The Montréal Screw Job—12 Years Later
By Eric R. Darsie
November 9th, 1997—Montréal, Quebec, Canada—Survivor Series 1997—WWE Heavyweight Championship match, putting Champion Bret “the Hitman” Hart against Challenger “the Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels. A feud that started after Shawn Michaels won the Royal Rumble match in 1996. Bret Hart won his third World Wrestling Federation Championship from Diesel (Kevin Nash) at the Survivor Series 1995. Now looking at the WWF Championship changed hands six years in a row at the Survivor Series, from years 1994 to 1999.
But going back to what this article is directed towards, let’s go to that cold November night up in Montréal, Quebec, and let’s discuss the main event of that evening, the WWF Championship match with Hart defending the title against Michaels. I have heard many different stories over the past decade and a fifth since the “Screw Job,” so with the little time I have left of my summer before my fourth year of college, I decided to finish reading Bret Hart’s autobiography about his life and career in professional wrestling, look over my notes when I read Shawn Michaels’ autobiography, re-read that section, look into the books of other professional wrestlers, like Mick Foley and Ric Flair, and do a lot of searching on YouTube for clips of different wrestlers talking on this topic.
Before I go in more of this article, I want to put out there that my intent of this article isn’t to make any side of this situation look bad. That isn’t my intent and I’m not on the ‘inside’ of the WWE or the wrestling business. I’ve been a wrestling fan my whole life, since the beginning of 1988. I’ve grown up watching the best and worst of the business in the past twenty years and want to look into some of the biggest events in the sport of professional wrestling.
I also host Monday Night Raw every week during the school year at my apartment. The guys that do come, a good half of them never watched wrestling before the Monday night before the Royal Rumble this year. I am assuming that they may ask what’s up with this whole “Screw Job” thing. So I wanted to try to give a objective view of all sides of the story of what material that’s out there, both men’s books, watching their DVD’s, and watching Vince McMahon’s DVD, as well as review books that I remember reading in the past that talked about the topic, as well as get help from friends who’ve been a part of the business, on looking at the situation differently.
As a last thing, I want to put out there that I always enjoyed the work that all three men put out. I’ve been a “Heartbreak Kid” fan since 1995, and more and more I’ve aged and more and more I’ve been exposed to the business, I’ve fallen in love with “the Hitman’s” work. When it comes to McMahon, I’ve had WWF/WWE in my blood since I was born; I always rooted for the WWE when it was at war with WCW during the “Monday Night War” days. Like stated above, I want to offer a perspective on not trying to bash any side on what their decisions where, because at that time each party made a choice that they thought was best for themselves (or their company—for Vince McMahon’s sake).
I do hope that you’ll enjoy this article that I created so-to-say. It was my pleasure doing the research, for me, re-watching the DVD’s of all three men to try to get a different perspective with a different perspective for me out of the DVD, for the sake of this research article, and I hope it’s an article that you all enjoy and had a great time reading, and I hope it’s a article that you would suggest to your friends to read, if they want to read something about the whole “Montréal Screw Job” or just want to get more knowledgeable about the sport that we know as professional wrestling. Now with me finish going on with what I think I should say for the introduction, let’s get into the article.
The Bret Hart Argument
“I’m the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be!” Was the quote that you heard Bret Hart spew out each and every time he had a chance to talk on television or any media for that matter. One of the greatest in-ring performers, arguably, due to his technical skill and his many World Championship reigns, marks Bret Hart as one of the best. I believe when doing a research article about the whole “Montréal Screwing.
Bret Hart can be compared in the WWF as the 1990’s Hulk Hogan. Why the ‘90’s Hulkster? He can get the crowd into his match at any time he wanted. And in addition, Hart had the torch passed to him by Hulk Hogan when Hogan left the WWF in 1993 for WCW. But let’s dig into some quotes that I was able to dig up for this research article.
“On Sunday morning, I called Vince at home. He was friendly and more than a little quick as far as I was concerned to advise me that I’d done the right thing. He still wanted Shawn to beat me at Survivor Series the following weekend. I cut him off. “I’m sorry Vince. I’ve always done everything you’ve asked, but I can’t do that. I’ll put over anybody you want, but I will not, under any circumstances, put over Shawn Michaels.” (page 447, Chapter 40: ‘Think With Your Head, Not With Your Heart,’ from the book Hitman: My Real Life In the Cartoon World of Wrestling by Bret Hart).”
This could sound very selfish, to be dead honest. But one needs to know the history backstage with Hart and Michaels. Those two have been having attitudes, one can say, with one another. Bret went up to Shawn in the back before, I think a couple of months before this happened, and told Shawn in front of all the boys in the locker room and said that he’s willing to do a job for Shawn, and expected Shawn to do the same for him, and Shawn said he won’t. Which explains the quote above.
“ “Come on, Vince. I made myself clear to both you and Shawn in Tulsa. I’ll drop it to Austin or Taker. Hell, I’ll even drop it to Lombardi at the Garden. Vince, you told me I could leave any way I wanted! Remember?” (page 447, Chapter 40: ‘Think With Your Head, Not With Your Heart,’ from the book Hitman: My Real Life In the Cartoon World of Wrestling by Bret Hart).”
