Montreal Screwjob

[legendkiller1979]

It's crazy to think that it was 15 years ago today when the Montreal screw job took place. I'm not here to debate who was right or wrong. That's been done to death. I consider this to be second biggest tragedy in wrestling history behind the death of Owen Hart.

I'm glad Bret and Shawn were able to patch up their differences. Bret's return three years ago was amazing and his interaction with Shawn was great. It was a huge heeling moment for me. I spent a lot of time hating HBK. Let me say again that I don't want to debate who was right or wrong. Everybody took a side and obviously I sided with Bret. I thought if Bret was able to forgive Shawn I could too.

I always wished that Bret wouldn't have left. He WCW career was a joke and was cut short by a concussion. If he wouldn't have had to go, he might have had a longer career.

I loved the NWO but they were the main reason Bret had to go. It was the NWO that lead to WCW crushing Raw in the ratings. This lead to the financial hardship for the WWF which lead to Bret having to leave.

I really don't have a point. I'm just marking the aniversery of the screw job.
I'm sure I'm not alone when I say that I wish it had never happened.

 

[starkmoto]

I guess, but then there would be no VKM character, the screwjob is pretty entertaining of a topic, it's something to talk about. I mean, if it didn't happen there would still be a wcw so from that point of view maybe, but the only bad thing about it was that bret got screwed, which sucks but c'mon we don't know for sure that he didn't expect it, and why not drop the title there after giving a great match, he should've just dropped it and got the hell outta the company. That's coming from a big hitman fan to btw.

 

[HBsam31]

Wow yeah it is hard to believe it was that long ago. As bad as a situation it was we got the Mr MacMahon character out of it, and some say it really jump started the attitude era. I think the saddest thing though was how mishandled Bret was in WCW. I was an avid watcher of both shows at that time, and I hardly remember Bret's time there at all. Then we all know about Goldberg giving Bret the concussion that ultimately ended his career. Just glad he and Shawn we able to put it behind them, and glad to see Bret on tv again from time to time. He is one of my all time favorites.

 

[Dr. Mantis Toboggan, M.D.]

Wow it has been a long time. I'm split down the middle honestly, I'm glad it happened because letting Bret go is one of the things that has kept WWE in business, on the other hand I wish it had never happened because not only did it screw up Bret's plans on retiring around 2000 in the WWE but it also messed his life up pretty bad ex: Goldberg kicking his head off. Bret could have done a few matches matches out of retirement for WWE like with Rock, Kurt Angle, and even Punk. I mean good matches not his terrible ones where he didn't do anything.

 

[Baldy42179]

As a die-hard Hart fan since his Hart Foundation days, I was crushed when the screw job happened. I couldn't believe that someone whom had basically carried the company for the past 5 years was just dumped like that (the mind of a teenager). Since I was also an HBK fan it was great to see them put it behind them after so long. I don't watch as much as I use to to many other things going on but made sure to tune in when that came on.

 

[Albert T]

Terrible shame. Vince is known for doing things like this to many of his talent in different ways and just shows that he has a very warped view of the world. I'm glad that Bret was able to get a few good years in WCW despite the lack of satisfaction he got out of it. He never should have had to leave, however. Hopefully, this incident is the last of its kind in WWE.

 

[Azane]

Controversey creating cash, while not always ringing true, I think rang true here.

The entire pace of the Attitude Era seemed to be set by the Montreal Screw Job, and I think a lot legitimate backstage heat fueled some of the edgy things we saw that helped propel the WWF through the Monday Night Wars era.

Without going into the details of why it was right or wrong, I actually am glad that it happened, as a young kid seeing it, I felt that it was a very strong story, and without knowing Kayfabe from reality, I took it for granted as being a real thing.

Without the screwjob, Bret would of still went to WCW, just a week later. I don't doubt that HBK would of continued being as great a star, because he really is an amazing entertainer, but I do think he would be down a little bit of star power overall.

My only impossible question, would Bret have done ANYTHING in WCW had he departed WWF more gracefully? My mind says no, WCW was just mishandling a legend, but I do have that idle part of my brain thinking the Screwjob influenced the way WCW was booking. I don't like when people blame the screwjob on Bret's eventual career ending injury to Goldberg, accidents happen, in a cosmic way it was related, but his chances of getting his head kicked off were the same if he had went to WCW without the MSJ taking place.

