Montreal Screwjob

[No Count Pup]

With Survivor Series 1997, Vince McMahon would obviously want as few people in the know as possible. But what if a mole had told Bret Hart about the screwjob ahead of time? It could have led to WWE's demise.

Hart could have given a stiff shot to HBK on the pay-per-view, called WWF a sinking ship, and flashed the NWO hand signal. There are a number of different ways Hart could have screwed WWE. It would have been a crushing blow in the wrestling wars.

How could Vince McMahon have trusted anybody with a screwjob plan? For all he knew, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Pat Patterson, or whoever was in the know could have been in cahoots with WCW. There could have been saboteurs lurking about left and right. HBK and HHH were close friends with Hall, Nash, and Waltman. Do you think Vince was looking over his shoulder, fearing for a mole?

 

[r2d2ott]

You don't think that Bret Hart knew ahead of time? You do know that this is professional wrestling, right? They're making a documentary about whether or not he's going to WCW, the deal had been signed, and it had to end somehow, someway.

It's my full belief that SS97 was the intentional genesis of the villain McMahon. It had been set up to send Bret off to the WCW a great candidate, and a true hero who could fight against the villain that Vince created himself to be. The Bret Screwed Bret speech, Bret miming WCW at the end. Spitting on Vince. It was all a setup. Vince McMahon practically gave Bret to the WCW on a golden platter only to be wasted as a midcarder until Bill Goldberg broke his neck. That's the actual sad part. Vince was the one fighting for wrestling, and for us.

Together, Bret and Vince (and to a lesser extent Shawn) created the absolute best angle in professional wrestling that fans who pride themselves on knowing "the facts" still believe to be true to this day. It was one of those "months long" angles that generated out of Vince's inability to pay his people corrupt Ted Turner money. If you want someone to be mad at, it's not Vince. It's the person who gets in the game and buys another promotion for the sole purpose of making the CEO of a rival company he has no experience dealing with lose his job only so he could be the monopoly at the top.

Ted Turner.

Just be glad that Vince won the wars, and it backfired on Turner. If Turner won, the WWF tapes would either be burned and destroyed, or the WCW Network would be 30 dollars a month, and run like dogshit. Vince McMahon is the only person allowed to have a monopoly over his profession as far as I'm concerned. If he didn't, then we wouldn't have the great things we have today. Like the WWE in the first place.

 

[Wald]

Well, if reports, are correct, than only Triple H, HBK, Vince, Gerald Briscoe, Shane and Earl Hebner knew about it, Pat Patterson wasn't told because he was a friend of Brets. Of the six listed above than only Hebner would have been a cause for concern and I'm sure they told him as late as possible and kept an eye on him afterwards. Jim Cornette has said in interviews than he knew something was going to happen but didn't want in on the details, but he's the one who proposed just taking the belt off Bret in the first place (in a flippant comment about just putting Bret in there with Shamrock and telling Shamrock to just hold him down for a pin or make him legitimately tap out)

Had Bret known it would have been disasterous for the company, though he still would have been in a tough place as he couldn't just walk away with the belt due to his contract. He probably could have faked an injury, got a doctor's note and not shown up for Survivor Series though

 

[JJ15776]

Bill DID NOT BREAK BRET'S NECK!!!!! YES Bret was injured by Goldberg(a thrust kick) caused a severe concussion and over the course of a day or two(Starcade/Nitro/Thunder) possibly received up to 3 more from matches. the concussions resulted in post-concussion syndrome(and eventually a Stroke; I believe)that forced him to retire. if you are going to spew crap online, you should at least check your sources

The funny part is the "Goldberg broke his neck" line was, by far, the most credible part of the post. Obviously he has no concern for things like facts and sources.

Anyway, obviously, Vince would only trust people with the screw job plan that he knew were on his side. He knew Triple H and HBK weren't in cahoots with WCW, considering they didn't like Bret and were under contract with WWE and HBK was the one who benefitted from it. Obviously, Shane could be trusted. But let's remember a few important points.

