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Sometimes in life, we all must count our blessings. No matter how bad the “moment” seems to be, the ends justify the means if you keep positive ideas at the forefront.
I am certainly no different. Being unemployed like I was for much of the first half of this year, it seemed like sunny days (unintentional pun, and yes I met her too), were truly few and far between.
Two days in March and April however made me realize that I had the chance to meet people most fans will never get the chance to meet. Two legends that inspired the world in their ring-work, yet captivated it by real-life back stabs and betrayals, Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart are truly two of the pinnacles in the WWE.
While I’m somewhat here to promote the new Shawn Michaels Vs Bret Hart DVD coming out soon (and here is the Blu-ray version), I’m also here to recount and relive the days that I got to meet the holy grails in professional wrestling. So sit back and wait on line, just like I did, because the shining light is right on the other side!
Since we’re all on “line” at this point, I would like the time out to give a warm shout-out to the wonderful Northeast Wrestling promotion, based out of Cornwall-on-Hudson in the state of New York. Travelling up and down the east coast, the fed delivers a wonderfully balanced card of up-and-comers, veterans, and even superstars to help raise money for local charities/benefits. It’s an inexpensive way to see the action, but at the same time, truly opens your eyes in what talent lies out in the open. Some wrestlers mentioned in this blog piece are people not known to the national/world stage, but hopefully they may be recognized soon as the talents they are. The main reason why they’re mentioned because this promotion is the brains behind the events. Oh shoot, the line is ending, let’s get cracking!
March 12th, Middletown Galleria, Shawn Michaels:
On this brisk March morning, I woke up like a six year old anticipating that big toy on Christmas morning. All I knew was this: the lines were gonna be exhaustive in their elements, but at the end of the road, lies good ol’ HBK.
The Heartbreak Kid. The Showstopper. The Headliner. AND THE MAIN EVENT!
As one of the biggest influences in my “mark-dom” so to speak, Michaels plays a large role in why I became a fan. I've written about this in length in my prior entries (like here for example).
For this, a March morning where literally a foot of snow melted in a short amount of time, it seemed as if there was a renewed sense of enthusiasm in the Middletown Galleria at Crystal Run parking lot.
With my siblings/their spouses and one of my best friends in the pack, we represented six out of some 3,000 people who came out to see this legend. Not only New Yorkers, but people from all over the country even booked hotels to get a glimpse of this champion!
Waiting on line, a whole bunch of different pathos raged through the mall. There were the wrestling fans decked out in said gear. There were also former fans who appreciated HBK from earlier like, like say New Generation or Attitude eras. In addition, there were fans who came out to see what the hubbub was about.
Northeast Wrestling also uses this as a opportunity to promote their latest shows and have talent on hand. Matt Taven, the VERY talented champion of the organization, was walking around and greeting the fans. Even as the champ, he seemed to be a little kid again with all this ballyhoo about. Having met this guy on multiple occasions, I wished him luck in Newburgh, and even got him to sign a mini-card poster for the event next month! More on that event a little later on.
From the time I got to the Galleria, which was about 9AM, to the time I got to see him, which was closer to noon, it felt like I went through a whole PPV card. The excitement, electricity, and all-around unregulated joy was about to be tapped to their breaking point. What to think, what to say, what to... oh what the hell, HE’S RIGHT FREAKING THERE!
With my copies of From the Vault: Shawn Michaels and Survivor Series 2002 in my hands, it’s time to say hello to a man whose descriptors about him are great in number, yet still pale in comparison to his in-ring achievements.
Oh, and did I tell you this was a birthday present about five months to the early side?
As I was shaking and quaking in my mere presence of this God-like figure, I handed him over the DVD’s to sign. I told him that I’ve got a collection, and those were the first two DVD’s that started it all (like Snow White and Pinocchio were for animated Disney features).
In that gruff yet endearing voice of his, he responded, “I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing!”
A few pictures were snapped (I deserve to be on Botchamania for one of them), and within two literal minutes, it was as if I was somehow complete in life. My #1 biggest idol in wrestling, somehow and someway, was met by yours truly. It will stick with me for all eternity, as dreams in life do come true.
While his name wasn’t mentioned, Shawn’s biggest in-ring adversary was appearing in my backyard the month after! For all the bitterness that seemed to embody Hart for most of the past decade (reasonably so), it seemed like he was reborn in a way too. Let’s see how that turned out, shall we?
April 15th, Newburgh Free Academy High School, Spring Slam, Bret Hart:
Spring Slam is always amongst the wrestling events I attend every year.
Ever since the first one in 2006, NEW always seems to amaze me with the talent they sign from big-name organizations, coupled with their fresh in-house talents who always deliver the goods.
This particular year had two things going for it that made me scream,
The first was a highly anticipated re-match for the NEW Championship. After a highly controversial Dusty Finish at Wrestlefest in Poughkeepsie, Matt Taven once again defends the title against Hale Collins, one half of the famous tag team THE NOW. With it being No DQ’s, anything was sure to erupt. More on that later.
The second was a highly anticipated name heading to Newburgh. With Shawn Michaels the previous month, it seems that NFA had one hell of an act to follow. So why not get the guy’s biggest rival? Bret Hart was advertised, and he came to perhaps one of the bigger events NEW runs every year.
As anticipated, the line for meeting “Hitman” was long. So in the meantime, I look at the atmosphere around me. Of course the event is a fundraiser for the school wrestling team, so all the kids are helping out with refreshments and stuff of that nature. Fans were excited as if WWE came to town. Better yet, Bret wasn’t the only big name there.
