Can someone please explain the Montreal Screwjob to me

[Kaneanite]

I'm sure just about all of you probably think I'm stupid right now, but I can live with that if someone would explain it to me.

I've seen it over and over and over. Shawn gets Bret in the sharpshooter and Vince runs over to have them ring the bell so the match is over and then Bret spits in Vince's face yada yada yada. Ok I get it, I've seen it.

What I don't understand is what's the big deal here. Obviously, Bret lost the title (or he was the #1 contender and it was Shawn's title? either way,) but was this not.... staged? I mean, it's brought up all the time ever since Bret has come to RAW and it's like part of the show as they're acting. But people make it seem like Vince actually screwed Bret, like intentionally, as in, it wasn't staged. I mean, stupid crap like this happens all the time. "This guy should have won! But the other guy did!" Isn't that part of being a heel? Was this just a really dramatically staged way to let Bret go because the company couldn't afford him or something?

I know this probably seems ridiculous but doesn't Bret have like real hate for Vince McMahon and Shawn Michaels? I thought he wrote about that in his book. Hate for HHH, as well. It's gotten to the point where I can't tell what is staged with this guy and what isn't. I wasn't a fan when he was a WWF Wrestler I really got started when he was in WCW.

 

[Jimmy King]

Basically, Bret told Vince he was going to go to WCW. However, Bret didn't want to lose the belt in his home country, so they worked out a deal where Bret would win the title at Survivor Series, then forfeit, or lose, the title the next night on Raw to Michaels. A couple of hours before the PPV, McMahon allegedly held a secret meeting in his hotel room. In attendance were Michaels, HHH, Earl Hebner and McMahon. The four then worked out the actual finish of the match (Bret getting screwed.) So, when the match came, Bret got locked in the sharpshooter, and Hebner rang the bell severely early. Once Bret realized what had happened, he became irate, started trashing the announce tables, etc. Once backstage, everyone was kind of distanced from Hart and McMahon. Hart then found McMahon in his locker room and knocked him out. Then showed up in WCW not too much longer afterward. Of course there are much more details, but this is the basic information.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

The screwjob occured because Bret refused to do the required job to Shawn. This was mainly due to personal issues with Shawn but also with a growing frustration with how he had been treated by Vince over the last year of his deal.

Vince was in a real and frightening position where Bret could contractually have shown up on the following nights live Nitro with the WWF title and trashed it as Alundra Blayze had done for the womens title... ironically he was happy for Ric Flair to bring his belot with him but...

As a business man, Vince chose to break the code of wrestlers and Brets contractual right to decide how he left the WWF and ended the match early... This caused several wrestlers to quit including Rick Rude and for 24 hours Mick Foley as they felt a line had been crossed.

To see Bret's view unfold, watch Wrestling with Shadows...

It is of course debateable whether the whole thing was a work or not... We will never know for sure... We do know that Bret forgave Vince and Shawn enough to embrace in the ring and be working again for WWE...

At worst it's an unfortunate but necessary blight on the WWF's history... at best it was one guy protecting his dying business from the predatory WCW... it worked... cos Vince is still standing...

 

[gers09]

no it wasnt staged bret was going to wcw vince knew this but bret had refused to lose to Shawn he was to lose it the next nite and then leave but vince Shawn and earl made the plan that shawn would put him in sharpshooter and the bell would ring until this moment Bret thought he would walk out champ

Bret has just forgave Vince and Shawn as life too short to hold a grudge

 

[Hazardous]

My friend, there is a handy tool called Wikipedia.

Spoiler

The Montreal Screwjob was a controversial real-life wrestling event in which the owner of the World Wrestling Federation Vince McMahon double-crossed the defending WWF Champion Bret Hart. During the main event match of the professional wrestling pay-per-view event Survivor Series held on November 9, 1997 at the Molson Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. A secret change of the match's pre-determined finish (known as a "shoot screwjob" in professional wrestling parlance) was devised by McMahon and discussed with Hart's match opponent, Shawn Michaels. The plan was executed when the match referee, Earl Hebner, under orders from McMahon, called for the bell to ring and ended the match as Michaels held Hart in the Sharpshooter submission hold (Hart's signature finishing move), even though Hart had not submitted. Michaels was declared the victor by submission and crowned as the new WWF Champion.

