Bruce Prichard Discusses Nixed Plans and Wrestlers for the Hart Family vs. Shawn Michaels and His Knights at Survivor Series 1993, Addresses How Bret Hart Was Originally Mean to Feud With Bruce Hart Instead of Owen

– Last month on his Something to Wrestle podcast, Bruce Prichard discussed WWE Survivor Series 1993 and Bret Hart. Below are some highlights (transcript via WrestlingInc.com).

Prichard on how the future Kane, Glenn Jacobs, was originally in mind to play one of the Knights at Survivor Series 1993: “Glenn was greener than grass. Glenn was greener than the Christmas tree outfit that he wore as the Christmas Menace, or Christmas Creature from Tennessee, which was hilarious. Every time that picture would surface we would put it up around the dressing room for the Christmas Creature, which was a green unitard, from head to toe with a tensile and balls hanging down from it. He was just very green. Jerry Jarrett had promoted him as the second coming of Sid Vicious. He took him in because he had a great look, but he was not ready for prime time. We had to get him some more experience before we can get him in, but we liked the size and there was potential. Plus, he was a super nice guy. There was something there, but we didn’t have a developmental; we didn’t have a school, so we just sent him to Memphis where he had an opportunity to work every day. Glenn was going to be one of the Knights under the mask. He didn’t become a knight because he was too green. Way too green. Not even a year in the business at the time. We brought him up there because we needed bodies, put it that way, but we just didn’t know. We didn’t know how green he was at the point.”

Prichard on looking for knights to be legendary wrestlers at Survivor Series 1993: “We were looking for names. We were looking for names that would be surprises where it would be fun. A fun deal to be part of the Survivor Series. Originally, those who got it would be like, ‘Oh my God. That knight is walking around like Terry Funk. I think that is Terry Funk. I think that is Greg Valentine.’ I think Jimmy Snuka was one of the names that were being bantered back and forth. It was looking for legendary names under masks to team with Jerry Lawler, but then when Jerry Lawler went away we needed someone else to fill his shoes so that was someone where we had no one else and we wanted a big-time replacement. Terry Funk was still getting to be one of those knights. Pat Patterson had an idea where what if the knights get unmasked throughout the match. One time you reveal it is Greg Valentine, another knight was going to be Terry Funk, and whoever else it was. So, we shared this with Bret Hart. We talked about it with Bret Hart and asked for his opinion on some of the things we were throwing out there with the knights, and different ways to come up with a finish.”

Bruce Prichard on the original plans were to lead to Bret Hart feuding with Bruce Hart instead of Owen: “In addition to that, so much of this genesis of the whole Hart Family being together was Bruce Hart had written a letter to Vince about an angle between him and Bret. The angle was pretty good, and it pretty much runs in line with what we did with Owen Hart. Bret Hart came up to us that he agreed with us, he liked the angle idea but he didn’t want to do the angle with Bruce Hart he wanted to do the angle with Owen Hart. We all agreed because one of Vince McMahon’s dilemma was that he wasn’t sure about bringing Bruce Hart in and it was Bret Hart was the one who brought Owen Hart up and we were all excited, which is when we started to bring up the whole Bret Hart and Owen Hart angle.”

Prichard on how plans for Funk to work the match fell apart for Survivor Series 1993: “Going back to the guys getting unmasked. Everybody came into Stamford, Connecticut the night before the pay-per-view and Bret Hart had got with Terry Funk and explained that he was going to put Funk in the Sharpshooter and then unmask him, and Terry is like, okay, he starts listening, so apparently they stay up all night long having drinks. I get a message on my answering machine from Terry Funk saying that Funk had to go home, his horse was sick, and that was it. I call the hotel and he wasn’t there. He had left. He folded up his knight outfit and left it outside Bret Hart’s door, so the Funk’s horse was sick and he went home.”