First, he plan wasn't finalized until the day of the show. While it had been talked about before then, and guys knew it was possible, nobody knew if Vince was going to go through with it until that day. And at a time when nobody had cell phones, it wouldn't have been the easiest thing in the world for somebody to sneak off and tell Bret. Earl Hebner, for example, didn't find out until he was behind the curtain. Obviously he couldn't tell Bret during the match. Gerald Briscoe is the only other person who knew, they've said they didn't tell Pat because he was close to Bret, and I'm sure Gerald never left Vince's side after he found out.

Plus, Bret had people warning him that it could happen. Probably had people warning him that it WOULD happen. But, obviously, he wouldn't screw the WWE unless he was 100% certain it was definitely happening. And I'm not sure there was anybody he could trust that much. Obviously he wouldn't trust HBK or Triple H, or their friends, as far as he could throw them. Would he trust Gerald? Maybe, although he probably would've dismissed him like he did the guys like Vader who were warning him. Unless Gerald told Pat, and then Pat told Bret...but, again, there probably wasn't time for that. Bret has said that he didn't think it was happening because he trusted Earl Hebner, and Hebner didn't know until seconds before the match started.

So, to answer your two questions:

What if Bret found out? Well, I don't believe it was possible for Bret to find out with enough confidence that he would go out there and screw the WWE. Because nobody knew it was definitely happening until just before it happened, and those who knew that day either wouldn't tell him or didn't have the opportunity to tell him. If, somehow, Bret was aware it was definitely happening, that would've been a disaster, clearly. Who knows what would've happened.

And was Vince paranoid about Bret finding out? Probably not, for the reasons listed above. He didn't tell anybody it was definitely happening until that day, and the only people who knew definitely wouldn't have sabotaged him. I'm sure he was just focused on executing the plan.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Make no mistake Bret was prepared for it, even if no one told him... he knew it was a) likely and b) gonna be done with the Sharpshooter if anything cos it was the only move where Shawn would "have him"... A pinfall wouldn't work as Bret could make sure he got up on 2 visibly...

If someone HAD told Bret and he was minded to stop it, he'd have gone along until Shawn went for the Sharpshooter and had a counter.

At the end of the day Bret's whole postion was based on being "in the right" and thus he would not have stiffed Shawn or he would have been seen as the villain/in the wrong.

Whether it was an angle or shoot, to Bret the only way his future was going to work out for him being seen as "the good guy" and the one screwed in the equation if Vince decided to go there.

If he had gone into business for himself then he makes a mockery of his refusal to lose to Shawn or in Canada for his fans/damaging his brand as he'd be the one being unprofessional in front of those fans and ruining the show.

Sure it might have led him right into the NWO just the same, but I don't think Bret the man could have lived with having to do that...certainly not the guy who was in the documentary... and Bret was never THAT good an actor. For all we know he may have even "let it happen" for that reason, so his martyrdom was secure, he got an end to his documentary and justification to punch Vince out...

 

[laodaron]

Based on many shoots over the years from various superstars that were employed by WWF in the 90s, an acceptance that Bret Hart is a classic traditionalist as far as the world of pro-wrestling goes (which means that the product is more important than the star), as well as a general assumption that EVERYTHING in pro-wrestling is a work of some sorts, I am about 99% confident that the Montreal Screwjob was a complete work, involving primarily Shawn, Vince, and Bret.

It's accepted that Bischoff made Bret Hart an offer he couldn't refuse. It's accepted that Vince wasn't able to offer that much in a counter offer, or chose not to offer that much in a counter offer. And to be honest, Bret didn't belong in what the WWF product was going to become. Mr. McMahon was born that night, on camera, in front of a documentary camera, and in front of Montreal, where he screwed over Canada's favorite wrestling son.

Bret, being the quintessential pro-wrestling mark for the industry would have been made aware of the ending of the match, and would have been ready for it. Which, I believe is ALSO why he was allowed the "destroy" the ring and the set. Why he was allowed to spit in Mr. McMahon's face. Why he was allowed to do many things.