The screwjob has garnered a notorious legacy both on-screen and off, and was partly chronicled in the documentary film Hitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows (1998). The far-reaching impact of the incident led to its adoption as a theme in matches and storylines of the WWF's Attitude Era and the creation of the character, "Mr. McMahon," the evil boss. It has been suggested by some that the entire incident may have been a work created by McMahon and Hart.[1][2] Nonetheless, Hart was ostracized from the WWF, while McMahon and Michaels continued to receive angry responses from audiences for many years. The relationship between Hart and McMahon later healed, however, culminating in Hart's induction on April 1, 2006 into the company's Hall of Fame, where he thanked McMahon for the opportunity to perform for the WWF. Hart subsequently returned to live WWE television on January 4, 2010, where he served as Monday Night Raw's guest host. On that night, he and Michaels, whose personal differences had pre-dated the Montreal Screwjob, aired their grievances with each other on a personal level, and showed respect for each other's careers on a professional level. The segment ended with the two men shaking hands and embracing in a genuine, real-life reconciliation, bringing closure to the incident after more than twelve years.[3][4]

But basically no. It was not staged, or fake in any way shape or form. Vince changed the ending to the match, without telling bret, out of fear. Fear that he would do with the WWF title, what had happened with the Womens title. (dropped in a garbage can on nitro)

 

[Miss Flawless]

How long have you been watching wrestling? If you have been watching since the early 90's, you would get the Montreal Screwjob. Personally, I have no hate towards HBK or Vince, because I wasn't too fond of Bret Hart. (And I'm Canadian!)

So many people believe so many things about the Screwjob and you are going to hear different stories, so here is mine:

Bret had the WWF belt, and his contract was about to expire. He was going to WCW the night after Survivor Series...I think. Vince asked Bret to drop the title to Shawn at Survivor Series and Bret said it was his home country and he would drop it to HBK on RAW. So after, Bret called HBK and HHH and told HBK to make sure he wins because after Survivor Series, Bret is a free man. Or something like that, It's been a while since I heard the story, so if I'm wrong, someone correct me. So yeah, HBK planted the sharpshooter on Bret, and Vince asked the ref to ring the bell, and Bret spit in Vince's face for "screwing" him. Done. Then Bret left to WCW.

Bret had hate for HBK and Vince. Bret is working for Vince again, which means Bret doesn't totally hate him, but I think it's still sort of awkward. Shawn and Bret had a make-up session on RAW, which was real.

I actually don't know why Bret doesn't like HHH. Some say it's because HHH gave Vince the idea to "screw" Bret...

But, the MSJ was not staged.

 

[Rammsteinerteen]

Its a basic thing, Bret Hart decided to break his eighteen year contract with WWF that he just signed, and he decided to go to WCW. Vince McMahon said to Bret, he could win the title against HBK, and keep it unitl he gets to WCW. But the problem was, Vince was really angry about this, so he made a devious plan to screw Bret. Bret was scripted to win that match, instead, McMhaon made HBK win when he put him in the sharpshooter. Bret was extremely angry, this made him lose any intentions of ever coming back to WWF/E, this was suppost to be a scripted win for Bret. But it turned out to be nonscripted anger issues for Vince MacMahon. Vince McMahon was just really mad, and HBK was as confused as the audience what the hell was going on. Bret was pissed, this wasn't scripted either. He spat at Vince, and started insulting the crowd telling them he was going to WCW. This was messed up and REAL.

 

[Kaneanite]

So it seems like to me, Bret wanted too much. If you are ditching a company for more money, why should you expect to get what you want from that company after you tell them you're leaving? Seems really egotistical. I'm not saying it was completely in the right for Vince to do that but can you really say he was in the wrong?

Either way, thanks for the answers guys.

