Diana Hart Smith was on Inside The Ropes this past Thursday and she had a lot to say about Sarah Ferguson originally being in her spot at SummerSlam, how the Montreal Screwjob might have started back at One Night Only in England, how she thinks HBK and HHH were teachers pets to Vince AND that she has a hush hush project coming up with Linda Hogan. Here are the highlights:
On How SummerSlam Came To Wembley:
It wasnt meant to happen. It was meant to be Shawn and Bret I think, It was to take place in the Capitol Center in Washington. Davey told Vince ‘You could do some really great business on the bank holiday weekend for SummerSlam’ Vince began to put some things together in his mind. He must have known Davey Boy and Sky TV were getting over. It was pretty sudden like June. It broke all sorts of records and sold more tickets than at that time Madonna or Michael Jackson. They sold the whole thing out in like 11 hours which is just unbelievable. I was a part of it. I was an integal part of it.
How Diana was almost pulled from the match:
Even though I was supposed to be a big part of this brother vs. Brother in law. They weren’;t sure they wanted me to even go to the show. They were going to bring in Sarah Ferguson and she was going to raise the hand of the winner. I guess they thought they’d sold all the tickets and it doesn’t really matter. We can replace Diana with Sarah Ferguson. I was written out of it, I was really hurt by it. I wasn’t planning on being a part of it. Sarah had some bad publicity and I was back in the match.
How she got involved with HBK/Bulldog angle:
It was right after the Iron man match. I’d asked Davey for a long time if I could be involved, manage him or something. Vince got really into the idea and Davey came up to me just after WrestleMania and said they wanted to use me. They kinda kept us in the dark each week about what was going to happen. At first it was Shawn was going to make advance towards me. The big conclusion that you didn’t get to see was it was me going after Shawn all along and some fan would have filmed the footage on a video camera. Davey and I were a bit like ‘Where does that leave us?’ It makes Davey look stupid and his wife look like a tramp who went for Shawn. Davey presented his case to Vince and it just kinda got pulled and they wrapped up the storyline.
Memories of One Night Only in England with Davey Boy/Shawn and finish being changed?
It was a shock. You have to do what you’re told. I thought ‘those bastards’ why are they doing this to him and in England. Where does it leave him? They made Davey their first European Champion, they made the belt for him and now they take it away from him. Sometimes if I wonder if it was connected to the Montreal Screwjob. Sometimes I don’t wanna think that because then I start thinking about these conspiracy theories. It was something in the works then and we didn’t know it. I was aware that Chyna would be getting together with me. I thought she was un-necessarily rough with me. I know Chyna is strong, I felt she was un-necessarily aggressive with me.
On atmosphere backstage at One Night Only with Shawn and Bret being bad?
I could feel it. I wasn’t there all the time but I felt like Shawn and Hunter were getting carried away with being the teachers pets.
Feelings on the Screwjob?
I was in Vancouver and managed to get home to see it. I would never have fathomed they would have done this to Bret. My Dad thought it was part of the storyline. We thought it was part of something that started back in England at One Night Only. Owen was disgusted and a lot of guys wanted to quit.
Did she support Bulldog getting out of his WWF contract after Montreal?
I didn’t want him to do it. I wanted him to stay. It cost Davey $100,00 to get out of it. I didn’t want him to do it. I felt terrible for what happened to Bret but I didn’t want Davey to lose the money. The funny thing is the same day Davey paid the $100,000, They gave Owen a $100,000 bonus for re-signing and staying with the company.
Did she ever hold WWF accountable for Owen’s death in 1999?
I always believe it was an accident. I never thought it was anything more than an accident.
Do you think it was soon for Bulldog to come back in 1999?
It was Davey’s call but in hindsight, i think he should have waited. He was anxious to show everyone….. He wanted to show WCW, ‘Look what you let go?’ and it was almost a kind of a ‘Take a look at me now’
Thoughts on her book in 2001 Under The Mat ?
I hate the book and I wish it was never written. I wish the person writing it with me had done it differently. They took the bad parts of my stories and left out all the good stuff.
Her Future:
I look forward to doing a project with Linda Hogan. I’m awaiting news on that. She has some irons in the fire. She said if anything turn out, she wants me to be on board.
To hear the interview check out Inside The Ropes on Facebook (Facebook.com/theinsidenetwork) or listen to the show at Insidetheropes.podbean.com.
Later this weekend the full 90 minute plus interview will go up where she discusses her beef with Debra, accusations of flirting with Steve Austin and more about her life with the Bulldog.