 

[Wald]

I'm happy to see that both Bret and Shawn, and I think a lot of people forget about the effect on Shawn in this, were able to reclaim their careers.

The biggest tragedy of the lot is probably to those two guys' careers. For a long time it really did overshadow both of them, considering that they were the two greatest wrestlers of the 1990s that was a massive shame.

I really didn't like what happened, not even just as a Bret fan, as the idea of a boss thrashing a lifetime of work by one of his best employees like that is just a horrible situation. I've made the case before that the pitfalls of capitalism can almost be summed up in the Montreal Screwjob. That you can bust your ass year after year for a company but ultimately they can ruin your life by firing you and embarrassing you in the blink of an eye.

Reading Bret's book you can see how devastating it was. People forget, amid talks of a 20 year contract, that he wasn't planning on staying around much longer after the year 2000 as a full time wrestler. He had ideas of becoming an agent backstage and a part time guy. It was clear to me that the role he was really after was Pat Pattersons, as the guy to lay out the matches and the finishes, and I can't think of a better guy that would have been suited for that job to be honest.

Thankfully it has come full circle though and Bret and Shawn have put it behind them. I'm also happy to see Vince somewhat admit it was wrong to do it (saying he wouldn't do it again).

On a sidenote, my respect for Jim Ross kept rising throughout the years after the screwjob. Even ten years after it happened you would hear him stand up for Bret on air, even when it was clear Vince was barking orders to others (and probably JR) to knock Bret.

 

[cwood115]

The Montreal screwjob really pissed me off when it happened.Bret Hart was my favorite wrestler and he really got screwed big time!But looking back, I would have to say it was the biggest angle in wrestling history.You got the VKM character ,plus Austin verse VKM and that story got a lot of main stream media and is still talked about to this day!

 

[CrucifiedRaven]

The Greatest Rivalries DVD with Bret and Shawn talking about everything side by side was the ultimate healing moment for me. Gave me complete closure knowing that they've both been able to move on and get past it and can be friends again.

 

[#heel420]

It was sad that it had to come down to screwing Bret over, but hey he didn't want to do business so it's what had to be done. IMO everyone involved was in the wrong. Could you blame Vince for not wanting Bret to leave as champion? What was stopping Bret from coming out on Nitro and dropping the belt in the garbage like Alundra Blayze did. If I was in his position I would've done the same thing. It was war time and nobody could be trusted especially when you know they're leaving to work for your rival. I'm happy Shawn & Bret were able to bury the hatchet and move on.

 

[Wald]

It was sad that it had to come down to screwing Bret over, but hey he didn't want to do business so it's what had to be done. IMO everyone involved was in the wrong. Could you blame Vince for not wanting Bret to leave as champion? What was stopping Bret from coming out on Nitro and dropping the belt in the garbage like Alundra Blayze did..

The remaining dates Bret had left to drop the title and the lawsuit at the time between WWF and WCW over WCW's use of copyrighted WWF material

 

[TripleCrown]

I never understood the point of screwing over Bret as he wasn't refusing to drop the belt before moving to WCW. He just asked that he not be made to do it in Montreal. Like a lot of fans have said, whether anyone especially liked Bret or not, at his peak, he carried WWE on his back. It wasn't a big thing he was asking and I could never figure out what the objection was in granting such a small request for someone who had done so much, worked so hard, and brought in so much business to WWE.

 

[Natural Selection]

I never understood the point of screwing over Bret as he wasn't refusing to drop the belt before moving to WCW. He just asked that he not be made to do it in Montreal. Like a lot of fans have said, whether anyone especially liked Bret or not, at his peak, he carried WWE on his back. It wasn't a big thing he was asking and I could never figure out what the objection was in granting such a small request for someone who had done so much, worked so hard, and brought in so much business to WWE.

Have you ever heard of Alundra Blayze? Shortly before the screw job took place she too had left WWF for WCW. She left as WWF Women's Champion and upon her arrival to WCW she promptly threw the WWF Women's title into a trash can on Nitro. Vince was not about to let that happen AGAIN. Bret was wrong end of story. You don't get to leave as champion when your leaving for the competition, Vince did what had to be done and I would of done the same.

