User blog:Michael McKay/The Hart Family vs the McMahon's

Mr. McMahon Sept. 16, 1999 - Sept. 20, 1999

On Sept. 16, 1999, Mr. McMahon was not only the owner of WWE, he was also the champion. In an unscheduled match that saw Shane McMahon officiate, Triple H defended his newly-won WWE Championship against the boss. During the match, Stone Cold delivered a Stunner to the champ, allowing McMahon to get the shocking win. McMahon was not WWE Champion for long, however, as he vacated the title on Sept. 20, 1999.

Shane McMahon Feb. 15, 1999 - April 4, 1999

Shane McMahon became the first McMahon to capture a WWE championship (Vince and Stephanie soon followed) when he teamed up with Kane to take on European Champion X-Pac and Triple H. Pre-match stipulations stated that if Shane or Kane managed to pin X-Pac, he would become the new European Champion. In the end, it was McMahon making the cover and becoming European Champion. Shane held the European Championship for close to two months before retiring it on the April 4, 1999, edition of Sunday Night HEAT.

Stephanie McMahon March 30, 2000 - Aug. 21, 2000

Stephanie McMahon, who was married to Triple H at the time, got a shot at Jacquelyn's Women's Championship, despite having extremely limited experience in the ring. But although Jacquelyn had much more experience, Stephanie had D-Generation X by her side. Stephanie goaded Jacquelyn into chasing her around the ring, which allowed X-Pac to trip her setting up a DDT by Tori. Stephanie got her back in the ring and covered her for the pin and her first Women's Championship.

Mr. McMahon Apr. 29, 2007 - June 3, 2007

After promising for weeks to make Bobby Lashley's life a living hell, Mr. McMahon captured the ECW World Championship in a 3-on-1 Handicap Match. With assistance from Shane McMahon and Umaga, the Chairman was able to get his first taste of ECW gold.

Bret Hart Nov. 21, 1999 - Dec. 20, 1999

After Sting was stripped of the WCW World Championship in October 1999, a tournament was implemented to determine the new champion. Live in Toronto, in front of an excited Canadian crowd, Bret Hart met Chris Benoit in the tournament finals at WCW Mayhem. Hart and Benoit had already defeated Sting and Jeff Jarrett, respectively, in semi-final contests, thus the two technicians collided for the gold. Ultimately, Hart would emerge the victor of a highly competitive contest, forcing Benoit to submit to the Sharpshooter.

Bret Hart Dec. 20, 1999 - Jan. 16, 2000

Bret Hart retained the WCW World Championship against Goldberg the night before at WCW Starrcade, but only after a stiff mule kick to the head from his opponent caused Hart to suffer a severe concussion. Due to the controversial ending of the match, Hart vacated the title on Monday Nitro and faced Goldberg in a rematch for the gold. The Hit Man would go on to win the contest and – officially – the WCW World Title.

Bret Hart Oct. 12, 1992 - April 4, 1993

Bret Hart challenged Ric Flair for the WWE Championship at a non-televised live event in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Encouraged by the Canadian crowd, Hart looked unstoppable. The “Excellence of Execution” was running on all cylinders and wrestled a flawless match. He eventually connected on a Superplex and followed it up with the Sharpshooter. Flair put up a valiant effort, but he had to succumb to the punishing submission move.

Bret Hart March 20, 1994 - Nov. 23, 1994

Controversy surrounded the 1994 Royal Rumble. The final two men left in the ring were Bret Hart and Lex Luger and both men hit the floor at the same time. A clear winner could not be determined, so since a WWE Championship shot was on the line, both men were awarded title shots at WrestleMania X at Madison Square Garden. Due to the results of a coin toss, Luger faced Yokozuna earlier on in the evening. Yokozuna retained the championship after Luger was disqualified for putting his hands on the special referee, Mr. Perfect. Yokozuna then had to face Hart in the main event. Bret Hart had faced his brother Owen earlier in the evening, so both Superstars already had one match under their belts. The special guest referee for the main event was “Rowdy” Roddy Piper. It looked as if Yokozuna was going to finish off Hart with his Banzai Drop, but he lost his balance, fell backwards and Hart rolled him up for the pin and his second WWE Championship.

