Few WWE employees in history have had the grievances that Bret “The Hitman” Hart has had with disgraced ex-WWE head honcho Vince McMahon.
Or so many people thought until a recent spate of horrific and damning allegations were brought forth against McMahon in an explosive sex-trafficking lawsuit in late January.
The lawsuit — which names McMahon, WWE former head of talent relations John Laurinaitis and the WWE as a whole — was brought forth by former WWE employee Janel Grant and included a number of truly horrific allegations.
WARNING: The following descriptions contain graphic language that some readers may find disturbing.
Grant alleged a number of abuses, including that she was effectively coerced into having sex with McMahon, as well as other WWE employees, to keep her job (a job the suit claims that McMahon created just for her, according to The Wall Street Journal).
Trending:
Those employees included Laurinaitis, whom she specifically identifies in the lawsuit.
Other alleged incidents include:
- A 2021 incident where McMahon and another WWE employee “took turns” sexually assaulting her.
- Another 2021 incident where McMahon locked Grant into his personal locker room and “forced himself” on her.
- There were multiple alleged incidents of McMahon sending lurid and sexually charged messages to her. (“i’m the only one who owns U and controls who I want to f*** U” was one message purportedly sent).
- Yet another 2021 incident where she was allegedly used as a sexual incentive for ex-UFC champion Brock Lesnar to sign with WWE.
- An instance where she was allegedly told to send pictures of herself urinating to Lesnar.
- One particularly abhorrent allegation that McMahon defecated on Grant’s head during a threesome.
- Several instances of McMahon forcibly using sex toys on Grant.
Rest assured, these are all horrific — and still unproven — allegations.
Have you ever heard of the “Montreal Screwjob”?
Adding an unexpected twist, which might not bode well for McMahon, Laurinaitis is himself claiming to be a “victim.”
“Mr. Laurinaitis denies the allegations in the misguided complaint and will be vigorously defending these charges in Court, not the media,” lawyer Edward Brennan told Vice. “Like the Plaintiff, Mr. Laurinaitis is a victim in this case, not a predator.
“The truth will come out.”
The walls certainly appear to be closing on McMahon, which does cast a pall over WWE’s ongoing storylines, but that brings everything back to Hart, who has always had a contentious relationship with McMahon.
For the unaware, Hart’s long-time relationship with McMahon will always be characterized by two major incidents.
The first came in 1997 and is commonly referred to as the “Montreal Screwjob” by wrestling fans.
In short, the “Montreal Screwjob” involved then-champion Bret Hart, who was booked to lose the title to his real-life rival Shawn Michaels in his home country of Canada.
Hart, who was leaving for rival company WCW after that 1997 event, did not want to lose to Michaels in Canada and it appeared all parties agreed on a workaround that would involve Hart dropping the title the following night.
McMahon, worried about Hart’s intentions, opted to “end” the match early, double-crossing Hart. It was the rare occasion where the scripted nature of pro wrestling made it more riveting than real sports.
The other incident is far less complicated: Hart’s younger brother, Owen Hart, died in 1999 performing a dangerous stunt during a WWE pay-per-view event
Bret Hart and McMahon did eventually bury the hatchet years later in the late aughts, but given all the above, it should come as little surprise that Hart isn’t willing to give McMahon much benefit of the doubt in 2024.
“I’m going to speak my truth,” Hart said in an interview with Slate after the McMahon lawsuit exploded into the news. “I’m not worried about Vince’s feelings. He’s never cared about mine.”
The 66-year-old Hart added: “I don’t have any problem with everybody kicking his head around the parking lot. I’m OK with the truth coming out.”
“When you get that vision in your head, you go, ‘That’s messed up,’” Hart said in regards to the defecation allegations. “It’s too sick and disgusting to really imagine.”
Hart also thinks the rot in WWE ran far deeper than just McMahon.
“I don’t think this is the only incident of this kind of predatory behavior,” Hart said. “I think you’ll find that it’s everywhere in [WWE].”
But Hart’s most scathing criticism of McMahon came when Hart acknowledged the good that McMahon had done for his career, making him a WWE legend.
Hart then compared that “goodwill” as just a means for McMahon to force compliance and silence, before dropping a rather damning comparison.
“It’s like Jeffrey Dahmer, Harvey Weinstein, or Jeffrey Epstein: Vince will be a joke,” Hart said.
“He’ll be used for humor, and you’ll shake your head at the shock value of some joke about, ‘What did Vince McMahon do?’ He’ll always be associated with this story, especially as it gets bigger and bigger and bigger.”