Of course, this is my opinion, but as I get older, and as I learn about more and more angles being works instead of shoot like they are angled to be, I just believe that there was no way at all that Bret Hart wasn't aware of the end of that match in 1997.

 

[HatchetMan84]

Based on many shoots over the years from various superstars that were employed by WWF in the 90s, an acceptance that Bret Hart is a classic traditionalist as far as the world of pro-wrestling goes (which means that the product is more important than the star), as well as a general assumption that EVERYTHING in pro-wrestling is a work of some sorts, I am about 99% confident that the Montreal Screwjob was a complete work, involving primarily Shawn, Vince, and Bret.

It's accepted that Bischoff made Bret Hart an offer he couldn't refuse. It's accepted that Vince wasn't able to offer that much in a counter offer, or chose not to offer that much in a counter offer. And to be honest, Bret didn't belong in what the WWF product was going to become. Mr. McMahon was born that night, on camera, in front of a documentary camera, and in front of Montreal, where he screwed over Canada's favorite wrestling son.

Bret, being the quintessential pro-wrestling mark for the industry would have been made aware of the ending of the match, and would have been ready for it. Which, I believe is ALSO why he was allowed the "destroy" the ring and the set. Why he was allowed to spit in Mr. McMahon's face. Why he was allowed to do many things.

Of course, this is my opinion, but as I get older, and as I learn about more and more angles being works instead of shoot like they are angled to be, I just believe that there was no way at all that Bret Hart wasn't aware of the end of that match in 1997.

All good points, and as I have said before, i still go back and forth on whether the screwjob really was a work. It really seems plausible that it could be. Vince becomes the evil boss and screws Bret, Bret goes and makes some money in the WCW, comes back to WWF and does a major program with Shawn / Vince, etc.. capitalizing on the screwjob.

Maybe Hart's concussion and subsequent retirment totally shot all the plans for what for sure would have been money. I just don't know. Like i've said before, if it would have been a "work", then even after Hart's injury i think he would have showed up in WWF at some point. Why wait 13 years to come back. It sounds like Vince made him offer after offer to comeback, and as one of the other threads pointed out, at some point around 2003 Hart was seriously considering coming back for a match against Kurt Angle but for whatever reason, ultimately decided against it. He said that he wasn't going to be at his best and Kurt deserved to wrestle Hart at 100%, so i'll never understand why he came back to wrestle Vince unless it is true what Eric Bischoff said - that Lloyds of London interfered and totally ruined what might have been a fun and decent Brawl...

 

[My Name Is Michael Caine]

I LOVE Bret, he's my all time favourite wrestler by a mile, and probably my all time favourite wrestling personality too along with Austin (as in podcasts, shoot interviews, other media, books etc). I am 110% with Bret on the whole Montreal issue. He had creative control, Shawn was a dick etc. But just one thing bothers me and I've only recently thought about it...

Bret signed the 20 year deal with WWE which broke down as 3 years as a wrestler and the rest as a part time/agent. So from the fall of 1996 Bret had three years as a wrestler left anyway. Now, fast forward a year later and Vince backs down on his end of the deal etc. Bret is offered a three year deal at WCW for $3 Million a year over three years and working half the dates at the same time. Bret had already agreed to work three more years as a wrestler anyway, now he's getting that same offer (3 years) only with WCW he's offered TWICE as much money for HALF the dates.

...WHY THE HELL DIDN'T HE JUST TAKE THAT OFFER...GO TO WCW FOR THREE YEARS...EARN A BOATLOAD OF MONEY...AND RETURN TO WWE AROUND '99/00 AFTER THE WCW DEAL ENDED!!!

Jesus Christ I love Bret, LOVE him, but God I find that point so frustrating. We basically could have avoided all the shit of the last 15 years re: Bret/Vince/Shawn and had ourselves a red hot angle once Bret returned and Shawn started wrestling again circa '02.

Hindsight, eh?

