Teddy Hart On How The Ripple Effects From The Montreal Screwjob Messed Up The Hart Family
Teddy Hart was a guest on the latest edition of XPac 12360. You can watch the episode in the video above or download it on iTunes or Android
or download the podcast version for Android:
The ripple effect that the Montreal Screwjob caused on The Hart Family:
"It affected the unity of our family plus the WWE family because Bret [Hart] and Shawn [Michaels] were good friends before that. And it put guys like you [Waltman] in an awkward spot. That whole rift thing in WCW, where some of your friends left and went there and Bret going after and hitting Vince [McMahon], I think was one of the worst things that ever happened in wrestling history. That situation caused Owen [Hart] to end up in that situation too. Like a ripple effect. Like Davey [Boy Smith] wasn't in the right headspace after he tried to make his comeback and Jim [Neidhart] suffered definitely from not being in the WWE system because the structure in WWE compared to WCW at the time, you know WCW was pretty wild... the ripple effect of that Montreal screwjob f–ked everybody over."
Wanting to work for WWE:
"Triple H is a guy I never met, and I thought he did a great job with WWE and he did an unbelievable job with the cards he had and to get to the top and run the business, and to keep his spot and to rarely ever get injured for how much work he did. And Bret [Hart] doesn't like him and Bret says bad stuff about him and then it's like a reflection on the Hart Family cause Bret sorta speaks for the family, but Bret doesn't speak for me though.
"I really want a job in WWE someday, even as trainer or something, and that's my goal. You want some closure in your career. I'd love [to have] a doll made, I'd love to be on a PPV someday. Besides Mexico, I've never had that opportunity. There's only one WWE out there."
The passing of Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart:
"Jim was always honest, his advice was always so sound on how to get where you needed to be and he trained so goddamn hard. He was so strong in the gym, he was an inspiration to me, no matter what state of mind he was in he always went to the gym. He was a beast in the gym, and he loved animals. He was a great father to Nattie, they spent so much time together, he was so proud of her."
His sobriety and asking for forgiveness:
"This has been year two of not smoking weed, and it's been four years without doing any GHB. I'm trying to forgive myself now for time wasted, I'm 38 years old. I did a WWE show two nights ago where I just showed up after the show, and it was so nice to see how many people came up to me and said they'd watched my tapes, and they'd listened to my interviews, and shoot interviews and podcasts, and that they had so much respect for me, because I told the truth. They said, 'you're always honest, and you did so many moves, and innovated so much stuff, that you set a measuring stick for wrestlers all over the world', and that, that don't, 'Don't forget who you are' kinda thing. I thought at least that was kinda like, some closure for me – where I was, I'd been bitter, not bitter so much with the business, but bitter with certain things in my own — like looking in the mirror and having to swallow, "Well maybe I shouldn't have said that, or maybe I should have done that a different way."
"So I've been trying to find ways to get closure and forgiveness, and go back and thank people that maybe I should have thanked, or go back and say sorry to people that I didn't say something good about, I said something only bad about, instead of saying something good. You should be able to find something good in almost everybody in this business because we work together — we're supposed to be a family and a team."