 

[Ryanhitman316]

Ok I believe all of you guys forgot to state that Bret didn't want to leave the WWF. He sign a 20 year contract with the WWF after refusing to take WCW contract which offer him more money. But because of his loyalty to Vince and the WWF he decided to stay with the WWF. He was making more than the big guys at that time. A few months later Vince realize that he couldn't afford to pay Bret. And he ask Bret to see if WCW contract is still up in the air for him. If so he can sign with the WCW. Bret didn't want to go to WCW, he wanted to stay in the WWF. But because of money issues Vince ask Bret to leave. Damn people you all seems like Bret wanted to go and he sold out, he didn't sold out !!!

 

[Ryanhitman316]

So it seems like to me, Bret wanted too much. If you are ditching a company for more money, why should you expect to get what you want from that company after you tell them you're leaving? Seems really egotistical. I'm not saying it was completely in the right for Vince to do that but can you really say he was in the wrong?

Either way, thanks for the answers guys.

Again he didn't ditch the company for more money. He wanted to stay, but since Vince couldn't afford to pay him. Vince and Bret agree to break the 20 year contract that Bret sign and he ask him to take the WCW contract. If I was Bret I would had reminded them about the 20 year contract. Because apparently, Vince was the one who broke the contract not Bret.

 

[CraigThe13th]

Theres more to it than that. Vince gave Bret a massive 20 year contract with a short time into it he told Bret he could not afford the contract and that he should go WCW to get a better one. Bret wanted to stay with the WWF but Vince didn't even offer Bret a smaller contract.

 

[Ryanhitman316]

I remember in one of Bret's interview he turn down 2.8 million from WCW to stay with Vince in the WWF for 1.5 million. If I find the video I will post up the link. At first I didn't know much about the screw up myself. And I have been watching wrestling since 1990. But as time went by I did more research and saw more videos about it and I am totally on Bret side. Bret look at Vince as a father figure and didn't feel like he was going to get back stab not only from Vince but from Earl.

Theres more to it than that. Vince gave Bret a massive 20 year contract with a short time into it he told Bret he could not afford the contract and that he should go WCW to get a better one. Bret wanted to stay with the WWF but Vince didn't even offer Bret a smaller contract.

Thank you, I actually stated this a few minutes ago. I wish everyone can understand what happen.

 

[XgringolocoX]

Also, Bret didn't debut with WCW til a couple months after. He had time off in his WCW contract before he was to start. Spend time with family, heal up, whatever. Even after the screw job went down WCW didn't capitalize by having Bret come on straight away and take shots at Vince and the WWF. Big mistake. Vince went on RAW and said I screwed you Bret and I'd do it again. This was the true start of the Mr. McMahon character and it actually lead to the Austin-McMahon fued that lead WWF to win the Monday night war.

 

[crazmond]

Here's what happened. Bret signed a 20 year deal w/WWF and Vince decided that he couldn't afford it giving Bret permission to negotiate a deal with WCW. Bret got a good deal w/WCW, but was given full control of his character for the last 30 days of his stay with WWF as it was in his contract. Bret decided to invoke this clause and refused to job clean to Shawn as they had animosity towards each other. Bret gave the option of losing by DQ at the PPV and then hand over the title the next night on RAW. Vince said ok, but the night before discussed via phone withBrisco, HBK, and HHH. Traditionally when a champ is leaving a promotion he does the job and loses to the #1 contender. HHH said during the call that if Bret was refusing to do the job then they needed to do it for him. This is where the idea was hatched and HBK told Hebner the next day before the match. Bret gets screwed, goes nuts, spits in Vince's face, trashes ringside, goes back to locker room, asks HHH/HBK if they knew about it, they denied knowing (Vince told them the night before to deny any knowledge and let him take all the heat), 'Taker knocked down Vince's dressing room door and pretty much dragged him to Bret's locker room to explain. This is when Bret knocked Vince out hence why he had a black eye the next day on the "Bret screwed Bret" segment on RAW. The rest is history. If it was faked Bret wouldn't have left for WCW. He valued his family and loyalty over money. If you want to get a true understanding of it all you need to read both Bret's and Shawn's book, which are both very good reads.