One big issue for Bret was he had creative control of his last thirty days right before he left the World Wrestling Federation. As you’ll learn soon by his quotes, Bret did mention that he could stay until December, which would be a breach of contract to my understanding, having creative control of more than his last thirty days in the WWF. But to the quote that I put into this article to show the frustration that Bret had with Michaels, and his willingness to drop the belt to anyone else than to the Heartbreak Kid.
“I told him again that I wouldn’t do it. “Everything has been geared toward the Canadian hero winning this match. It’ll kill me off to lose to Shawn in Montréal after everything he’s done. He’s picked his nose on TV with the Canadian flag, and just last week he said that Stu is dead on international TV. I’d lose all my self-respect. If he puts me over, I’ll be happy to put him over. We’ve got over a month until I go to WCW, Vince, surely we can come up with something.” (page 448, Chapter 40: ‘Think With Your Head, Not With Your Heart,’ from the book Hitman: My Real Life In the Cartoon World of Wrestling by Bret Hart).”
Like said earlier in the article, and in this section to that fact, Hart had creative control for his last thirty days in the World Wrestling Federation, and if he dictated this what he said in this above quote, he would have control of more than thirty days of his last days in the WWF. But it could of drawn more money for Vince McMahon and the World Wrestling Federation if Hart would of won at the Survivor Series, fans knowing full well that he’s going to World Championship Wrestling, and at the next pay-per-view, losing the title to HBK. But at least with HBK winning the title in November, it gave Ken Shamrock a chance to challenge for the World Wrestling Federation World Heavyweight Championship. I don’t think Bret thought of that all the way through.
“For the rest of the week we went back and forth. He’d tell me I could win, then he’d tell me I couldn’t. I stood my ground and refused to lose—for the first and only time in my career (page 448, Chapter 40: ‘Think With Your Head, Not With Your Heart,’ from the book Hitman: My Real Life In the Cartoon World of Wrestling by Bret Hart).”
Bret said that he made his career on never refusing to lose to anyone but once, and that’s to Shawn Michaels at the Survivor Series 1997 in Montréal, Quebec. I understand that he stood his ground and not let McMahon take the advantage of him during his last days in his company, but to me it didn’t sound like Bret tried to take to understand why McMahon went back and forth on wanting Bret to lose to Shawn, then saying he can beat HBK. Bret, but I want to send my congrats to you for standing your ground on not wanting to lose to Michaels, standing firm against the boss during your last days in the company.
“It was November 8, the night before Survivor Series ’97. I was in the dressing room at the Cobo Hall in Detroit. Vince and I were still stalemated. I was worn out with conflicting emotions, grief vying with an adrenaline rush of clarity. I was convinced Vince would ruin me just for the sick pleasure of it. I kept reminding myself that if I’d stayed in the WWF, Shawn and Hunter would have done all they could to drive me out anyway. Jack Lanza pulled me aside to tell me that I was doing the right for the business: “I wouldn’t drop the belt to that little motherfucker either!” I never knew whether Jack meant what he said or was trying to provoke a reactions out of me that would somehow play into his boss’s hands (page 449, Chapter 41: ‘The Montréal Screwjob,’ from the book Hitman: My Real Life In the Cartoon World of Wrestling by Bret Hart).”
Wouldn’t staying in the WWF show Shawn and Hunter (Triple H) that you are a stronger and a better man than them? If I was on Bret’s end, I would see it that way. If I was on the end of Shawn or Triple H, and someone I was trying to drive out of where I worked didn’t work, I would literally poop my pants and wonder what I had to do just to get under that guy’s skin. I would have a new found respect for that guy and treat him with the respect that he deserved (given that it would be a guy, I wouldn’t try to do that to a woman, by-the-way).
And when it came to Jack Lanza, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was doing what Bret suspected, tried to get a reaction out of Bret to go back to McMahon and tell him out Bret reacted. That, I have more respect for Bret for not losing his edge when Lanza was there and said that he won’t as well drop the belt to Shawn if he’s in Bret’s current situation (at that time, it was current).
“After taking my mic off and changing into my gear, I found Shawn. One last time, I tried to be straight with him. He was visibly nervous and said he wanted no problems with me, that he had no problems doing anything. Pat told me that he thought it would be a halluva spot to let Shawn put me in the sharpshooter and then reverse it on him. It would be a great spot that would set the stage for a fantastic second half (page 451, Chapter 41: ‘The Montréal Screwjob,’ from the book Hitman: My Real Life In the Cartoon World of Wrestling by Bret Hart).”
I think it would have added to the whole situation if Bret would have kept the mic on and going when he talked to Shawn one last time. Why would I say that is Bret had the thought that he may be screwed over out of the title.
But if Bret had the suspicion of being screwed over, why would he let Shawn put him in the sharpshooter? To me, that doesn’t make sense. But anyways, Bret couldn’t be mad at anyone when the bell was called, because it was his suggestion on having HBK putting him in the sharpshooter.
