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Submitted by Stanman on Wednesday, February 25, 2004 at 9:21 PM EST
NOTE FROM STANMAN: The following column won the January Column Of The Month contest held in the LOP Columns Forum. Each month, the winner has one of his/her columns posted on the LOP main page. This month, we have The Sheepster and his column, Under The Fleece. Send all feedback to sheepster5000@yahoo.co.uk. Enjoy!  Initial Ramblings Hello. Welcome to Under the Fleece. I am Sheepster, the Voice of Reason. Let's get on with it, shall we? Since I did some Raw roster statistics in my last column, and because doublehelix suggested it, here's how Smackdown matches up to Raw. Smackdown outweighs Raw's roster by about 580lbs, weighing 9980lbs. That is equal to only 20 Big Shows. It also equals around 60 Rey Mysterios. Or how about 64 and a half Zach Gowens? So on to the main part of the column. I must say that this is entirely speculation on my part. I come into this topic with a clear and open mind, as I only started watching in early 2000. It has also taken around 3 weeks to write this column, so I hope y'all like it. Episode IV - A New Hope… for the Hitman Let me take you back in time. Back to a night that most of us would like to forget. A night that most of us have indeed forgotten. Put to the back of our minds. But also a night that Bret Hart will never forget. The fateful night during which, he was 'screwed' by his loyal employer of 14 years. Of course, I'm talking about the now infamous Montreal Screwjob. You all know the story by now. Vince ended a championship match prematurely when Bret Hart was locked into a sharpshooter, even though he never tapped out. Bret Hart later apparently vowed that he would never come back to the WWF unless Vince McMahon apologised publicly. And neither party has backed down. They've reached speaking terms once again, but Hart has never stepped foot back in the WWE, and McMahon has never apologised. A Stalemate Begins To Crack But there could be hope on the horizon. Bret Hart may have given in to the wishes of his fans after all. He may be seriously considering a return at the biggest stage of all, Wrestlemania XX. He has received many opinions from fans on either side of the fence. Some say he should never forgive McMahon for what happened on that night. Others say that Wrestlemania XX wouldn't be complete without an appearance from the Hitman himself. These well-voiced opinions seem to have started Bret Hart's cogs turning. He appears to be up for the idea, and there is a poll on his official website, where fans can go to vote for whether he should turn up. So far, a resounding two-thirds are saying 'yes'. There is also news of Vince's wish for him to attend the event flowing through the internet rumour mill. And Jim Ross has personally stated that they have in fact invited Bret Hart back. It's just up to him to take them up on the invitation. With all this in mind, I thought it might be a good idea to weigh up the pros and cons of such an event taking place. Compare the good points and the bad points, just to show the big picture. And here's what I came up with. The Driving Factors So, what is pushing Bret Hart towards Wrestlemania XX? For a start, Wrestlemania is apparently the greatest show of all. And they've reached number 20, which is a pretty big milestone to reach. And Bret Hart wrestled at every single one from WM2 to WM13. That's 12 of them. Or roughly three fifths of all Wrestlemania events. He's wrestled at more Wrestlemanias than any other person. The nearest person to his record is Hulk Hogan with 11, and the Undertaker with 10. He's also one of only two people to wrestle twice on the same Wrestlemania. Events like this don't come around too often, and the WWE is proving this fact by all the hype they're producing. House it inside Madison Square Garden, and you have the makings of something special. Simply put, Bret Hart may not want to miss out on this chance. It will be part of wrestling history, and I'm sure he won't want to overlook any possibility of him being there. Then there's the fact that he may get a chance to say one final goodbye to all of his loyal fans. The goodbye that he never had a chance to express. Yes, he could've done that at the end of his WCW tenure, but it wouldn't have had the same effect. He probably wouldn't have even reached the same number of fans. But he now has an opportunity to speak to all the WWE's fans. I'm sure that more people will watch WMXX than any other WWE event, and everyone of those people could be tuned in to Bret Hart's triumphant comeback. The Repelling Factors Those were the good points, now for a more negative outlook. One especially big factor against the move is his promise. His promise to the fans that he would never associate himself with the WWF/E again. At the very least, not until McMahon publicly apologised. As stated in the introduction, he has never apologised. Maybe Bret shouldn't do it because of this. It may make Vince seem like the better man and Bret will be the 'old wrestler crawling back home'. And there's a chance it could inflate McMahon's ego even more than it currently is. Even if his fans are okay with this, he may be disappointed by the reaction he gets. He left the WWE 6 and a half years ago. He retired 3 and a half years ago. This may not be a long time in the grand scheme of things, but in wrestling terms, it's practically a lifetime. I'm willing to bet that half the fans watching now have never seen Bret Hart wrestle, or weren't a fan when he was wrestling. I wasn't. So some of the fans of today may not be that interested in him. Hardcore fans from the 90's and 80's, I'm sure, would tend to disagree with that, but the truth is that I'm not too bothered about a near-50 year old wrestler making a comeback. Even if he is a 'legend'. There is always a potential for McMahon to do something silly. There is also a danger that sometimes he'll do something just to put himself over. Or even worse, to pull one over on someone else. Let us not forget who initiated all this unpleasantness. And who's the person who keeps bringing it up, usually when the WWE appears back in Montreal. Is it just a coincidence that there hasn't been a clean win in the main event of Survivor Series since? As much as McMahon