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Bret "The Hitman" Hart is one of the most respected WWE superstars in the ring, as someone who revolutionized professional wrestling during the 1990s following the 1980s professional wrestling boom period. Along with other legendary superstars like the Undertaker and Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart carried WWE into the next decade as he established himself among the all-time greats in professional wrestling. Because of this, WWE valued Bret Hart's contributions and wanted to offer him a lucrative deal to remain in the company. Considering that WWE was struggling against rival company WCW during the Monday Night Wars, WWE offered Bret Hart an unusually lucrative deal to keep him in the company.
WWE Superstars Jump Ship To WCW
The Monday Night Wars was one of the most exciting periods to be a wrestling fan, as fans had the opportunity to tune into either WWE, WCW, or both on primetime TV. However, one would imagine competing against a company like WCW, as they were thriving after the NWO angle in 1996, would irritate WWE to no end, especially as they began losing to WCW in the TV ratings. Because WCW was on par with WWE, top WWE superstars were being offered lucrative deals to come over to WCW, with Scott Hall and Kevin Nash jumping ship to the company.
Another top superstar who was enticed into jumping ship to WCW was Bret Hart. It's no surprise that someone of his caliber would be appealing to a rival company like WCW. Because of these circumstances, WWE went out of their way to counter such deals to secure their most valuable superstars. Although WWE lost Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, WWE initially found a way to counter WCW's offering for a deal to Bret Hart that many would find surprising.
Vince McMahon Offers Bret Hart A Twenty-Year Contract To Re-Sign With WWE
Following his defeat in the main event match of WrestleMania 12 against Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart took time off from wrestling as he contemplated retiring altogether. However, as the competition was heating up between WWE and WCW, Bret Hart wasn't going to out in the sunset that easily. It was only a matter of time before he'd get offered a deal that would keep him from retiring.
After Bret Hart took about six months off of wrestling following WrestleMania 12, during that time, he was offered a multi-year, $9 million dollar contract to sign with WCW. However, WWE went to the max when they offered him a twenty-year contract for a new deal. On October 21, 1996, Bret Hart officially re-signed with WWE.
In one of the most shocking contract offers, WWE offering Bret Hart a twenty-year deal showed that they felt the company couldn't afford to lose another top star like Bret Hart, especially to WCW. The only question was, at that time, could WWE afford to keep Bret Hart around for his newly-signed twenty-year deal?
WWE Cancels The Deal And Bret Hart Signs With WCW
Bret Hart returned in late 1996 at the Survivor Series 1996 PPV to defeat up-and-comer "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, leaving his mark in the main-event scene. Later on, Bret Hart would become an integral part of the creative foundations of the Attitude Era in 1997, as he turned heel at WrestleMania 13 and revised The Hart Foundation for the rest of his WWE run. While he continued to face Steve Austin in a series of matches, including a critically-acclaimed submission match at WrestleMania 13, the most noticeable aspect of Bret Hart's 1997 run was his real-life feud with Shawn Michaels being showcased on WWE TV.
Even though Bret Hart was among WWE's most featured performers, as the company faced financial difficulties in 1997, Vince McMahon opted to cancel the twenty-year deal with Bret Hart and encouraged him to negotiate with WCW. Despite not liking the company's direction regarding their production of edgier TV, Bret Hart didn't want to leave WWE. Nonetheless, he ended up signing a three-year deal with WCW, and Bret Hart would be on his way out near the end of the year.
Following the controversial nature of his departure at Survivor Series 1997, Bret Hart soon made his WCW debut at the end of 1997. Unfortunately for him, his WCW run is highly-regarded as a disappointment. And as WWE hit a goldmine when they began thriving on the Attitude Era for the years to come, generating massive business, one could've imagined that Bret Hart's twenty-year deal with WWE may have worked out if the company decided to keep him around for just a little longer.