Hart's refusal to lose to Michaels in Montreal has been criticized by others such as Ric Flair, who asserted that it was Hart's responsibility to drop the title belt of a company he was leaving (Flair himself was WCW World Heavyweight Champion when he left the company and signed with the WWF in 1991, even appearing on television with the NWA/WCW belt, but also dropped the WWF Championship to Hart on October 12, 1992 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan at a house show). Hart, however, maintains that he was prepared to lose the title anywhere and to anyone, except to Michaels in Canada given that, during 1997, his "Hitman" character had been built up as a great Canadian hero. As his contract with WWF did not expire for four more weeks, Hart asserts that there was plenty of time and several other opportunities for him to drop the title. Several accounts claim that McMahon had originally proposed that Hart drop the title at December's pay-per-view in Springfield, Massachusetts, or at January's Royal Rumble in San Jose, California.