 

[HatchetMan84]

I guess we'll never know. Perhaps if Bret got his way and walked out of MSG with the title that night, he would have came back to WWF in 1999 /2000. I wonder how much longer Bret would have wrestled if not for the kick. I remember watching "Wrestling with Shadows", and his family was saying that he had 10 more years left they thought. I believe Hart was around 40 at that point...

 

[Just Do It]

It's too sad to think about. Imagine if Bret were healthy and left on good terms with the WWE. We could have seen Bret vs Kurt Angle, Brock Lesnar, Chris Jericho, HHH, The Rock, more classics with Austin and Benoit, RVD, Rey Mysterio, patch things up with Shawn Michaels and work some magic there, a younger Vince to work with... It really isn't worth thinking about.

 

[Vader]

Anyone else get the feel that WCW luring Bret over was more to keep WWF from having him versus them having any grand plans for him in the company?

 

[bitesthedust]

As for Bret Hart being "allowed" to react as he did after the bell - the spit was an instinctive reaction when he got to his feet. I'd imagine the officials were more concerned with Bret attacking either Vince McMahon or Shawn Michaels. Secondly, as soon as the match was over Michaels, HHH, McMahon and the officials left the ring immediately; after the broadcast was over the commentary team also left. For everyone's safety it would be a wise move to leave Hart in the ring (to destroy the tv equipment) rather than attempt to stop him.

Nearly 20 years on I cannot believe people still think this was a work. If Hart knew what was planned he would countered the Sharpshooter. He trusted Earl Hebner which is why he allowed himself to be put in a submission hold.

I agree with the previous poster to an extent over WCW's intentions for Bret; they felt that would be the final nail in the coffin of the WWF. Bischoff has stated in his book and on Hart's DVD that they brought him over to help launch Thunder. Had they used him better, and had Hart himself had more energy in WCW then things may have worked out for him.

 

[Mark Henry's Beard]

I firmly believe the screwjob was a work.

Everyone knows what Vince had to gain from it: the creation of the evil Mr. McMahon character that would help propel the WWF into the stratosphere. But what about Bret? Why would he go along with it? Well, it's widely known that Bret was vehemently opposed to losing the title in Canada or losing it to Shawn. Bret was leaving the company. Who is he to dictate who their next champion is? The screwjob was a creative work around. Bret Hart lost NOTHING with the finish of SS97. In fact, he became the hottest name in wrestling. WCW squandered that, obviously.

As to why it took Bret 13 years to return to the WWE, well, some complicated things happened in the interim, like when they accidentally killed his brother.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

I firmly believe the screwjob was a work.

Everyone knows what Vince had to gain from it: the creation of the evil Mr. McMahon character that would help propel the WWF into the stratosphere. But what about Bret? Why would he go along with it? Well, it's widely known that Bret was vehemently opposed to losing the title in Canada or losing it to Shawn. Bret was leaving the company. Who is he to dictate who their next champion is? The screwjob was a creative work around. Bret Hart lost NOTHING with the finish of SS97. In fact, he became the hottest name in wrestling. WCW squandered that, obviously.

As to why it took Bret 13 years to return to the WWE, well, some complicated things happened in the interim, like when they accidentally killed his brother.

It wasn't a work. Have you seen the documentary "Wrestling With Shadows" which had been filming Bret for the previoust year or so as he weighed up his options as to whether to go to WWE and WCW. The microphone which was secretly taped to Bret caught Vince saying to him that it was going to be a DQ finish in the SS main event, and you also see footage of Bret's wife Julie telling Triple H that he "should be ashamed of himself" if he was involved in it.

After Vince gets punched out by Hart, the camera catches a clip of Vince being led staggering away from the dressing room until someone (Owen Hart if I remember correctly) pushing the film crew away and telling them to stop recording. It isnt a WWE approved film, it was an independent documentary that Bret had arranged months before.

There's no way it's a work. It was just the genius of McMahon to use the negative reactions to his actions to launch the Mr McMahon heel character in the aftermath.

As for Bret, even without Owen's death he had lost his fire for wrestling after the screwjob. WCW booked him horribly, but Bret wasn't the same guy after Montreal.

