[hb2k]

Originally Posted by The CyNick The whole thing about losing another night in another town makes no sense. The big match was built for Survivor Series, you cant have the guy who is leaving the territory go over on the big PPV match. It was a outrageous demand by Bret, and Vince was backed in a corned because of it.

He didn't want to go over, his suggestion was get out the match with a DQ (which had been done in two other PPV main events that year, so it wasn't an unprecedented request), lose the night before or lose it any other point between then and the December PPV, which was the original plan. The idea that Vince was backed into a corner was bullshit, and he only has himself to blame for being stupid enough to leave the title on a guy that he suggested sign with the other side, and allowing Bret the "reasonable creative control" clause in his deal that legally allowed him to veto something he felt could hurt him on the way out.

Again, Bret was clearly being difficult because he had a stick up his ass about Shawn, and that's really what it boils down to. But Vince's reaction was drastic and unnecessary, and on paper, completely retarded, because if he didn't want it announced the champion was leaving for fear of the damage it would do and the momentum it could give, this did just as much (in theory) to spotlight Bret, help WCW and hurt the WWF's image. It's a massive stroke of luck WCW ballsed it up and the Austin/Tyson element caught fire when it did, because December 1997 is a miserable month of television in the immediate fallout.