uncle camel

I think the brawl before the bell at the start of Bret Hart vs Shawn Michaels Survivor Series 1997 is out of this world. The roles are perfect, the setting is perfect, and everything that happens here is exactly as it should go. Michaels is persona non grata. He’s reviled and the Montreal crowd is here to see their badass hero kick the shit out of this little rat. Shawn gives them what they want, selling the way a heel should given the dynamics, bumping off most of the initial punches and crawling around pathetically. Bret headbutts Shawn and sells it himself before clotheslining him to the outside. He’s willing to sacrifice himself to give his enemy what he deserves. Shawn’s in the eye of the storm, and when the guys go into the crowd, they get ENGULFED by it and it means trouble for HBK, who’s in a world of pain and anytime he tries to mount some kind of comeback or counter, it gets thwarted. Piledriver attempts become back body drop bumps, he’s eating total shit at every turn. Crowd brawling isn’t the same anymore because there’s security creating so much separation between the talent and fans. The appeal here is the feeling that the wrestlers are in no man’s land, with so much humanity surrounding them and popcorn and drinks flying everywhere. Because it isn’t neutral ground, there’s the sense that Shawn Michaels is facing potential danger the longer he stays in the water. Bret Hart gets Shawn Michaels to land, only to punish him some more. There’s a sick vertical suplex on to concrete, and only after minutes of ass-kicking, and only after Bret Hart feels satisfied with his pound of flesh does he decide to bring HBK back to the ring to have a match within the bounds of the rules, and he does so dragging Shawn Michaels BY THE HEAD back to the ring, showing him to the audience like a gladiator holding a scalp that he claimed. It’s SO perfect and I truly believe that this match was on its way to being a classic before What Happened Happened™️. Even as is, it’s a great match that gets overshadowed by the screwjob.