Raw Revelations: Hitman vs Hulkster

On Raw this past Monday night the WWE Universe saw history made as Bret "The Hitman" Hart made his return to the WWE ring. While Bret was merely there as host, the implications were huge. Questions began to mount, including what would happen between Bret and Shawn Michaels, or between Bret and Chairman Vince McMahon. Those were the three individuals involved in the infamous 1997 Survivor Series event known as the "Montreal Screwjob". So tensions were high as wrestling fans watched and waited for something to happen.

Early in the show we got a goosebump-generating confrontation when Bret called Shawn Michaels to the ring. The two spoke back and forth about the Montreal incident with Michaels admitting he was in on the plan, and felt Bret deserved what he got back there. The fans chanted "you screwed Bret" with Bret saying he rested his case. However, Michaels said in 12 years a lot has changed and he was ready to move on. Eventually, Hitman offered a handshake, and Michaels obliged. Before leaving the ring, Michaels turned, went back over and gave a wrestler he truly respected a hug to show that respect even more. A great moment in the history of the WWE, and set the stage for a later incident.

That later incident came when Bret Hart and Vince McMahon finally had their in-ring "discussion" of what's gone down between them in 12 years time. Vince brought up being spit on and sucker punched backstage by Bret, as well as the dis when he offered him a handshake at the Hall of Fame ceremony. He said all those things still bother him to this day, but ended up thanking Bret for all his contributions to wrestling on behalf of the WWE. The two ended up shaking hands, before Vince tossed both mics out of the ring. Hitman's music hit and the two began to raise their arms together in a sign of peace. But moments later, the often diabolical chairman turned and delivered a swift kick to Bret Hart in the groin, causing the Hitman to fall to the mat in pain. Vince left the ring and headed up the ramp. Hitman was back on his feet before the show ended looking disgusted at McMahon.

The rumors and speculation have already indicated that Bret Hart has signed on with WWE through April of this year, which of course would be through Wrestlemania 26. That gives time for futher build up of McMahon and Bret's feud, to lead into a potential match at Wrestlemania 26. Some have even posted the idea that Shawn Michaels will be part of the match in some capacity, but will ultimately "screw Vince McMahon" and help Bret Hart win, making for sweet payback. That remains to be seen. Vince McMahon hasn't really stepped back into the ring for a match in some time, so it will be interesting to see exactly what sort of contest is set up for the big PPV.

Also, WWE must have forked over a lot of money for the Hitman to return to WWE. They had to do something big to try to compete with TNA which was also looking to make history. They debuted Hulk Hogan and did it by running their TNA Impact show at 8PM on Monday night, to directly compete with WWE. To further add to the "Monday night war" they had a few handfuls of former WWE/WCW stars debut as well. One of the biggest names to emerge was former WWE Champ, Jeff Hardy, who just retired from WWE last year. In addition to Hardy, Ric Flair was in the building, Val Venis, the Nasty Boys, Orlando Jordan and Shannon Moore. The show concluded with an attack segment featuring Eric Bischoff, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall and Sean Whitman (X-Pac). The trio were reunited to give Mick Foley a beatdown.

If you look at the direction TNA is heading, they seem to be borrowing a lot from the older style of WWE, as well as WCW. There's the TNA Knockouts wearing next to nothing just like the divas used to. There's matches full of blood and guts, and skits involving the sort of mayhem seen back in the days of the Attitude Era of WWE. The direct battle TNA launched into this past Monday is yet another sign that they intend to put up a fight much like WCW did with Eric Bischoff and Vince McMahon pulling out all sorts of tricks to try to one up each other. It's hard to say that TNA can outdo WWE, but if they bring in guys like Hardy, Hogan and Flair, and eventually other former WWE stars like Mr. Kennedy and Tommy Dreamer, they're making quite a bit of progress.

However, we all know what happened to WCW despite their valiant efforts to dethrone the mega-wrestling brand known as World Wrestling Entertainment. WCW ended up being part of a wrestling food chain and was gobbled up by billionaire Vince McMahon. Some stars were tossed out, while others remain with the company today (notably Chris Jericho and Rey Mysterio). Ironically, many of those former WCW stars are now part of TNA in some capacity now, making this seem like deja vu. TNA is a collection of WWE & WCW talents including Mick Foley, Kurt Angle, the Dudley Boyz, Bobby Lashley and Kevin Nash. The move to bring in Hulk Hogan along with several other big stars is TNA's statement that they're ready for a war. Now the wrestling universe will sit back and watch to see if TNA's Hulk Hogan, Eric Bischoff and Dixie Carter can go toe-to-toe with Vince McMahon and his WWE sports entertainment juggernaut.