 

[MMK]

Other than RyanHitman316, everyone on here has the story wrong. If you want to see everything that led up to the screwjob, watch the documentary "Hitman: Wrestling With Shadows". Everything is documented and on tape. Including Shawn's lying about being involved which he has sinced owned up to.

Basically Bret, Shawn and Vince had agreed that the match would end in a big brawl with DX and the Hart Foundation going at it. Bret would then drop the title at the next months ppv against either Austin (in a loser leaves town match) or against Ken Shamrock (in an i quit match). That was the original plan on how the Hitman character would be written off of WWF TV. Bret would drop the belt in Dec 97 and go to WCW in the new year. But that never happened. Instead Vince changed the ending to the match at Survivor Series without Brets knowing. Shawn and HHH knew about it but never told Bret.

Bret had lost to Shawn cleanly at Wrestlemania 12 in an iron man title match, but Shawn refused to return the favor. He was supposed to drop the belt in their Wrestlemania rematch one year later at Wrestlemania 13. Shawn was the champion and Bret earned a shot by winning a fatal 4 way match against Austin, Vader and Taker in February of that year. But instead of losing to Bret, Shawn dropped the title live on Raw saying he'd "lost his smile" for the business. So WWF had to scrap the Bret/Shawn rematch after Shawn walked out on the company. But it was back on when Shawn eventually returned to the company and the match with Bret took place at Survivor Series. The scheduled finish was to be a double dq but instead Bret got screwed over on live PPV. And no it was not staged.

 

[shogunsrampage]

from what i read everyone has bits and peices right but not 100 percent.....vince HELPED bret reach his wcw deal for 7.5 million(bishoff confirmed this figure multiple times). it was wrestling biggest contract. bret and vince had numerous meetings and vince advised bret to go to wcw bc he would be a fool to turn down that money and vince couldnt pay him that...bret wanted to stay but he took mcmahons advice..... as said bret didnt want to lose in montreal and was gonna drop it the next night, vince changed the finish and wahla the screw job happened.....bret was furious bc 1) vince went against his word and made him lose in canada 2) bret felt like mcmahon broke his trust....as i said apparently the 2 were very close prior as mcmahon and bret had numerous meetings over his future .... there were no 90 day no compete during this day, so vince very likely felt if he let bret maintain bret could of(doubt it) done wat madusa did with her belt..

 

[Synner]

Its a basic thing, Bret Hart decided to break his eighteen year contract with WWF that he just signed, and he decided to go to WCW. Vince McMahon said to Bret, he could win the title against HBK, and keep it unitl he gets to WCW. But the problem was, Vince was really angry about this, so he made a devious plan to screw Bret. Bret was scripted to win that match, instead, McMhaon made HBK win when he put him in the sharpshooter. Bret was extremely angry, this made him lose any intentions of ever coming back to WWF/E, this was suppost to be a scripted win for Bret. But it turned out to be nonscripted anger issues for Vince MacMahon. Vince McMahon was just really mad, and HBK was as confused as the audience what the hell was going on. Bret was pissed, this wasn't scripted either. He spat at Vince, and started insulting the crowd telling them he was going to WCW. This was messed up and REAL.

Actually if you have watched the Wrestling With Shadows movie you would understand that it wasn't Bret who broke the contract. Bret was only a few years into his 20 year contract with WWF which was the longest contract in the companies history. Vince called Bret and told him that they can't sustain a 20 year contract and in turn Bret's frustration grew further with WWF and Vince.

When the PPV came around Bret and Vince had made an agreement that since the PPV was being held in his home town that he wouldn't lose the match to Shawn Michaels that night but would drop the belt to him the next night on Raw.

As stated previously by someone on this forum Vince had a secret meeting in the hotel room with those involved in the screwing. At the PPV Bret had only knowledge of him winning that match, that was until the obvious screw job ending with Vince coming down and making Hebner call for the bell.