“As Shawn turned me onto my stomach, I saw Earl for a split second motioning with his fingers and Vince, strangely, standing at the ring apron wearing an angry scowl. Then he screamed at the bell ringer, Mark Yeaton, “Ring the bell! Ring the fucking bell!” Yeaton, in stunned disbelief, couldn’t bring himself to do it. I frantically tried to reverse the sharpshooter on Shawn as Vince snapped hard at Yeaton—and the bell clanged, over and over (page 452, Chapter 41: ‘The Montréal Screwjob,” from the book Hitman: My Real Life In the Cartoon World of Wrestling by Bret Hart).”
What great detail on what happened. Each time I read this, I still can’t believe that this happened the way it did. Earl originally told Bret that he would make sure Bret wouldn’t be screwed over, but Earl did do what McMahon told him to do, and that’s screw Bret over. I guess a valuable lesson learned here, don’t trust anybody in an industry like professional wrestling.
“Taker blew his stack and shouted, “Fuck! I’m gonna bring his ass down here. I want Vince to explain himself to me, you and everyone else!” He kicked the dressing-room door open. As he stomped off down the hall, I could hear angry wrestlers calling out to Taker where he could find Vince (page 454, Chapter 41: ‘The Montréal Screwjob,’ from the book Hitman: My Real Life In the Cartoon World of Wrestling by Bret Hart).”
If a guy like the Undertaker was pissed off and was trying to find me, I wouldn’t hide. The Undertaker is a true badass in his own way. The Undertaker gained more respect from me after reading this, how he’s a legend and a leader in the locker room for all the wrestlers. I think Bret caught the emotion of the night with this quote above.
“I always felt they killed The Hitman character that day in Montréal. Every picture and mention of my career quickly vanished from the WWF’s website. Vince McMahon was rewriting history to suit his own purpose, erasing me like I never existed (page 461, Chapter 42: ‘Casualties of War,’ from the book Hitman: My Real Life In the Cartoon World of Wrestling by Bret Hart).”
Just as they did within a decade with Chris Benoit after the double murder-suicide, they took down all of Bret’s stuff off the website. But later on, Bret’s info went back up on the site; years later after they amended their relationship (somewhat, McMahon and Hart), Hart’s pictures and information went back up on the site. That was a childish act from McMahon and the WWE, but I think the WWE was trying to cover their end, if there was a lawsuit.
“Not surprisingly I’d became an overnight hero of a different sort for having the balls to KO Vince, but I knew he’d be coming after me. He openly challenged me on TV, but at the same time he was still talking about suing me for assault. Neither Shawn nor Hunter had the guts to admit their involvement, but it didn’t matter: The boys had seen the yellow stripes on those two snakes long ago. Soon enough, Taker called to tell me, “I got it right from Vince. That little cunt Shawn, he was in on the whole thing.” (page 461, Chapter 42: ‘Casualties of War,’ from the book Hitman: My Real Life In the Cartoon World of Wrestling by Bret Hart).”
Personally, I don’t know if that’s something to be bragging about, knocking out a guy whose twenty years older than you and a guy who you considered to be like a father for you. Do I personally believe that McMahon told Undertaker that Shawn and Hunter had some kind of involvement in it? If so, the Undertaker didn’t do anything to HBK or Triple H, because in HBK’s book (which I’ll discuss in the next section), the Dead Man didn’t do anything to Michaels to Helmsley.
When I was doing some research for this article, I found out that the WWE did an interview with Hart and put it up online two years ago for the ten year anniversary for it. Here is a small section that was up on WWE.com.
“I wish things had never changed and that I was still [in WWE],” stated a very frank Hit Man. “I look back on that incident as a bad decision by Vince McMahon and WWE. I think we all can look back and know that there was a better way to do things.”
He continued, “It’s a shame that things happened the way they did, but in the end, I think people have always respected me for being someone who always stood behind his beliefs, and stood up for himself.”
“I take issue with anyone who ever suggests that there was no other choice,” Hart asserted. “But, Vince was under a fair bit of pressure financially back then. I can feel for him a little. I think [McMahon] has told me himself – and I believe him – that he wishes things had been done differently and has regrets about it.
“It should’ve never happened, but it did happen … and I have moved on.”
Do I believe that McMahon regrets “screwing” Bret back in November 1997? Yes, I do in fact, because on many DVD’s about the subject, McMahon said that in many different interviews about it. Am I happy that Bret Hart and Vince McMahon sat down and put a DVD out for Bret? Oh heck yeah I am, because I own it. Am I happy that Bret Hart was willing to sit down with the WWE and do an interview for their website? You darn right I am. Not just because I am able to use them for research, but for everyone to enjoy Bret Hart’s years of hard work. But when it comes to Bret Hart, I feel like I covered as much as I can for his side of the argument.
The Shawn Michaels Argument
“I’m the Showstopper, I’m the Icon, I’m the Main Event!” Exclaimed Shawn Michaels during this time of wrestling history. Shawn Michaels was one cocky son-of-a-gun during this time, but looking at his talent and all the accomplishments that he had during this time, one can’t really blame him. He was the first guy to hold the WWF Heavyweight Championship, the Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship, the WWF Tag Team Championship, and the European Championship (which he currently held walking in and out of the Survivor Series 1997 in Montréal, Quebec). As well as that, in 1994, WrestleMania X, he competed in the first Ladder match against Razor Ramon for the Intercontinental Championship. He won the 1995 Royal Rumble match entering number one. He main evented WrestleMania XI. He also won 1996 Royal Rumble match, then walked into WrestleMania XII and defeated Bret Hart in overtime in a 60-minute Iron Man match.
