WWE’s Payback event was highlighted by the return of WWE Hall of Famer Bret “Hitman” Hart as he supported his niece Natalya in an effort to win the WWE Women’s Title.
Having recently beaten prostate cancer, Bret was visibly weakened by the ordeal, but that didn’t stop the Excellence of Execution from joining in on a good old-fashioned beat down. The match ended in somewhat controversial fashion as it mirrored the events of the infamous “Montreal Screwjob”. The referee for the match at Payback was Charles Robinson, who made a career in the late 90’s as Ric Flair’s personal referee, even earning the nick name “Lil Naitch”.
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Charlotte had gotten Natalya into a submission maneuver, but Natty hadn’t tapped out and Robinson called for the bell. Bret told WrestleZone that he felt it wasn’t a strong finish and wanted to improve on it.
“I mostly just dealt with Vince on it. That was Vince’s concept, I guess. I thought it was pretty flat, to be honest. I told him that,” Bret said. “Initially the idea was that, at the end, I was just going to stand with my hands on my hips or something in the middle of the aisle way and block Ric Flair from leaving the ring. I remember going, ‘that’s pretty lame’.”
So Hart suggested a better end.
“It was my suggestion that I could give Ric a couple shots, knock him down and put him in the Sharpshooter. Maybe Nattie could do a Sharpshooter at the same time and we could end on that note. So, I’ll take full credit for the better pop of the match.”
It was a crowd pleasing moment for sure and hopefully helps fan this feud to new heights.
