WWFuNEWS: BRET HART SIGNS SHORT TERM DEAL WITH WWE

WWFuWRESTLING.com - According to various sources, WWE Hall of Famer, and multi-time WWE & WCW Champion Bret "The Hitman" Hart has agreed to terms with World Wrestling Entertainment on a short-term deal, running from January 1st to April 10th, right after WrestleMania 26.

The seeds for the controversial comeback were sown on the 12/14/09 edition of WWE RAW. On the show, Vince McMahon asked guest host Dennis Miller who he would like to see host a future edition of WWE RAW. Miller — with the backing of the Texas crowd — demanded Hart. This prompted Vince to look uneasy and walk away, but it was clearly a major tease for the Hitman's return.

Rumors are now rife that Bret will make his WWE comeback on January 4, which stands to be one of the biggest days in modern wrestling history. TNA have announced that they will debut Hulk Hogan on a live three-hour Impact special on this date, running directly up against RAW. This is a brief rekindling of the famous Monday Night Wars of the late 1990s and, if TNA are successful, it may well spark a permanent switch of their flagship show to Monday nights. WWE have been expected to seek a major name to host their show on this night, with The Rock and Steve Austin linked with the role. Now, though, Bret is the forerunner, but a three month contract indicates a much more involved role for a sustained period.

The fact that this contract's time frame includes WrestleMania is obviously very important. It would be very hard to see Bret returning in a wrestling capacity, since he isn't physically able to do so fter suffering a serious concussion at the hands of Bill Goldberg, which later contributed to a stroke. However, the Hitman has stated in various interviews lately that he has felt the best he's ever felt in quite a few years. He was forced to retire in 2000 at the age of 43 while competing for WCW because of a major concussion and has rarely been seen in wrestling since then.

Hart left WWE acrimoniously in 1997 after what became known as the 'Montreal Screwjob', when he lost his title to hated rival Michaels after legitimately not being told the planned finish of the match.

For more on the infamous "Montreal Screwjob", you can watch the documentary "HITMAN HART: Wrestling with Shadows" chronicling the weeks prior to the screwjob in its entirety, by clicking here.

WWFuNEWS:  Dawn Marie's WrestlersRescue close to procuring Health-Care Program for Professional Wrestlers

When WWFu Underground Babe and former WWE diva Dawn Marie Damatta started the WrestlersRescue foundation over a year ago, one of her main goals was to establish a health care program for professional wrestlers -- past and present -- and their families.

That noble yet highly ambitious goal is very close to becoming a reality, Damatta said.

“I am within months of the first national health care program for professional wrestling,” Damatta told me in a telephone interview. “We just have a few little things to work out, but we’re very close. Two major companies are bidding for it right now.

"It’s going to change the industry in such a positive way," she added, her voice cracking with emotion. "I'm helping people that deserve to be helped."

The fact that pro wrestlers have never had health benefits or pensions is something that has been talked about in pro wrestling circles for years, but nothing had ever come of it. More attention was brought to the challenges facing wrestlers – especially as they get older – in the movie The Wrestler.

Anyone who has ever had a contract with WWE, WCW, ECW or TNA is eligible, as are wrestlers from the territories era. There most likely will be a separate policy for independent wrestlers, Damatta said.

“The application has to come through our doors and get approved. Once it comes across my desk, I will either approve or not approve whether this person was a person in our industry,” she said. “Once we approve that they are actually a member of our community, they are able to purchase health care, the same health care that any Fortune 500 company would have at the same rate.

“We will have family packages. We will have prescription and major medical. We will have different levels of packages depending on what you can afford, or we can do different types of co-pays like any insurance. We will have a disability package. In the real word, if you are disabled, you get disability. They way we’re getting our package put together, disability by definition means unable to work for a period of time. Because most people when they break their leg, they can still go to work and sit behind a desk. When we break our leg, we can’t go to work. So there will be compensation and a disability packet.

"With the health care, there’s no high-risk category; it’s normal category. The thing I think people don’t understand, is that when you work with a major [wrestling] company, we don’t have heath insurance. We don’t even have anything to purchase into with our own money. And if we do, we’re considered high risk and we can’t even afford it. Not only can we not afford it for ourselves, we can’t afford it for our families.”