Shawn Michaels was the 1990’s “Nature Boy” Ric Flair, on captivating people’s attentions and his flashy wrestling style. All the ladies wanted to be with him and all the guys wanted to be him. A great way of getting fans into the sport. Shawn Michaels was also one of the first small guys as World Champion, which opened the door for today’s wrestlers. But enough of making the “Heartbreak Kid” into a ‘wrestling god,’ and let’s get into his side of the story.
“From my perspective, I had won the battle with Bret. I was main-eventing Pay-Per-Views while he, as champion, was working Tag Team Matches. My confidence was back. There wasn’t anything that he was going to do or say that I worried about. People had turned on me because they had heard a lot of untrue stories, many of which were made up by Bret. I never once gave my side, because it seemed to transparent to me, and I was taught the guy who is talking the loudest and defending himself the most must be hiding something (page 263-264, Chapter 23 “Montréal,” from the book Heartbreak & Triumph by Shawn Michaels).”
Not defending himself may have hurt Michaels’ reputation to the boys in the back by Bret Hart’s false stories that he’s putting out there, trying to get under his skin. But looking back at it now, it may have helped HBK afterwards, because if he tried to defend himself before Survivor Series, it would be extremely hard to try to convince the boys in the back after Survivor Series had happened.
“We were in Kansas City—another sellout, by the way—and Hunter and I were doing an in-ring promo. I asked to see footage of my victory from Badd Blood. Instead, video from the “curtain call” came on. This was done to reinforce the insubordinate image of DX. Bret came out and confronted me, calling me a homo and a degenerate. (I believe he meant it.) I responded by saying that the only reason Bret was in the main event of Survivor Series was because he was wrestling me. Bret and I were at it again, only this time, our personal animosity towards each other blended perfectly within the storyline we were conducting (page 264, Chapter 23 “Montréal,” from the book Heartbreak & Triumph by Shawn Michaels).”
I believe that bringing out their real life hatred out on screen only benefitted their storyline and benefitted the company, for more fans would be willing to order the pay-per-view just to see how the match would turn out. And I’m sure it may be Michaels’ cockiness’ kicking in again with the above quote, saying that he’s the only reason for Bret being in the main event at the Survivor Series.
“At this point, I really didn’t know what the situation with Bret was. My feeling was that Vince wanted to get the title off him. His contract was taxing the company way too much if he wasn’t going to be the man. I didn’t know where Steve Austin was in his talks with Vince. I’m sure they already had an idea of where they were going long-range. The ideal situation for Steve was to win the title from a white-hot heel. Bret certainly wasn’t one. I, on the other hand, was there. It made sense to me that Vince would want to put the title on me and then have Steve beat me (page 264-265, Chapter 23 “Montréal,” from the book Heartbreak & Triumph by Shawn Michaels).”
What if Stone Cold Steve Austin was in the match as well, the match being a triple threat match; and having Stone Cold beat Shawn Michaels for the title several months early, then dropping it back to HBK at the next pay-per-view, Austin winning the Royal Rumble, then main event WrestleMania XIV. What if that happened? I can see the title match at WrestleMania being bittersweet for Stone Cold Steve Austin and for his fans, winning the WWF Championship twice. Personally (yes, I know I said that I wouldn’t put personal thoughts in this section, but I’m changing just for this paragraph), I would of loved to see that storyline than the one that actually happened.
That’s my personal opinion, and my story, and I’m sticking to it.
“Hunter and I talked when Vince hung up. We both felt that Vince was already thinking about a possible swerve, but he couldn’t ask me to do that. I needed to volunteer (page 266, Chapter 23 “Montréal,” from the book Heartbreak & Triumph by Shawn Michaels).”
I can see that Vince needed Michaels to volunteer because he would have felt worse if he would have forced HBK to screw over Hart. I think it shows the kind of man Shawn was at that time to volunteer to be the one where most of the heat would go after the bell would ring. Also it could have been a relief to McMahon knowing the fact that other people were thinking of a swerve, we may never know.
“We (Shawn, Vince, Hunter, and Jerry Brisco) couldn’t discuss how it was going to happen because we didn’t know how Bret and I were going to set up the match. Once Bret and I figured out what we were going to do, then, and only then, could Vince and I decide how it would go down (page 267, Chapter 23 “Montréal,” from the book Heartbreak & Triumph by Shawn Michaels).”
An explanation of the ‘hit’ that was going to go down later at the Survivor Series. And it would have been obvious to Bret if Shawn would be pushy for a certain twist of the match, and know for sure that he’s going to be screwed out of the title.
“ “I don’t want you telling anyone about this,” Vince continued. “And when it happens, you deny you knew anything about it until the end. This is my decision, but I can’t physically do it. I don’t want the heat going on you. Some is going to go on you inevitably because of your history with Bret and because you are the guy doing it, but this is my decision. I don’t want you telling anyone. If anyone asks you, you didn’t know anything about it” (page 267, Chapter 23 “Montréal,” from the book Heartbreak & Triumph by Shawn Michaels).”