 

[Emmet]

People still bring up the ole Madusa card when talking about Bret.

What some people (mostly the ill informed ones) fail to realise, is that Bret's WWF contract didn't end until December 5th 1997, from the day of SS'97 he nearly had one whole month to lose the belt in whatever way him and Vince could come up with. One month in wrestling is a long time.

Bret could have retained the title on that night, then dropped it to HBK at a later date, or the next night on raw to anyone on the entire roster.

But the claim that 'vince wasn't going to let Bret take the title to WCW' is rubbish. For one thing Bret would never have done that to a company that made him a star. secondly, he would have been sued by Vince for using WWF material on WCW television.

The sad thing about the Montreal screwjob is that it effectively was the end of Bret's career, he went down south and did nothing (not his own fault) and then Goldberg nearly kicked his head off and he had to retire. Bret deserved a better end to his career than what he got, he deserved everything that HBK got in the end, the stellar matches, the goodbye speeches etc. But he never got it. Which is tragic.

In my mind the MSJ was uncalled for, but it saved the WWF in the end up.

 

[HBKperfect23]

EDIT: Read OPs post and wont get into the debate here. Yes, its crazy that this was 15 years ago. Makes me feel old. Who would have thought the fact that the outcome of a pro wrestling match being pre determinded would have such an impact? Obviously its a lot deeper then that but still pretty funny if you look at it like that.

 

[Just Do It]

But the claim that 'vince wasn't going to let Bret take the title to WCW' is rubbish. For one thing Bret would never have done that to a company that made him a star. secondly, he would have been sued by Vince for using WWF material on WCW television.

Legally speaking, this isn't true at all. WWF tried to sue WCW over their belt being shown on air and failed - the company can be chased for broadcasting it - a performer (person) sure as hell can't. If they could, don't you think Miss Blaze would have been in a bit of bother... better still, Ric Flair when he would prance around on WWF TV in 1991 with the WCW belt...

 

[Waylon Mercy]

People still bring up the ole Madusa card when talking about Bret.

What some people (mostly the ill informed ones) fail to realise, is that Bret's WWF contract didn't end until December 5th 1997, from the day of SS'97 he nearly had one whole month to lose the belt in whatever way him and Vince could come up with. One month in wrestling is a long time.

Bret could have retained the title on that night, then dropped it to HBK at a later date, or the next night on raw to anyone on the entire roster.

But the claim that 'vince wasn't going to let Bret take the title to WCW' is rubbish. For one thing Bret would never have done that to a company that made him a star. secondly, he would have been sued by Vince for using WWF material on WCW television.

The sad thing about the Montreal screwjob is that it effectively was the end of Bret's career, he went down south and did nothing (not his own fault) and then Goldberg nearly kicked his head off and he had to retire. Bret deserved a better end to his career than what he got, he deserved everything that HBK got in the end, the stellar matches, the goodbye speeches etc. But he never got it. Which is tragic.

In my mind the MSJ was uncalled for, but it saved the WWF in the end up.

I agree with everything you said here. Especially the last paragraph. It truly is a shame that Bret never got that chance to have a second run like Shawn did, where he could have added some stellar matches to his already legendary career. Imagine Bret making a comeback to the WWE, say around the early 2000's when guys like Kurt Angle, Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero and Y2J were making a name for themselves. Naturally, this is a pipe dream considering what went down and the bitterness that developed for so many years between Bret and Vince. Had the Screwjob not happened, had that Goldberg mule kick not happened, had Owen not died.....so many what ifs.

 

[P. Nut Butters]

I agree with both Bret and Vince in respective ways. Its easy to look back now, out of the heat of the moment and say that it was uncalled for or could have been done differently, but events unfold in moments in time where emotional investment cannot be juggled around.

Vince, paranoid about WCW and Ted Turner was right to do all he did to protect the WWF. Furthermore, if Bret didn't want to drop the belt to Shawn because of Shawn being disrespectful, that is obstructing business for the WWF I can't fault Vince for being insulted about that. The same can be said for Bret refusing to loose in Canada. Both scenarios can seem absolutely ridiculous to anyone other than Bret Hart.

