and X-Pac. X-Pac is quickly eliminated and Bret and Rock team up to eliminate The Giant. Finally, Rock and Bret are alone, and have a 15 minute battle before The Rock finally tosses Bret (similar to Undertaker-Shawn Michaels in 2007) After Rock wins, Bret re-enters the ring to shake Rocks hand, and walks away.



The next week, Bret comes out and is contemplating retirement, and thanks all of the fans who supported him. Suddenly, Kurt Angle comes out and, in an overbearing and condescending manner, congratulates Bret on a long career, and says he picked the perfect time to retire so that he wouldn’t have to ever wrestle the Olympic Hero. Bret take exception to this and challenges Kurt to a match at No Way Out. Kurt blows off the challenge, insisting that he has more important issues to deal with, such as the Intercontinental Championship. Bret finally goads Kurt by saying that if Kurt doesn’t want a match, he’ll find a worthy opponent like Tazz (who beat Angle at the Rumble). Tazz comes out to accept.



No Way Out

Bret Hart vs Tazz is a technical match with lots of unique suplexes and submissions. At one point, Tazz gets a Tazzmission on Bret, and Bret does the Hart-Piper Sleeper Spot, but Tazz gets back to his feet, just when Bret is about to pass out. Angle enters the ring and hooks both men for a simultaneous Olympic Slam, taking both men out. (Angle won the IC Title earlier)



In the buildup to Wrestlemania, Bret, Kurt and Tazz get set for a Triple Threat for the Intercontinental Title. All men also agree that the match should be Submissions Only, and Bret decrees that if he loses, he will retire.



Wrestlemania 2000

Bret Hart vs Tazz vs Kurt Angle - Intercontinental Title Submission Elimination Match

This match is a solid technical affair, all three men get their big spots in early, and Tazz goes apeshit, hitting suplex after suplex on Hart and Angle. He locks in the Tazzmission on Hart, but Angle does a German Suplex to both men at the same time, and transitions directly into an Ankle Lock on Tazz, who taps out. Bret and Angle go hard for 15 minutes, and the finish is Bret countering the Olympic Slam into a school-boy, and then turning the school-boy into a Sharpshooter in the centre of the ring. Angle reverses the Sharpshooter into an Ankle Lock and Bret taps out. Kurt wins the match, looking very strong, and Bret leaves after a tough match. He shakes Kurt’s hand and walks off into the sunset. (Kurt probably doesn’t turn face, but what the hell, Triple H shook Sting’s hand!)



Bret probably returns for non-wrestling appearances as a commissioner or a special ref for a few years, and has a Legend’s contract, but he will never wrestle again. (I’m assuming that his wrestling career has to end in 2000, and his 2002 stroke is inevitable, so he won’t be back for The Invasion or return to face Shawn Michaels when he returns.)