Wrestling With Shadows

Wrestling With Shadows - Documentary that goes behind the scenes of the Montreal Screwjob!

I just recently began ordering Netflix, and as I was searching for DVDs, I figured I’d type in wrestling to see what they had.  Lucky for me their selection is pretty damn good.  I was shocked when I saw they had the documentary, Hitman Hart – Wrestling With Shadows.  I had heard about this film way back when, but I never got a chance to watch it.  Now, considering the angle the WWE is currently portraying with “The Hitman” Bret Hart and WWE Chairman, Vince McMahon, I figured this would be a good time to sit down and watch.

The film takes an inside look at the life of Bret Hart in his own words.  It covers a lot of things when it comes to his family life and history in/out of the business, but the main issue it addresses is the year leading up to the Montreal Screwjob.  The cameras capture many moments of internal struggle that plague Bret as he tries to figure out where he’s going to go with his career by either sticking with Vince’s then WWF product, or jumping ship to Ted Turner‘s WCW during the period known as the Monday Night Wars.

Every story has two sides to it, and for the most part, we’ve heard Vince’s side in a TV interview on WWF programming where he said, “Bret screwed Bret.”  What this side of the story tells us was that Bret was the victim, and McMahon reneged on part of Bret’s contract after he gave his notice to leave the WWF.  For all the hard work, and for all the blood, sweat, and tears that Bret poured into his 14 years with the WWF, for McMahon to go and do this was just crap!  Bret Hart may not have been the most charismatic superstar of all time, but he truly lived up to the moniker, “The best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be!”  He was a great wrestler who was true to himself, the business, and most importantly his fans!  So if you’re looking for an inside look at what happened back at Survivor Series 1997, be sure to rent or purchase this DVD.