Unfortunately, WWE was going through a tough period financially at this time, and McMahon even had to take out loans from banks in order to keep the company going. One day the water coolers were even repossessed from their offices. Amidst these financial struggles, McMahon asked Hart to restructure his deal and Hart said no. Meltzer thinks that this was the beginning of rising tension between both parties.
Meltzer informs that WWE turned around their financial situation by adjusting their PPV model. At this time WWE was running In Your House PPVs 8 times a year for $19.99. Their “Big 4” PPVs were more expensive, costing $29.99. McMahon didn’t think fans would buy 12 big PPVs each year for $29.99 each, but once Bischoff succeeded with this model in WCW, McMahon tried it as well and it worked. That was the difference between WWE losing money or making money.
Meltzer and Jericho wonder why McMahon didn’t take the WWE Title off of Hart sooner, rather than leaving it until Survivor Series. Meltzer thinks McMahon did this because Hart versus Michaels was such a hot match at that time and he didn’t want to throw it away. This was a smart move in part, because Survivor Series actually did the best buy rate of any WWE show that year.
Prior to their big Survivor Series match, tensions between Michaels and Hart were steadily rising. At one point, Hart was supposed to beat a young Dwayne Johnson (The Rock) with a Sharpshooter at one event, but Hart didn’t want to beat the young, up-and-comer. This upset Michaels and Triple H, who probably weren’t a fan of Johnson at this time because he posed a threat to them.