A quote that I felt was needed for this article, and was needed for Shawn Michaels’ section. Why did I feel that way? That McMahon wanted the heat to go on him, not Shawn. Shawn was just doing what he was told to do by his boss, not Michaels forcing this on his boss. I believe that’s why Michaels put that in his book, and that is why I am putting this into my article. And I also believe that’s why McMahon went on Raw eight days later and said “Bret screwed Bret” to get some of the heat off of HBK and onto him. Born the character of Mr. McMahon.
“Sunday felt very strange from the moment I woke up. It was completely different from the other two days I won the championship. Becoming the champion was such a non-issue. I can’t help but to liken what was going on to a Mafia hit, and I was going to be Jack Ruby. Everyone knew it was going to be me (page 268, Chapter 23 “Montréal,” from the book Heartbreak & Triumph by Shawn Michaels).”
Feelings should have been odd because Shawn knew that he had to do what was best for the company, and he knew that the fans all the way to the boys in the back are going to hate him for having to do what he was asked to do, and that’s swerve Bret out of the title. And I feel like Shawn knew the day he woke up that his personal and professional life will be different after that night¸ after his title match with “the Hitman.”
“I guess Bret trusted me after our previous conversation, because unbeknownst to me at the time, he had talked about a swerve happening and had been told by some people not to let me have any false finishes or let me get him in any holds lest we had plans to swerve him. Maybe he just forgot in the moment. I don’t know. He came up with the Sharpshooter and I knew right away, that was it (page 272, Chapter 23, “Montréal,” from the book Heartbreak & Triumph by Shawn Michaels).”
As a shock to me too, I purposely looked in Bret’s book to see if it was his idea, well, it was Pat Patterson’s, but Bret did put his stamp of approval on it, and in turn, was Bret’s idea with Shawn’s logic that he’s using. Bret probably trusted Shawn enough to assume that he wouldn’t screw him over (and Bret also did get Earl Hebner—their ref for the night—to make sure nothing would of happen), I am sure that’s why Bret let Shawn put him in the Sharpshooter.
“As soon as Bret started pulling my leg, the bell rang. I let him pull my leg and did the best I could to carry through with our plans and have him start to reverse the move. I did not know Vince had called for the bell as well. I believe he came down to try and make it as clear as possible that it was his decision to do this and not mine. It was an attempt to deflect heat from me and put it on him, but I did tell Earl to ring the bell. After it rang, I acted like I was mad and didn’t know what was going on (page 276, Chapter 23, “Montréal,” from the book Heartbreak & Triumph by Shawn Michaels).”
After camera angles towards McMahon when the Sharpshooter was applied, you could see McMahon yelling at the time keeper to ring the bell, and McMahon even motioned to him to ring the bell. I also think that McMahon stayed out there after the bell rang to make it seem that he wanted to screw Bret out of the title and it wasn’t Michaels who had this planned from the whole time. Shawn and Earl did what they were called to do, and that’s screw over Bret Hart.
“Bret walked up to Vince and punched him in the face. Vince took what looked like to me the worst dive ever. He crumbled down to the floor, and Shane and the others helped him up. After he was back on his feet, Vince looked at Bret and said, “I owed you that.” He then left the room. I heard a little while later that Bret was so full of pride because of the punch. I don’t think he was aware that Vince knew that he was going to do it and took a dive. Once Vince left the room, Bret took his boots off, put his shoes on, grabbed his bag, and left. While all this was going on, Hunter was out in the hallway getting cussed out by Bret’s wife. They captured that in Bret’s film (page 277, Chapter 23, “Montréal,” from the book Heartbreak & Triumph by Shawn Michaels).”
I completely understand that Vince felt like he owned Bret a knock-out punch. I am sure Vince was thinking something along the lines that he screwed over one of his longest workers in the business on global television, in front of his family and kids, he owned him whatever he had coming to him. A man of honor and respect, I feel that Vince McMahon deserves for that.
The weird thing is: Bret mentioned that after the punch, he walked up and shook HBK’s hand for the match. Shawn never mentioned that the “Hitman” did anything to that matter. Why would Shawn leave that out? Michaels’ book is a WWE book, and Michaels was under a WWE contract when this book was written and published, so putting that in the book could be a threat to his job and Michaels could have been without a job.
“Bret had asked me not to bury him after he left the company. He told me he wouldn’t bury me in WCW. Considering his track record, I didn’t believe him. I told him I wouldn’t, but I did—within the context of a story line. I was doing the DX gimmick and it was part of our new attitude. A week after Montréal, Vince went on television and spoke about how “Bret screwed Bret.” Everyone knew about the swerve, and we were going to try and capitalize on it. We mocked him for thinking he could pull a fast one on us. As a heel, it was natural for me to go out there and gloat. So that’s what I did. On the November 24 edition of Raw, I brought out “Midget Bret,” put him in the Sharpshooter, and ridiculed him, as any heel would. Reality and TV came together, and our ratings jumped. Stone Cold was coming on like gangbusters and the company would ultimately bury WCW. It started the night after Montréal. It ended with Vince taking over WCW in 2001(page 280, Chapter 23, “Montréal,” from the book Heartbreak & Triumph by Shawn Michaels).”