Bret was extremely pissed and rightfully so. When he did find Vince backstage he knocked him out and walked out of the building not to be seen in WWF/E until earlier this year.

So in answer to your question. No this was not staged. This was very real and Bret still harbors bad feelings towards Vince, Shawn & HHH. The main reason is because they all knew about it but Vince and HBK have admitted being in on it but HHH has not admitted that he was involved.

 

[Miss Flawless]

Do you see what I mean? You are going to get different stories from everyone. Some people have the brief story. Others, who are HUGE fans of Bret Hart, were hurt by this incident and know a lot about the MSJ. Believe whatever you want. (Except that it's staged...it's a fact that it's NOT staged.)

 

[CrunKSinatrA]

Ok I've had to explain the Montreal to non-wrestling fans before (I'm not accusing anyone of anything here. This is just in my personal experiences.)

The way I explain it is by comparing it to a movie. Say there is a movie producer (Vince) and he is making a movie (Survivor Series) that is guaranteed to get the star an Oscar (WWE Championship). All throughout the scripting and filming process the lead actor (Bret) is very well respected and even gets in on the scripting process because it's in his contract. The lead actor and the producer agree on an ending. Then during editing, it is found out that the lead actor's next project is going to have him working with a rival production company. So the producer (with out the lead actor's approval) re-edits the film so that the supporting actor (Shawn) is now the star of the film. So the film debuts, the lead finally sees the reedits and the supporting actor goes on to win the Oscar. Meanwhile, the original lead actor's next project is a flop that ruins the production company. Also, the producer buys the rival production company and makes highly publicized comments where he bashes the lead actors professionalism, work ethic, and etc.

 

[The_Phenomenal_Phenom]

It was a big deal and definately not staged. Bret and Shawn hated each other inside the ring and outside the ring so Bret didn't want to drop the title to shawn in his home country. Bret promised Vince he would forfeit the title or drop it to someone else beside's HBK. But Vince didn't want the possibility of Bret leaving the WWF and going to WCW with the title so he set up the Montreal Screwjob and changed the finish to the match.

 

[Vintage]

The most significant part about this whole thing and why it's so infamous is up until that point you never ever saw anything like that in wrestling. Vince back in those days was only really known to the fans because of his announcing. He didn't really have an on screen character at that time. Trying to watch it now it falls flat because you've seen it 100 times since then. If you saw it back then you knew shit hit the fan because it was out of character for everyone involved to do what they did. Bret showed more emotion that night than he did his whole career, the look on Shawn's face and the way Hebner was acting... You just knew something wasn't right.

 

[closet_fan]

Basically, Bret told Vince he was going to go to WCW. However, Bret didn't want to lose the belt in his home country, so they worked out a deal where Bret would win the title at Survivor Series, then forfeit, or lose, the title the next night on Raw to Michaels. A couple of hours before the PPV, McMahon allegedly held a secret meeting in his hotel room. In attendance were Michaels, HHH, Earl Hebner and McMahon. The four then worked out the actual finish of the match (Bret getting screwed.) So, when the match came, Bret got locked in the sharpshooter, and Hebner rang the bell severely early. Once Bret realized what had happened, he became irate, started trashing the announce tables, etc. Once backstage, everyone was kind of distanced from Hart and McMahon. Hart then found McMahon in his locker room and knocked him out. Then showed up in WCW not too much longer afterward. Of course there are much more details, but this is the basic information.

why did HHH have to be there? i know he was close with michaels backstage, but was there really any reason to be involved in the meeting istelf?

 

[Xale]

why did HHH have to be there? i know he was close with michaels backstage, but was there really any reason to be involved in the meeting istelf?

This can be answered if you read the Shawn Michaels Autobiography. According to Shawn's take on the event, Trips, Vince, and Shawn had grown close since the days of the Kliq and despite the MSG incident, were still talking regularly and Trips and Shawn had discussed the idea of "screwing" Bret previous to Survivor Series at a meeting or phone call of some sort and it wasn't until the day of the actual event that the plan actually took shape.