Bret Hart Nov. 19, 1995 - March 31, 1996

Bret Hart and Diesel met up for the WWE Championship at Survivor Series in a No Disqualification Match. It’s become almost common practice nowadays for Superstars to take nasty spills through the Spanish announce table, but Bret Hart got tossed through the table for one of the first times in this main event. Diesel wouldn’t let up either, as he dragged Hart back into the ring. Diesel tried to go for his Jackknife Power Bomb, but Hart was so motionless from his spill that Diesel couldn’t execute the maneuver. Instead, Hart reversed it into a small package for the shocking, come-from-behind win and his third WWE Championship.

Bret Hart Feb. 16, 1997 - Feb. 17, 1997

Bret Hart will forever be remembered as one of WWE's most-successful champions of all time. His fourth reign as WWE Champion, however, notwithstanding. Hart's fourth reign can easily be considered his least significant, as it only lasted 24 hours.

Bret Hart, Stone Cold, Undertaker and Vader all met up in a Fatal Four Way Match at an In Your House event to determine the new WWE Champion. The Championship had been vacated due to injuries to then-champion Shawn Michaels. This match was unique in that it was elimination-style, and a Superstar could be eliminated by being thrown out over the top rope. Hart was able to eliminate Stone Cold, while Undertaker tossed Vader, leaving the Excellence of Execution face to face with the Deadman. But Austin stormed back to the ring causing chaos. Hart chased after him and then Undertaker chased after both of them. In the end, Hart was able to catch Undertaker off guard and dump him for the win and his fourth WWE Championship.

Bret Hart Aug. 3, 1997 - Nov. 9, 1997

The two final participants in the Fatal Four Way Match from February’s In Your House pay-per-view met up again at SummerSlam in a one-on-one contest, as Undertaker defended his WWE Championship against Bret Hart. Shawn Michaels served as the guest referee. Despite a well-publicized distaste for Hart, Michaels had to call it down the middle. As the action heated up, Michaels got knocked out. Hart took advantage of this and leveled Undertaker with a chair. Michaels recovered and counted to two. Hart argued with HBK about the count and spit on the Showstopper. Michaels picked up the chair and took a mighty swing at Hart, but the Excellence of Execution ducked and Michaels hit Undertaker instead. Michaels had no choice but to count the 1-2-3 for Bret Hart. It was Hart’s fifth title reign and he would go on to set up one of the most controversial moments in WWE history when he met Shawn Michaels at Survivor Series.

Owen Hart Jan. 22, 1998 - March 16, 1998

Approximately 11 months after losing in the finals of the tournament to crown the first-ever European Championship, Owen Hart secured the championship when he beat Goldust, who was dressed as Triple H. Hart would hold the championship for two months before losing it back to Triple H on RAW in March 1998.

Bret Hart Aug. 26, 1991 - Jan. 17, 1992

After the Hart Foundation lost the World Tag Team Championships to the Nasty Boys at WrestleMania VII, The Excellence of Execution went out on his own and joined the singles ranks. It wasn’t long before he earned his first shot at the Intercontinental Championship. He squared off against Mr. Perfect in one of the most technically sound matchups one will ever see. Hart proved that moving over to singles competition was a wise move as he was able to make Mr. Perfect tap out to the Sharpshooter and win his first Intercontinental Championship

Bret Hart April 5, 1992 - Aug. 29, 1992

Bret Hart reclaimed the Intercontinental Championship in a match that pitted old friends against each other. In an interview prior to the match, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper even reminisced about how Bret’s mother would make them bologna sandwiches. But when the Intercontinental Championship is on the line, friendships are pushed aside. After some intense action in the ring, the referee was knocked out. Piper brought in the ring bell to use on a bloodied Hart, but after hearing the crowd disapprove of the move, Piper thought better of it and put the bell down. Piper slapped on the Sleeper Hold instead, but Hart countered it into a pin and got the three count and his second Intercontinental Championship.

Bret Hart July 20, 1998 - Aug. 10, 1998

Goldberg, the previous United States Champion, gave up the title after winning the WCW Championship. Bret Hart and Diamond Dallas Page, the two top contenders for the U.S. Championship, competed to crown a new champion on Monday Nitro. Hart won, but he only held the title for a few weeks before losing it to Lex Luger.