As a result, Shawn Michaels has always been hated in Montréal ever since Survivor Series 1997. Michaels will never win any award in the country of Canada because of the “screwing” that he did to Bret on that cold November day. But this is Shawn Michaels’ side of the story.
The Vince McMahon—WWE Argument
There isn’t a book out of Vince McMahon written by himself or a biography of him done by doing an interview with him. If there was, I am pretty sure that’s one of few topics people expect McMahon to talk about, and to go deep into it. The only piece of material that is out there of McMahon’s that would come close would be his DVD that he put out, entitled “McMahon.”
After watching it last night (at least the part where they would talk about the whole “Montréal Screwing,”) they didn’t discuss much on what happened. Very similar to in the Shawn Michaels Argument section of this article, McMahon felt like he had to do what he had to do for the best of his company, not to get screwed out from Hart, Eric Bischoff, and World Championship Wrestling, and have his WWF Champion show up on WCW television, on Monday Nitro, and throw the WWF Championship belt into the trash, like what the WWF Women’s Champion did with her belt a year or so of this “screwing” of Bret Hart.
There really isn’t much to say for McMahon’s side of things. He did what he felt like he had to do. He ordered the calling of the bell during the submission of Bret Hart being in the Sharpshooter, to somewhat making it look like he quit, even though watching it he clearly didn’t, and the ref didn’t even get down to ask (poor Earl Hebner). But all-in¬¬¬-all, this is McMahon’s argument. There isn’t anything more I can say about it. He did what was best for his company, in his mind. That’s all.
The Other Wrestlers Argument
Mick Foley talked about the “Montréal Screw Job” in his first book “Have a Nice Day!: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks.” In chapter 36, to be exact, from his book. Heck, Michaels even mentioned in his book that Foley talked about it and that Foley didn’t appreciate what happened, and even walked out (but came back the next day, of course he needed a job) . I believe that Foley came back because he knew that he couldn’t go back and make a living with Extreme Championship Wrestling and knew that World Championship Wrestling wouldn’t take him back.
“No one will ever forget the Survivor Series of November 1997. It was without a doubt the most controversial night in the history of the business, the ramifications of which are still being felt today. It was also a night in which my World Wrestling Federation career nearly ended (page 446, Chapter 36, from the book Have a Nice Day! by Mick Foley).”
To go off what Mick Foley said that it was “...the most controversial night in the history of the business…” I have to agree. Besides the whole New World Order angle in the WCW in 1997 with Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, and Hulk Hogan, this would have to be the biggest angle ever to happen in the business. I feel like that the WWF (now WWE) had to counter the New World Order with something, and McMahon, sadly enough, had to screw over someone of their lively hood (even though Hart was going ‘down south’ to make more money) to get what he needed to survive, as well for his company to survive.
“There was one problem: Bret was still the World Wrestling Federation champion, and no one seemed to quite know how to get the belt off of him. Bret was offered several scenarios, but there was one story line that he was dead set against—he would not lose his title to Shawn Michaels. If Bret got his way, Stone Cold or I would have had the damn belt, and none of the bizarre series of events would have unfolded (page 446, Chapter 36, from the book Have a Nice Day! by Mick Foley).”
I wish Foley would have had more knowledge on what happened backstage, even thought his personal experience with the whole thing was a well-needed opinion in the business. I don’t personally know if that is what Bret wanted, that either Foley or Austin to get the title, because if that was the case, I am sure that McMahon would have put one of those two in, and have that third person win the title off of Bret that night. Like said, if that was Bret’s true motives. And if the whole “Screw Job” never of happened, Foley would have been out of a job, because World Championship Wrestling would of won the Monday Night War and took over the World Wrestling Federation. Foley maybe should of thought of that.
From going from the “Hardcore Legend” Mick Foley to “the Nature Boy” Ric Flair on his thoughts on the whole “Montréal Screw Job” angle.
“Don’t get me wrong—Bret could have a tremendous match when it really counted. But, day to day, I found him to be inflexible. And in 1997, when Bret punched out Vince McMahon over a finish in Montréal, I was appalled. At the time, Hart just signed with WCW. Since he happened to be the World Wrestling Federation champion, he needed to drop the title. Vince wanted Bret to do it at Survivor Series, but Hart wouldn’t. As a so-called Canadian hero—and I really don’t think Bret has anything on Wayne Gretzky—Bret refused to lose in Canada. That would be the equivalent of me saying that I’d never let anyone beat me in North Carolina. Give me a break! (page 223, Chapter 15: ‘The Real World’s Champ,’ from the book To Be the Man by Ric Flair).”
If it was in-fact that Bret didn’t want to lose to Shawn in Canada, Bret needed to lose some of his pride. Even if those two (Bret and Shawn) were in a real life feud and cocked off an attitude towards each other in the locker room backstage, what they did out in the arena with thousands of fans there live and millions watching at home, to me, that’s still no excuse not to drop the title or lose a match to someone, and that’s Ric Flair’s point. In the wrestling business, another point that Flair was getting at, was if you are leaving a company, and if you have a title, or not, your job is to put over whoever the boss has you facing in your last match. Hart refused to do that, and that irate Flair. But in Hart’s defense, when Flair came into the WWF in 1991, Flair refused to drop the NWA/WCW World Heavyweight title to Lex Luger. So, looking at Flair’s history, where could he get off by criticizing Bret Hart?