Certainly, anyone has heard about and can see Bret's points in not jobbing to Shawn or loosing in Canada. It's a pride thing. Not jobbing to Shawn, actually I can see the point in. He was (by almost all accounts) an arrogant prick and it was a good protest tactic by Hart. I can see Bret's point in not wanting to lose the title in Canada, but he'd lost in that country before. Even though Bret was and is a Canadian Hero, I think Bret loosing to Shawn that night was great (and would have been better if they'd finished the match and Shawn cheated to win) because it makes HBK a lifetime heel in Canada (which is basically what ended up happening) and you forever have a massive drawing point there with Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart or another face in the future. That to me makes great business sense. Had the Screwjob not happened and Bret not left, could you imagine the drawing power of HBK vs. the Hitman rematch in Canada? Holy smokes! Bret Hart goes over clean in the rematch and exacts revenge for his home nation.

Based on the scenarios that were actually talked about, I've always thought it was best that the screwjob did happen. We got the Mr. McMahon character, HBK is put over as an even bigger heel and we got Austin vs. Michaels at WM14 instead of the apparently planned Hart vs. Michaels rematch - thereby launching Austin forevermore into the annuls of history.

At the same time, I wish Bret could have gone back to the WWF in 1999. I mean, by then, WCW had cut Bret Hart's glorified contract in half, so the argument about WCW and money goes out the window there. Jim Herd, JJ Dillon and Jim Cornette all have talked about the ubsured clauses in WCW talent contracts that basically allowed for almost every star's income to adjusted on a whim.

If Bret went back in 1999, we'd all hope that Owen's accident never takes place and even perhaps that Owen's main-event push is finally boosted as it was supposed to have in the weeks following Bret's depature in 1997.

However, I am more inclined nowadays to believe that Montreal was the greatest work in professional wrestling history. Jerry Lawler believes this; Earl Hebner doesn't rule it out and others have come forward suggesting the same thing. Accepting still that there was an issue with WWF affording Bret's contract, it's not unreasonable to think that this could have been planned as a way to get Vince over as a heel (which is what happened). Vince had been fine-tuning his heel character in Memphis years previously and I think he was looking for the perfect trigger to make him believably the most selfish, evil human being out there. Also, with WCW's track record of pushing ex-WWF stars to the moon, it could have been assumed that Bret would have been in a big main-event role in WCW while Shawn was on top in WWF and both Bret and Shawn getting much-needed time away from each other. Just two theories I have - I'm not saying that they were actually in the thought-process at the time.

Also, the Wrestling with Shadows crew happened to be making their subsequent film there at the time. The film-makers didn't have to be aware of what was going to happen, they just had to be there as it unfolded. Exactly what happened and has added to the credibility of the legitimacy of the screwjob. Could have easily been planned to have the crew there at that specific period of time when the screwjob would unfold. I know this one has been 'debunked' again and again, but everything's a possibility in the air of uncertanty.

Owen not being let out of his contract when the other Hart family members were. This goes in-line with the apparent scrapped main-event push for Owen off the back of the screwjob which originally played out following Survivor Series, but was apparently quelled by Shawn Michaels.

Perhaps only Vince knows for sure what the deal is, and as far as I'm concerned, it's all possible until the day we can get inside Vince's mind.

 

[CasualNinja]

I'm glad they all buried the hatchet. To the guy earlier who said Bret Hart had another month left on his contract, technically he didn't. His contract were determined by how many days he worked and up until Survivor Series, he was already about 20 days the amount he had to work for the year. I think this was mentioned during Wrestling With Shadows. So technically, he could have just left after that night and refused to show up, and there wasn't anything Vince could do legally. It was a bad situation for all parties. Vince panicked because of what happened previously, and he knew how vengeful of a person that Bischoff was. HBK just happened to be apart of the equation. If you were in his shoes, what would you have done? You could agree to screw over a guy you hate who is leaving the company while doing a favor for the boss, or go against your boss by telling your enemy what is going on and potentially risk your spot and career. I don't really think it was as much of HBK's fault as people made it out to be through the years. It is crazy to think that the Medusa/Women's Title trash thing actually was a small piece to the Montreal Screw Job puzzle.