is an intelligent person with a good head for business, his ego will usually get the better of him. And his oversized ego may get the better of him if Bret Hart turns up for Wrestlemania XX. That could be a big worry for Mr Hart. Views From The Audience Well, they were most of the ups and downs I could think of. But I'm just one person, and I wasn't sure if I had thought of everything. So I thought I'd do a bit of market research and ask various people around LOP about the matter. Some people were chatting to me using MSN (other online chat products are available), but most were PM'd about the matter. Here's what a wide (and cooky) range of people thought. Some quotes have been trimmed as they waffled on too much about how to bring him back rather than why. First, I went to that strange maritmer Robb and he said: personally, yeh, i would love to see him make an appearance. he's not in wrestling shape anymore, especially after his stroke/motorcycle accident... but it would be cool to have him in for an on-camera role... maybe be in someone's corner or something. Spankadette was first to reply by PM, and she says: Absolutely. Wrestlemania XX is a special event that should showcase the talents of not only present stars, but past legends as well. Bret had quite a few classic matches in previous Wrestlemanias; what better way to bring him back to the ring and please the fans than at WMXX? After all, superstars from past years have been brought back and/or coming back in the ring that aren't near Bret's caliber, so why not draw him back as well--as in the biggest event of the year? Mister Roboto also got back to me swiftly, saying: Absolutely, but not in a wrestling role. Bret Hart has said in the past that he wishes he could have done more for Benoit in WCW. Here's his chance to not only help Benoit, but say farewell to the fans. Two-time COTM winner and seasoned columnist, Winter says: The Bret Hart fan inside me wants to say yes, but the Bret hart loyalist inside me wants to say no. After all the WWE has done to Bret (screwing him out of title, having a midget impersonate him just a few weeks after that happened, the whole 'Bret screwed Bret' thing), I think that if Bret were to return at WrestleMania XX it would appear that the WWE has won this 'feud'. Then again, I also believe that Bret hart was wrong in 1997 for refusing to drop the WWE title to Shawn Michaels at Survivor Series. Sure, both guys didn't like each other or even respect each other, but Vince McMahon asked Bret to drop the title and that is what Bret should have done. After all, who was it that made Bret Hart and international star and multi-millionaire? Vince McMahon. So I believe Bret is also to blame for what happened in 1997. So, should Bret Hart return in March? If only for a farewell speech, a one night only thing, then yes he should. We all want to see Bret in a WWE ring just once more, and what better time for that to happen than at WrestleMania. But should Bret Hart ever return to the WWE full time? No. Too much has been said by both sides. If Bret returned full time he would look like a hypocrite, and lose credibility amongst even his most loyal fans. SteJ, the purveyor of the LOP Crazy Train network, says: I would say that Bret Hart should go to Wrestlemania XX, but in a role other than wrestling. The problem rght now is that the WWE thinks there isn't any BIG matches that can stand out on the card. And so far, we have yet to hear of any celebriies or past wrestlers appearing at this year's event. If Bret Hart was to appear at Wrestlemania XX, it would give those a reason to watch it, as Bret is a popular and respected names in this sport. Perhaps he can make peace with the Montreal Screwjob in 1997, or even referee a match. The problem is Vince McMahon. He tries to mend the broken bridge between him and Bret, but each time they enter Canada, or to be precise Montreal, Vince needs to reprise the screwjob and when that happens, they are back to square one. It's like Vince building the bridge and then dousing it with petrol and lighting it up in front of Bret Hart. If Vince really wants to bring Bret back, even for just one night, he's got to put his Montreal screwjob ego to one side and actually show us that he rally wants Bret back. But since Bret is no longer able to wrestle, I have to say a referee role or a promo would be fitting. And finally, the person known as cYnical said: I understand Bret's situation, but I also understand Vince's. However, if Bret truly cares for the business as he claims and if he truly wants the sport to grow, then he is obligated to setting an example for the young talent in WWE. WWE is going to be the only way most people are exposed to wrestling whether Bret likes it or not and it will only be through that medium that he can make a difference. He should appear at WM XX, say whatever he feels like saying, set a good example for the boys back stage, and introduce the RAW Title match. Most of all, he MUST endorse Chris Benoit. This is his opportunity to put him over like he always wanted to. Have Benoit make HBK tap out to the Sharpshooter, then have Bret hand Benoit the title. All will be right in the world and Bret's legacy will no longer be tarnished. Summing Up In summation, the time seems to be right, the stage seems to be set and the fans are ripe for the picking. It looks like the Hitman is ready to return. With less than a month and not much news on the horizon, it doesn't appear to be likely though. But the answer to whether he should return seems to be a resounding 'yes'. That's my field of view. And apparently everyone else's. Silence of the Lamb To finish up this month's column, I'll hand out the ever superfluous Top of the Flock award. And today, it goes to the underwhelming Val Venis who, although not very good himself, managed to carry Randy Orton to a pretty decent match this week. It's been a very boring week this week, so I can't think of anyone else more deserving of it. Congratulations Mr Morley. That's it for episode IV of "Under the Fleece". Feedback would be greatly appreciated. Questions/complaints/cookie recipes can be directed to me at sheepster5000@yahoo.co.uk. The Sheepster *NEW GALLERY* BRAND NEW Pregnancy Photos of a BIG Stephanie McMahon!
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