“Obviously, Vince could see that Hart thought that he was bigger than the World Wrestling Federation, and Vince did what was necessary to protect his company. When Shawn Michaels put the Hitman in a Sharpshooter, McMahon ordered the timekeeper to ring the bell. The match was over, Vince said, and Shawn was the new champion. When people argued that Vince had screwed Bret, McMahon accureately replied, “Bret screwed Bret.” (page 223-224, Chapter 15: ‘The Real World’s Champ,’ from the book To Be the Man by Ric Flair).”
Did Bret Hart really feel like he was bigger than the WWF? I would say, read his book to find out his response and make your own personal judgments. My intent of this article is not to smash anyone, and I want to keep it that way. But that’s the “Nature Boy’s” personal opinion. Did McMahon really screw over Hart, or did “Bret screwed Bret,” like what McMahon “said” a couple of weeks after the whole thing went down? Honestly, I believe McMahon had to do what he had to do. So if you want to look at that “McMahon Screwed Hart,” then that’s your own opinion. If you want to believe that “Bret Screwed Bret,” hey, so be it then. In my opinion, personally and philosophically, I believe that McMahon had to screw Bret because either way, Bret was going to screw McMahon.
“The facts are this: Hogan, for all he did, right and wrong, drew a lot of money. Savage, for all he did, right and wrong, drew a lot of money. Roddy Piper, Dusty Rhodes, and Ric Flair drew big money. Bret Hart did not. Vince had other distractions at the time, but when Bret beat me for the title, the company went to hell for a while (page 224, Chapter 15: ‘The Real World’s Champ,’ from the book To Be the Man by Ric Flair).”
Only thing I am going to say about this comment that Flair put out is: you can go and look at ratings and buy-rates on your own. I am not going to make this article about statistics and such, but I wanted to get other people’s and wrestler’s opinions on this subject. I feel like that Flair had a great opinion defending McMahon and Michaels, and which is why I am putting it in this article. I always love to read it when wrestlers bash other wrestlers, but Flair should personally get his ducks lined up in a row before he bashes anyone else.
The Eric Darsie Opinion
As people who know me on a personal level, they know that I am a Christian. For everyone, a ‘Born-Again Christian.’ I’m not a fan of using that term, but for everyone to know what I am referencing to, I am. Why, you may be asking yourself right now, am I bringing this up in an article about professional wrestling, and about the “Montréal Screw Job?” I want everyone to know where I am at with my personal stance before laying it out there for everyone. You now may be thinking, “Is this guy, Eric Darsie, going to be siding with Shawn Michaels then, how both guys claim to be ‘Born-Again Christians?’” To put any doubts aside, you have to read my personal stance about the whole “Screw Job,” right now!
…The Eric Darsie Opinion of the “Montréal Screw Job” Incident…
I can see, after researching all three sides, on why they did what they did. Would of there been an easier and better way to handle everything, of course there is. Would I of done what each party did in their position if it happened for me, knowing what each party knew? Of course I would have. I wish Michaels never would have cocked off that attitude in the locker room when Hart came up and mentioned to him that he’s willing to drop the World Title strap to him, through all of their history together. I wished Michaels would have taken a moment to think about what Hart said, and should of replied: “Bret, I would do the same thing for you if I were the Champ for you.” Enough said. That would of put a lot of respect for both men in with the guys who seen this go down and for the rest of them who would hear about this in the future. Then I believe if this would of happened, Hart wouldn’t of had a problem with not wanting to drop the belt to Michaels at the Survivor Series ’97. But instead of just throwing everything together, mixing everything as one, and tossing it at the wall, seeing how it will stick, let me give my thoughts on who all three parties acted, reacted, and give my thoughts on what I think they should of done.
…The Eric Darsie Opinion on the Bret Hart Argument…
After reading more and more in Bret’s book (Hitman: My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling), my viewpoint on the whole thing starting to shift over to siding with ‘the Hitman.’ To be dead honest, in the past twelve years, I’ve always supported what McMahon and Michaels did. Why that is a surprise to me is because I’ve been a huge Shawn Michaels fan since about 1994-1995, and still a huge fan of his, and while working on this article, my viewpoints on this subject changed. Now I have more sympathy for Bret Hart than I ever did before, HBK swore to Hart that he never had anything with this whole thing, which was a lie to Bret and a lie to God, how HBK swore to God in front of Bret that he had no involvement in such “screwing.”
Now being more knowledgeable in the subject of such “Montréal Screwing,” I feel like Bret had the right to drop the title to whom he wanted to, if it’s in his contract. I am happy that Bret was man enough to go to Shawn in the locker room and say that he’s willing to do a job for Shawn (willing to lose to Shawn and make him look great), but in return, Shawn didn’t return the favor. Could this be a pride issue, I do believe that it is. If someone came up to me personally who I’m actually having a feud with, and said what Bret did to Shawn, I would thank them (which Shawn did do) and say that I would do that same thing for them. Bret tried to be professional, and it wasn’t returned, so I do not blame Bret for doing what he did.