Bret Hart Aug. 13, 1998 - Oct. 26, 1998

Three days after losing the United States Championship to Lex Luger on Monday Nitro, Bret Hart won the title back. The match, this time, took place on Thunder. Hart went on to hold the championship for a month and a half before losing it to Diamond Dallas Page on an October edition of Monday Nitro

Bret Hart Nov. 30, 1998 - Feb. 8, 1999

Bret "Hit Man" Hart's third reign as United States Champion came at the cost of the same man that defeated Hart for the title in October 1998 - Diamond Dallas Page. The victory came on Monday Nitro. Two months later, Hart lost the U.S. Championship to "Rowdy" Roddy Piper on Nitro.

The Hart Foundation Jan. 26, 1987 - Oct. 27, 1987

Bret "Hit Man" Hart and Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart had been on the tag team scene for a while, and they got their big break on an edition of Superstars. Managed by "Mouth of the South" Jimmy Hart, the Hart Foundation took on the British Bulldogs with the World Tag Team Championship at stake. Danny Davis was officiating the match and allowed some very questionable double-team maneuvers from the Hart Foundation. With the Dynamite Kid lying outside the ring unconscious, the Hart Foundation focused on Davey Boy Smith. The Hart Foundation would go on to hold their belts for 10 months.

The Hart Foundation Aug. 27, 1990 - March 24, 1991

Almost three years after their last World Tag Team Championship reign, the Hart Foundation got another shot at the titles at SummerSlam against Demolition. This version of Demolition, though, consisted of Ax, Smash and Crush. Demolition could choose any two members of the team to defend the titles, and in this case, Smash and Crush got the call. The match was also a best two-out-of-three-falls match. The champions used their power and took the first fall after hitting the Decapitation, but the Hart Foundation came back in the second fall. After hitting the Hart Attack, Smash earned a disqualification when trying to save his partner. During the third fall, Ax, who had been hiding underneath the ring, switched in and took Smash's place while the referee wasn't looking. The much fresher Ax started annihilating the Hart Foundation. Later on, Smash and Ax swapped once more to keep the fresher man in the ring. Irate at the injustice that was going on, the Legion of Doom came down to ringside and pulled Ax out from under the ring to expose the cheating. Deomlition confronted L.O.D., allowing the Hart Foundation to pin Crush for the win and their second World Tag Team Championship.

The British Bulldogs April 7, 1986 - Jan. 26, 1987

The Dream Team, which was comprised of Greg "The Hammer" Valentine and Brutus Beefcake and was managed by Luscious Johnny Valiant, had held the World Tag Team Championship for nearly seven months. But the British Bulldogs didn't care about the past. Instead, the Dynamite Kid and Davey Boy Smith were intent on taking the gold at WrestleMania 2. For moral support, the Bulldogs were accompanied to the ring by Ozzy Osbourne. The Bulldogs had failed in several other attempts to capture the titles, and this was their last shot. Things weren't looking so great for the challengers, but the duo used their heads - literally. Davey Boy Smith pushed Valetine into Dynamite Kid's notoriously hard head and pinned him for the victory and the World Tag Team Championship.

British Bulldog Feb. 26, 1997 - Sept. 20, 1997

Not only was the British Bulldog the first-ever WWE European Champion, he was also the most successful, as he held the title for seven months. He eventually lost the championship to Shawn Michaels in the main event of the One Night Only pay-per-view extravaganza.

British Bulldog Aug. 29, 1992 - Oct. 27, 1992

After defeating a friend in Roddy Piper, Bret Hart had to defend his title against not only a friend, but against a family member in the British Bulldog Davey Boy Smith. Smith was Hart’s brother-in-law as he had married Diana, Bret’s sister. The two met in the Bulldog’s backyard at Wembley Stadium in London, so Smith had an advantage before the match even began. To get the crowd even more behind him, Smith also brought British boxer Lennox Lewis to the ring with him. Both Superstars had their shots, but after 25 minutes of action, Smith was able to reverse a Sunset Flip for the pin in what is considered one of the best Intercontinental Championship matches in WWE history. After the match, the two shook hands and reunited the Hart family in the ring.