Veteran wrestling writer and author, Pat Laprade, has voiced his opposition to what he calls a “false narrative” present in Netflix’s new docuseries “Mr. McMahon.”
The docuseries, “Mr. McMahon,” features an in-depth look into the several sexual misconduct allegations made against McMahon over the years through its six, hour-long episodes.
Laprade, however, takes issue with an inferred storyline within the series. The series suggests that Bret Hart, who was the WWE Champion at the time, intended to defect from the company with the title post the 1997 Survivor Series, to sign with competitor WCW. The series posits that this potential occurrence was the root cause of the notable “Montreal Screwjob” finale at the pay-per-view event.
In a series of Tweets, Laprade made it clear that the series’ insinuation regarding Hart’s intentions was erroneous. He stressed that Hart was a WWE contracted athlete until December and had conformed to yield the title to Shawn Michaels. Hart’s sole condition was not to surrender the title within Canada.
Laprade tweeted: “Another false narrative in the Netflix McMahon doc: Bret was NOT gonna leave the WWF with the title. He was under contract until December and had agreed to lose the title against someone else than Shawn [Michaels], and not in Canada. Springfield, MA was considered.
“The correct narrative should be that Vince feared Bischoff would declare Bret’s signing on Nitro 11/10. However, Bret specifically asked Eric not to disclose it, and Eric consented. Vince wanted Shawn as champion and ensured it happened. But he was mistaken here.”
Laprade continued: “You can’t accuse Bret. The creative control clause in his last month with the company allowed him to decide who he would lose the title to, or in this case, who he didn’t want to lose the title to. It was Vince who endowed him with that power in that clause.”
The controversial events of the Montreal Screwjob are highlighted in “Hitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows” and the VICE TV docuseries “Dark Side of the Ring.”