a Vince/Bret question for you all.

I think Vince would have attempted to make an offer but I HIGHLY doubt Bret would have accpted. With the MSJ and Owen's death I really doubt that 3 years would have healed those wounds.

Cant see Bret would have accepted, was probably still pissed about Owen & Montreal. Not to say Vince wouldn't have offered an olive branch.

I still dont understand how Bret didnt see the MSJ coming. If you go back and watch that match this is a SHITLOAD of personel around ringside. I realize that theres always some people around the ring but there were tons of ppl out there.

I think he knew something was up, a few old school wrestlers warned him to kick out at 1, and not get placed into a submission hold for fear of a fast count or a, well, exactly what happened. I forgot who told him that, but definitely remember hearing that. Also, Hebner and Hart were good friends, so he wasn't expecting Hebner to cross him. So, while everything looked fishy, he probably thought he'd be safe with Hebner in their. If this was a work, it is the greatest work in wrestling history. Too many people involved to keep it a secret this long.

Definately would see how Bret would trust someone that much but if Earl hadnt done what he did he could have lost his job so I dont blame him what so ever.

And BTW does anybody else think its weird that so many wrestlers trust Hebner so much? I mean HBK even made sure that Earl reffed EVERY one of his matchs for quite some time untill he left in 98 and maybe after he returned IDK.

I think the personel was there incase Bret began to shoot on HBK in the ring.

I still say the Montreal Screw Job was a work. The entire year that Bret was back in the WWE he kept saying in promos and interviews "I keep getting screwed". He got screwed out of the title at the Dec. IYH when HBK interfered. He got screwed out of the Rumble win by Austin. He got screwed the night after he won the belt by Austin to have him lose the belt to Sid. He got screwed by Taker in the cage match with Sid when he slammed the door on Bret. Just the entire year, it was Bret being screwed. If the Montreal Screw Job was legit, then that is irony at its best!

I still say that if Owen never died, and Bret never got injured, then yes, he would have came back to the WWE. I think leaving for those 3 years to WCW was what Bret needed. He made a lot of money, and it meant when he came back he would be a fresh face in the WWE again.

Just too bad that things went bad in 1999 for the Hart family.

Vince definitely would have pressed him, but I don't think he would have gone back. His life was in turmoil at that point, and I think the Martha Hart/WWF suit was still ongoing. He was fully on her side and the wound was still fresh. I doubt he'd have gone back right away because of that. Maybe a few years later, like in 2005 or something.

I don't really think the concussion or stroke had anything to do with the length of time Bret was away from the WWE.....I think it just took him a long time to get over what had happened and a lot of feelings and time had to pass before he wanted to have anything to do with WWE again.

It took until 2005 for him to want to do the DVD and until 2006 for him to agree to do the Hall of Fame. And even, on good terms with WWE, it took him until 2010 to actually want to appear live in the ring again.....

If Bret was fully healthy when WWE closed down, I still think it would have taken the same amount of time for him to come back to the WWE, because at the end of the day, the thing Bret Hart needed to get over to come back to WWE was 100% mental and emotional, none of it was physical.