Shawn's autobiography also states that it was Bret who came up with the finish of the match which gave Shawn the chance to "screw" Bret, where Bret would be locked in his own finisher, which up until that point hadn't been reversed(I think) and he would reverse his own finisher, but Shawn, Earl, and Vince decided to ring the bell early before Bret could reverse the move himself.

I don't know if it's been mentioned yet, but the screw job did occur due to Bret having "creative control" over his final few matches and he didn't want to lose in Canada and Vince was afraid Bret would leave the company as champion with belt in hand a la Alundra Blaze a while back during the Monday Night Wars.

But once again, this is all taken from reading Shawn's autobiography and his take on the event.

 

[mvalley]

The screw job is nothing new -- Moolah did a similar thing as 'Spider Lady' (or so reported).

There are several reasons why this was so significant:

1. It was the first time they (the promoters) really pulled the wool back and had people see wrestling for what it was. Yes, Vince admitted it was pre-determined. However, he had (and still does) everything he can to give the illusion that it is completely legit.

2. It involved one of wrestling's top stars at the time in the middle of the war between WCW and WWE.

3. It gave birth to the Mr. McMahon character, a character fans loved to hate.

4. It was perhaps the "real" start of the Attitude era in the WWE. This was already going on in WCW to a degree but they had grown stale.

5. It was seen (at the time) as perhaps one of the final nails in the grave of the WWE. At this time, the WWE was doing pretty bad and there was major concern that it would go under. (I saw potential concern as far back as December in 96...)

6. It instilled the WWE's motto of 'Anything can happen'.

There are other reasons too.

To give a short summary from the facts we do know...

Bret and Shawn have had a heated rivalry that had started to grow as far back as Wrestlemania X, and picked up in intensity by the summer of 97. Both sides had sour feelings against the other, partially due to a personality clash, and partially due to different philosophies in wrestling. In addition, the WWE was getting away from its 'kid-friendly' format and going for a more mature, edgier format which Bret didn't approve of nor really fit into.

Prior to this change, Bret had also been a major part of a US-vs-everyone-else angle where he bashed the US relentlessly while praising the rest of the world. The basic idea was the rest of the world still stood for wholesome values and wanted good to prevail over evil.

One other important aspect in all of this was the WWE was getting crushed by WCW. Vince felt pressured such that he wanted to let Bret out of a 20 million dollar contract he had set up with Bret a year prior. (Bret was part of a major bidding war and had decided to go with loyalty over money -- another major point that caught the awe and ire of wrestling fans....)

Once Vince and Bret agreed to void his contract, and that Bret should go to WCW, a heated debated went on regarding how Bret should lose the title. Due to information leaks, and Vince being paranoid that Bret would do what Madusa did with the woman's title, he requested that Bret drop the title at Survivor Series. Bret refused, mainly because the match was in Canada and felt it would be detrimental to his character. Furthermore, Bret had a problem losing to Shawn due to continued heated words between the two.

the decision was made to have Bret win by DQ, and then he'd forfeit the title the next night. Instead though, Shawn, Vince, and Triple H (reportedly) set up a plan in which when Bret was locked into the Sharpshooter by Shawn, that Earl Hebner, the referee for the match, would end the match and call for the bell. This plan, which they successfully put into action, was and is known as the Survivor Series screw-job.

 

[theHeadliner]

Again he didn't ditch the company for more money. He wanted to stay, but since Vince couldn't afford to pay him. Vince and Bret agree to break the 20 year contract that Bret sign and he ask him to take the WCW contract. If I was Bret I would had reminded them about the 20 year contract. Because apparently, Vince was the one who broke the contract not Bret.

Actually if u read Bret's book, Vince came to Bret in October and said that the money was no longer an issue, that he could pay him in full, and that he had no problem with him staying. Bret already talked to Bischoff though, and he got a great offer from WCW. Bret said he had to hear Vince tell him what his future storylines would be for him to stay. Vince laid it out, and Shawn was going to be the main guy, so Bret wanted to leave. He could have stayed, he chose to leave, so anything that happened was brought upon himself.