 

[Just Do It]

Based on the scenarios that were actually talked about, I've always thought it was best that the screwjob did happen. We got the Mr. McMahon character, HBK is put over as an even bigger heel and we got Austin vs. Michaels at WM14 instead of the apparently planned Hart vs. Michaels rematch - thereby launching Austin forevermore into the annuls of history.

"Annuls of history" Jesus Christ...

Anyway, Bret and Michaels were not scheduled at ANY point to clash at Mania 14.

 

[salopstick]

I have seen nothing to suggest it was not a work,

However him and HBK hated each other, plus then you have the Owen situation it would never have made sense for bret to admit the work as his future career and income has been helped by Montreal.

If Owen had not died the truth would have been revealed years ago when wwe bought out wcw

But when bret (plus HBK and vince) finally grew up and mellowed it made sense for them to reconcile as older wiser and mature adults.

We will never know because to reveal the work would be off no benefit to anyone apart from the smarks

 

[HatchetMan84]

I don't think it was a work, but I have read many, many well informed and educated opinions over why it could have possibly been.

The reason I personally don't think it was a work because Bret never wrestled for the WWF/E ever again after that. I'm not quite 100% sure on the timing of Bret's injury from Goldberg vs the closing of WCW, but one would think if it was a work, Bret would have returned to wrestle and they'd have made an angle of it.

I read Bret's book and he for sure states that around 2002, he was actually training for a comeback, he had gotten his body back in shape, and was experiencing no side effects from the severe concussion. In his own words he said his doctor had cleared him to start training again to come back, so I wonder if Bret returned to WWE, would they have done some kind of angle with the screwjob, because remember Shawn was returning in 2002 as well....

 

[arvind13]

Hi all,

this is actually an opinion about shawn vs bret in terms of who was the better worker, who had more classic matches. if you look at the 1992-1997 period, when both were wrestling singles, both at their prime, bret wins hands down. (I'm only discussing televised and taped matches ofcourse)

1992

Bret's overall had better matches than shawn. Bret had classics against Bulldog, piper, Flair and Shawn Michaels. Shawn michaels' best stuff was against bret, bulldog, and rick martel. bret's matches were much better.

1993

one of shawn's 'bad' years. He was fat and bloated and out of shape. most of his matches were mediocore. exceptions being a couple he had with marty janetty. Bret meanwhile had classics against curt henning, bam bam bigelow, Jerry Lawler, and even had some good matches against razor ramon.

1994

Shawn had one classic match: the ladder match at wm. the rest of the year he hardly wrestled. Bret once again had many good to great matches during this time period. His match against owen at wm is arguably as good as the ladder match. He had another classic against owen inside a steel cage. he had a classic on raw against 123 kid. he had very good matches against diesel and backlund

1995

Shawn's best stuff was his ladder match at summerslam against razor, the match against jeff jarrett, and the match against diesel at WM. bret's best stuff was his no holds barred match against diesel at survivor series, his match against Jean Pierre, and his match against bulldog at In your house. bret's match against diesel and jean pierre and bulldog were more hard hitting and realistic than shawn's matches. infact shawn's match against diesel wasn't that good. and the ladder match at summerslam was good, but not nearly as good as bret's match against diesel at survivor series 1995 which was more intense and gripping.

1996.

This was Shawn's year, no arguments. shawn had his classic iron man match against bret. followed by another classic against diesel. and ofcourse the mind games match against mankind which was even better than the bret and diesel stuff. he also had very good matches against Vader and Bulldog. Bret was away most of the year, but he did have an amazing 'old school' but fast paced wrestling match against steve austin at survivor series 1996

1997

they both had equally good matches. bret's match against austin at wm 13 was as good as shawn's hell in a cell vs undertaker. shawn also had a classic match against bulldog at one night only. in that same event bret had an even better match against UT.

 

[theHeadliner]

It was a work, with Bret, the Hart Foundation, and the majority of the locker room kept out of the loop. If you think about it, someone duped the Hart Foundation to go look for HHH and Chyna when they were at Gorilla position the whole time, Shawn's music hit INSTANTLY, Earl played his part, even though he found out a few hours prior, and there's no way you can tell me that the majority of Vince's agents didn't know.