Sitted surprisingly close to Hart was Sunny. For those not in the know about one Tammy Sytch, she has had one hell of a decade. Battling body issue and drug problems, add that with conjunction with the freakishly accidental death of her husband Chris Candido, she came out looking HOT! For newer fans, apparently there was a tryst between the two back in the old WWF days. Add in Shawn Michaels, another part of the Sunny clientele back then as well, and suddenly some crap went down. But that’s getting beyond the point.
Also sitted down was the man with a trifecta of gimmick names. He’s the man known as the “homicidal, suicidal, genocidal,” SABU! The man looked to be racked of pain just sitting there, results of bloody scar-inducing wars across the world for the better part of two decades. In any event, I got to take a picture of him (which I stupidly forgot to get, as well as Sunny’s), and while he and my buddy were pointing to the sky with their right arms, I was told to point with my left? Not questioning it though, I don’t want to be Arabian Skullbusted any time soon!
Now to Bret himself. After waiting on line and being perilously close to missing the opening bell, I got to meet the Excellence of Execution. Some wrestlers talk loud, but Hart took the Teddy Roosevelt approach: speak softly, but carry a (figuratively) big stick! I got him to sign the DVD from 2005 which marked Hart’s first collaborated effort with WWE since the Montreal Screwjob in 1997, and his autobiography which feels like a tome of wrestling history. After the signatures, he asked me and my buddy what our favorite match of his was. In a near simultaneous moment, we answered the Austin match from Wrestlemania 13, the submission one (By the way, the new Austin DVD has that match WITH COMMENTARY FROM AUSTIN AND JIM ROSS, so pre-order that sum bitch right here won’t ya?). Smiling like a Cheshire cat, he noted that is his favorite match too. Very easy to see why, I wrote about it my 90’s match list.
Back to the event. Hart’s promo was pretty much standard in the ring. He called out Hale Collins, and pretty much gave him his well-wishes on his title match.
Speaking of Collins, he was walking down the aisle for the match when Taven jumped him. Gorilla Monsoon would definitely call that a Pearl Harbor, as Collins would have the living crap beat out of him for the next 15 minutes. Circumstances lead Collins to getting Taven into a pinning predicament, and then Vik Dalishus came out.
After being in a hellacious tables match with sure signs of a concussion, Dalishus post-match was getting the crowd riled up with “LET’S GO HALE!”. That was then.
This was NOW. Vik came down with a chair, and BUSTED HALE IN THE HEAD WITH IT! This allows Matt to get the win, and Vik to beat down Hale a little more, before Hale came to and a WILD brawl ensued, leading to most of the NEW locker room to clear and separate the two. Not only was this the break-up no one wished would happen, but nothing like that to the best of my knowledge happened in NEW before, and I know for certain it will make sales for Autumn Ambush in October.
And you want to know the ironic thing about the matchup for AA? Bret Hart’s the enforcer for the grudge match, so he’ll be in my neck of the woods once again. And so is Kevin Nash...
IN CONCLUSION: Sometimes in life, we all must count our blessings. No matter how bad the “moment” seems to be, the ends justify the means if you keep positive ideas at the forefront.
Meeting Shawn and Bret, two of the greatest of all time, was a pipe dream not too long ago. Although the two had bitter feelings towards one another for the longest time, they reconciled to the point where Bret actually considers Shawn a friend. A huge difference from the epilogue from Hart’s autobiography!
As you can see above, there’s a new DVD/Blu-ray coming out in October with their rivalry front and center. In an intimate sit-down with Jim Ross, HBK and Hitman discussed their lives, their tag teams, their matches, Montreal, amongst other topics. For anyone ninterested in content on the disc, here it is:
Disc 1 (Interviews)
San Antonio vs. Calgary
The Rockers vs. The Hart Foundation
Heartbreak Kid vs.The Hit Man
Intercontinental Champion vs. WWE Champion
Showstopper vs. Excellence of Execution
Progressive vs. Traditional
Fantasy vs. Reality
Respect vs. Trust
Redemption vs. Reconciliation
Hope vs. Peace
Disc 2
The Rockers vs. The Hart Foundation
Madison Square Garden - 25th November, 1989
Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels
Wrestling Challenge - 10th February, 1990
The Rockers vs. The Hart Foundation
Tokyo Dome - 30th March, 1991
Ladder Match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship
Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels
Portland, Oregon- 21st July, 1992
Intercontinental Championship Match
Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels
Syracuse, New York- 29th April, 1992
WWE Championship Match
Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels
Survivor Series - 25th November, 1992
Steel Cage Match
Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels
Utica, New York - 1st December, 1993
Disc 3
Iron Man Match for the WWE Championship
Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels
WrestleMania 12 - 31st March, 1996
WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
Bret Hart's Induction
Chicago, Illinois - 1st April, 2006
Bret Hart Returns to Raw
Raw - 4th January, 2010
WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
Shawn Michaels' Induction
Atlanta, Georgia - 2nd April, 2011
Blu-ray Exclusives
Vince McMahon Interviews Shawn Michaels & Bret Hart
Raw - 3rd February, 1997
Bret Hart Promo In Ring
Raw - 12th May, 1997
Hart Foundation Promo In Ring
Raw - 19th May, 1997
WWE Championship Match
Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels
Survivor Series - 9th November , 1997
Extra Interview Pieces:
The First WWE Ladder Match
SummerSlam 1992
Winning the WWE Championship for the First Time
Bret's WCW Regrets
Cameras Rolling Between Takes
To leave off, I’m saying this: It’s been more than a year since I purchased a WWE disc on their first day. This release will break that streak, and the sentiments in this piece/discs are going to be at an all-time high once it hits.
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