Bret Hart, if you ever read this, thank you for sticking up for your morals. Thank you for the memories that you gave all the wrestling fans.
…The Eric Darsie Opinion of the Shawn Michaels Argument…
Do I agree with what Shawn did? Sure. Now wait a second, I first said I agree with Bret, now I’m agreeing with Shawn? Yes, I am. Bret I already went into. Shawn did what he was told to do and what he thought was best for the company. Also, Shawn tried to mend things between Bret and himself. Could it be his Christian beliefs kicking in telling him to go to Bret and ask for forgiveness? I’m sure that it probably played some role. But to me, that also shows the kind of man Shawn is, and the kind of man Shawn once was.
Asking for forgiveness wouldn’t change a thing, and I don’t know if that’s what Bret expects, that he accepting Shawn’s forgiveness and hand in apology is going to change what happened. And to be honest, no one can go back and rewrite history. God had planned what went down, even if you don’t believe in God.
But going back to Shawn Michaels, I don’t think he had really any option of the matter but to do what he did. McMahon needed to get the WWF Championship strap off of Hart, and Michaels was the ordered “hit man,” no pun attended. If there was a different guy, I don’t think the wrestling business would of went down the same road that it did (obviously) and the Casket match at the Royal Rumble with the Undertaker at the Royal Rumble 1998 wouldn’t of happened (maybe the Undertaker purposely hurt Shawn’s back in payback for “screwing” Bret?), and Stone Cold Steve Austin wouldn’t of gotten the torch from Michaels at WrestleMania XIV.
…The Eric Darsie Opinion of the Vince McMahon—WWE Argument…
Mr. McMahon, I am sure you got this asked a lot, but why did you do what you did? Couldn’t you believe that Hart was willing to come back the next night after the Survivor Series? But again, if you didn’t do what you felt is right, do you think Hart would of came back the next night and gave the belt back? If Hart did come back, and gave you the Championship back, do you think you could of beat WCW in the Monday Night War?
Thinking more and more of what happened, Mr. McMahon, I feel like I would have done the same thing if I would have been put in the same situation that you were in. I do remember hearing that somewhere you said that people cannot judge each party because we weren’t in your shoes, but really Vince? Vince, listen to me, listen to a life-long fan. McMahon, after twelve years of thinking, philosophizing about the whole thing, I totally agree with you on what you did.
…The Eric Darsie Opinion on the Whole Event Argument…
Quite honestly, I do wish that this never happened. Yes, this did help the WWF beat WCW in the ratings during the Monday Night War period of professional wrestling history. I can totally understand that Bret having anger towards Shawn and Vince after the whole thing happened and I do understand if there’s still something there from Bret’s end of things, wanting nothing to do with Shawn Michaels, the character or the man, the Vince McMahon and the WWE. But I also understand where Michaels and McMahon had to do what they thought they had to do for the best of the company. For Michaels, it was his job to listen to McMahon, and McMahon, he couldn’t have his top guy walk out with the WWF Championship and walk onto his competition’s television and drop the WWF title into the trash can, like what the Woman’s Champion did (which explains why she never got a job back with the WWE. If you don’t know whom I’m talking about, Google the ‘Monday Night War’ and it should be listed. If not, come and find me, and I’ll let you know who it was).
But this whole thing did happen. What now? I believe that the whole thing helped changed the whole landscape of professional wrestling. I personally believe that if the whole “Montréal Screwing” never happened, the WWF would have been bought by World Championship Wrestling, and wrestling these days would be very different, extremely different than what we know today. And knowing how WCW was ran towards the end of its time around, I do believe the wrestling business would be a lot worse than what we know today (and wrestling today isn’t too well today, to be quite honest with you).
The Conclusion
After looking into the “Montréal Screw Job” and writing about it, researching it, and philosophizing about it, I believe that how the chips were stacked and how things fell, I wouldn’t think things would be the same if things didn’t go the way it did. Did “Bret Screw Bret?” I do believe so. As much as I hate saying it now, but I do believe that. I think Bret should have swallowed his pride, even thought it would have been extremely difficult for a man to do, but I think Bret should have been the bigger man and done that. But what happened did happen, and we can’t go back and change things that happened. I do believe that if this whole event didn’t happen, the business would be extremely different. I do believe that this whole event will always be discussed and debated on who was write, who was wrong, should Bret of lost, should McMahon allow him to come back the next night and surrender the WWF Championship, so-on-and-so-forth.
We all could keep going keep debating on what should have went on, what should have happened. But why keep wasting time on debating it. Why say that? Because it happened and we, or no one for that fact, can change what did happen. All three parties believe that what they did was right, so I believe that we as fans cannot say who was right because of not personally going through what they went thought and making the “right” decisions. Why I put right in quotations because what is right and wrong completely up to each individual person. As a conclusion, the “Montréal Screw Job” came and went, was here and now past. All we can do is talk about it I guess, and watch the hours of footage that’s out about it. But one thing we cannot do is say who was truly right and who was truly wrong. Thank you for your time on reading this article!