 

[raymondo]

I just heard a great podcast entirely devoted to the Montreal Screwjob.
Radiolab usually does a pretty good job of enthusing the uninitiated.

http://www.radiolab.org/story/montreal-screwjob/

 

[Steinermania]

It wasn't a work. Have you seen the documentary "Wrestling With Shadows" which had been filming Bret for the previoust year or so as he weighed up his options as to whether to go to WWE and WCW. The microphone which was secretly taped to Bret caught Vince saying to him that it was going to be a DQ finish in the SS main event, and you also see footage of Bret's wife Julie telling Triple H that he "should be ashamed of himself" if he was involved in it.

After Vince gets punched out by Hart, the camera catches a clip of Vince being led staggering away from the dressing room until someone (Owen Hart if I remember correctly) pushing the film crew away and telling them to stop recording. It isnt a WWE approved film, it was an independent documentary that Bret had arranged months before.

There's no way it's a work. It was just the genius of McMahon to use the negative reactions to his actions to launch the Mr McMahon heel character in the aftermath.

As for Bret, even without Owen's death he had lost his fire for wrestling after the screwjob. WCW booked him horribly, but Bret wasn't the same guy after Montreal.

WCW didn't know what to do with Bret Hart. It was a shame as he could have come in to take out the nwo. He should have been an amazing face in WCW but nothing happened at all for him. It would have been great to see the Hart Foundation against nwo as an angle but with Owen tied down to WWE that never happened.

I've never understood why Bret thought he had the right to decide how his time in the WWE was going to end. I don't understand why he was given creative control to his exit from the company. If you are the champion surely its logical that you would have to pass the title to whoever the company decides. I didn't understand the whole not in Canada thing either - he should have done the job as asked.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

WCW didn't know what to do with Bret Hart. It was a shame as he could have come in to take out the nwo. He should have been an amazing face in WCW but nothing happened at all for him. It would have been great to see the Hart Foundation against nwo as an angle but with Owen tied down to WWE that never happened.

Agreed, Owen and Bret coming to WCW to take on the nWo would have been a brilliant storyline but Vince was adamant Owen wasn't going to follow his brother out of the door. Bret clearly didn't want to be in WCW, their plans for him were terrible and even the way they introduced him was poor. It's a shame as he was still a phenomenal talent and could have been a big asset if used right.

I've never understood why Bret thought he had the right to decide how his time in the WWE was going to end. I don't understand why he was given creative control to his exit from the company. If you are the champion surely its logical that you would have to pass the title to whoever the company decides. I didn't understand the whole not in Canada thing either - he should have done the job as asked.

It does seem strange to me why Vince would have been willing to give Hart creative control when leaving WWE, knowing he was going to the rival organisation just a few days after being the WWE Champion. Surely two professionals could just have worked out a compromise that would have been suitable for both parties and Bret could have let amicably.

If he was adamant he didn't want to lose to Shawn, have a storyline where he was stripped of the title (and Shawn wins it the next night in a 1-night tournament) or have him lose to someone else who drops it to Michaels the next night- I think something similar happened at SummerSlam '99 when Mankind won the title from Austin to simply transition it on to HHH the next night.

But the thing that puzzles me most is, why was Hart so reluctant to lose in Canada? Surely he'd lost there before at some point? That's like Hogan or Cena refusing to lose in the US? He claimed it would kill the Hitman character...what a load of shit. Fans would see him in WCW the next week, and know that's the reason he lost...AS HE WAS LEAVING. People aren't stupid, they'd have understood that. In my opinion, Bret was being a baby if he truly believed his persona would have been affected by a loss there.

It still amazes me to this day that it had to come down to a a screwjob, when it was known Bret was leaving for a while and there had been plenty of opportunities to get the belt off him before Survivor Series.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Creative Control was a hangover from his earlier deal he signed, when he initially was unhappy with how he was used in 1995 in particular. He had lost to a lot of people who weren't "of his level" and in seemingly meaningless ways, like losing to Doink. His thinking was to protect his value if he was on the way out and to avoid being jobbed out of spite.

It's not hard to imagine had WCW got Bret in 96 that Vince would job him to someone like Marc Mero, Hunter or Savio Vega on the way out to damage any momentum he had.

 

[Wald]

But the thing that puzzles me most is, why was Hart so reluctant to lose in Canada? Surely he'd lost there before at some point? That's like Hogan or Cena refusing to lose in the US? He claimed it would kill the Hitman character...what a load of shit.

It had nothing to do with Canada, that's a claim WWE put out there to feed their idea that Bret screwed them and, obviously, some people bought it. It had everything to do with losing to Shawn Michaels, losing to Shawn Michaels in Canada after HBK had humped the flag and shoved it up his nose was just an add on. Bret at the time pushed to wrestle and lose to either Steve Austin, Undertaker or Mick Foley at Survivor Series 1997, that shows it had nothing to do with losing in his home country.

As for Bret doing the job he was asked. Sure on the surface he should have. His boss told him to do something and he should have done it seems pretty logical but wrestling doesn't work like that. Champions always try to sway who they should and shouldn't lose to. Hogan didn't want to drop the title to Piper or Perfect, Austin didn't want to wrestle Jarrett or Brock, HBK didn't want to drop the title to Bret, Bret didn't want to drop the title to Shawn. It's all the same thing, the only difference here is Vince was seemingly dumb enough to have Bret as his champion when he told him he was reneging on their contract.

I say seemingly because if you stop and think about it we all know Vince isn't anywhere near to being that dumb. That's where you see the real reason for the Montreal Screwjob. Vince at the time thought he had lost some of his leadership of his own company in the wake of the steroid scandal and the downturn in business. Due to that Bret had gotten himself a contract to rival Hogan's in WCW and had leveraged the type of power that Vince fired Jesse Ventura for for even suggesting wrestlers should have. The screwjob was Vince's way of regaining authority over the locker room and the company. I mean, do you really think this situation came about by accident or some oversight by Vince? Bret had one month left to run on his deal after Survivor Series, that's somethign that is rarely mentioned. Even putting aside the nonsense idea that Vince had mistakenly left the Hitman as his champion at a time when Bret was leaving and WCW were destroying WWF in the ratings than why not have Bret lose to HBK on Raw? Bigger audience, puts Raw over and gives it that sense of urgency it desperately needed and avoided the type of clusterfuck Montreal became.

 

[OYDK]

I really don't blame anybody for what happened that night, except maybe Shawn Micheals... as biased as that sounds, hear me out. Anybody that knows wrestling knows the pure hatred that Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart had for each other heading into 1997. The difference between the two, was that Michaels couldn't keep his animosity behind closed doors, and would regularly shoot on Hart on camera. Bret was guilty of this as well but Michaels always took it to another level.

It came to a head when, in a live promo on Raw, Michaels insinuated that Bret had had an affair with Sunny. This led to a "fight" in the locker room which saw Michaels suspended. Upon his return, Bret had a conversation with Shawn in which he told him that he'd have no problem being a professional and dropping the strap to Shawn, in which Shawn basically replied, "Thanks, but I wouldn't do you the same honor." At this point, Bret (like many others would have) said enough with that arrogant prick and decided not to rid himself of his pride by losing... he had nothing to lose.

It's easy to criticize Bret for not being professional, but put yourself in the man's shoes, and be honest with yourself... could you do the job for your most bitter enemy after they repeatedly disrespected you? Could you let them get that last win when you had nothing to lose? I honestly don't know if I could. The point I'm trying to make is, all Shawn Michaels had to do at one moment, was put his ego aside and say, "Thanks Bret. I would do the same for you." Had he done that, this never would have happened.

People can say that he's changed now, but that doesn't erase all those years of Shawn acting the way he did. Quite simply, had Shawn not been impossible to work with, we would not have had to witness that moment.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Yes, but I'd have potatoed the fuck out of him and made him scream for real to that sharpshooter before allowing myself to be "beaten" by him.. He would know...