The Montreal Screwjob

Most people dismiss professional wrestling as a silly, fake sport filled with bad acting. While the matches are pre-determined and the wrestlers often have to showcase some less than stellar acting, the wrestling business is one of the most fascinating things you could ever read into. For a fake sport, there are times when egos and emotions run wild and the business becomes very real. On November 9, 1997, wrestling became real for a few brief moments that changed the entire business forever.

World Wrestling Federation Champion Bret “Hitman” Hart was nearing the end of his contract with the company and WWF—remember, this was pre-WWE—owner Vince McMahon found himself in a strange position. Here was a champion nearing the end of their contract and getting ready to jump ship to the WWF’s competition, World Championship Wrestling. Two years previous, WWF Women’s Champion Alundra Blayze went to WCW with the WWF belt and threw it in the garbage on the live broadcast of WCW Monday Nitro. This put McMahon in a tough position as now he had to find a way to take the belt off of Hart to prevent something similar from happening. Hart was more than willing to drop the belt, but dropping it to Shawn Michaels in Montreal at the 1997 Survivor Series was something he refused to do. What came next is perhaps the most infamous moment in WWF/E history.

First some background. Bret Hart was a 14 year veteran of the WWF. He was a two time tag team champion, a two time Intercontinental champion, and was tied for the most WWF title reigns (5) with Hulk Hogan. He was a loyal company man through and through, never refusing to lose matches or make somebody look good, and in 1996 he took a 20 year contract offer from Vince McMahon rather than sign a three year deal with WCW. With this WWF contract, he wouldn’t have made as much as he would have in the WCW deal until about 2008. Despite this decrease in pay, the main part of the contract was that Hart would receive full compensation if he was injured and would also have creative control of his character over his last thirty days in the WWF.

In the early fall of 1997, Vince told Bret he’d be unable to make a few payments on Bret’s contract. A few days later he told Bret he’d be unable to pay the entire contract and he’d be better off signing with WCW. Bret was in the midst of a unique storyline that made him a heel in America but a face in every other country. He’d constantly cut promos talking about Canada’s superiority over the United States. International fans ate it up. Bret Hart was voted as one of the 50 greatest Canadians by the Canadian people. He is a national hero there.

The WWF played that up in the feud between Hart and Shawn Michaels. Michaels and Hart had been rivals since 1996 as they were the two best wrestlers in the company/world. While the rivalry had been mainly on-screen, by 1997 much of their heat carried on back stage. Their feud began to intensify on screen and off with Michaels attacking Hart’s family in promos and humping the Canadian flag, and Hart carrying a great deal of anger towards Michael’s handling of the WWF Championship picture in the months previous.

Back at WrestleMania XII in March of ’96, Hart and Michaels faced off in an hour long ironman match. Hart put Michaels over, giving Michaels his first WWF title. Michaels had serious ego and drug issues and they only got worse over the course of the next year. At WrestleMania XIII, Michaels was expected to face Hart and drop the belt to Bret as a return for being put over the year before. Instead, Michaels claimed he might have to retire because of a knee injury and the title was vacated. Within a couple weeks, Michaels was cleared to return.

This infuriated Hart, and their feud escalated from there with Hart cutting promos saying Michaels wasn’t really hurt and Michaels cutting promos breaking “kayfabe”—the fictional universe in which wrestling storylines take place—to take real shots at Hart, like the accusation that he slept with the valet Sunny. In August of ’97 Hart regained the WWF Championship and was going to carry it into a match at Survivor Series with Michaels, but suddenly those plans seemed to be derailed.

At an event in England, British superstar and Hart’s brother-in-law Davey Boy Smith was supposed to defeat Michaels to retain his European Championship, since England was his “territory.” At the last minute McMahon changed the booking to have Michaels go over Smith and become European Champion. Of course, Hart was upset by this. As Hart’s anti-America storyline continued, Michaels continually asked Hart to call him and Triple H “homos” and “gay” during his interviews. Hart began to suspect this storyline was being done to kill his drawing power in America when he went to WCW, and turn a lot of people against him since he would seem like he hates gay people.

In spite of the conflicts the two men had, Hart took Michaels aside in early October and told him he would have no problems dropping the championship to him. Michaels responded by saying he wouldn’t do the same thing for Hart. It was at this point Hart refused to do the job for Michaels in Montreal at Survivor Series. Michaels was throwing tantrums backstage, only looking out for his friends, and would threaten to quit for WCW if he didn’t get his way, making him one of the most disliked people in the locker room and Hart decided to stand up for the other wrestlers and the business and demand to put over somebody who honored the business over themselves. Since he had creative control over his last thirty days and he was leaving for WCW after Survivor Series, Hart began to come up with plans to drop the belt to anybody other than Michaels. Hart offered to drop the title to Stone Cold Steve Austin or Undertaker at any show before Survivor Series, but the Survivor Series plans with Michaels stuck.

Before the show, McMahon and Hart came to an agreement that there would be a double disqualification and the next night on Raw Hart would forfeit his championship and give a farewell speech to thank McMahon and all of the fans then leave. McMahon had secretly devised a much worse plan with Michaels, Triple H, Pat Patterson, and a few other members of his inner circle. Michaels would apply Hart’s finishing maneuver, a submission hold called the Sharpshooter, and the referee would simply ring the bell without Hart ever submitting, thus screwing him out of the title and humiliating him in front of the wrestling world.

The referee for the match was Earl Hebner, a friend of Hart’s. Hebner swore on the lives of his children that he would not screw Hart over. Other wrestlers told Hart to be careful about a screwjob, but Hart felt McMahon would allow him to leave with dignity after 14 years of loyal service and Hebner's word reassured him. The match was worked out that Hebner would get knocked out, Michaels would put Hart in the Sharpshooter, Hart would reverse it but with no referee Michaels’ submission wouldn’t count. Hart would then try to wake up the referee only to be given Michaels’ Sweet Chin Music, then another referee would come out but Hart’s brother Owen and Davey Boy Smith would break up the count, causing the brawl that would lead to the double DQ.

During the match Hebner was knocked down but rather than stay down, he popped back up. Michaels locked in the Sharpshooter but rather than allow Hart to reverse it as planned, Michaels gripped Hart’s legs harder so he couldn’t get up. Hebner yelled to the timekeeper to ring the bell. Vince McMahon had been standing at ringside during the match and ran to the timekeeper yelling, “Ring the fucking bell!” And just like that, Hart was screwed over.

Visibly stunned, Hart stood up and spit in McMahon’s face as Michaels ran out with the championship. Backstage, McMahon locked himself in his office while Hart confronted Michaels in the locker room to ask him if he had a part in the screwjob. Michaels denied it profusely and Hart said he would believe him based on how Michaels acted on Raw the next night. Michaels said he wouldn’t bring the belt out on Raw and wouldn’t insult Bret. Undertaker made McMahon come out of his office and apologize to Bret before the other wrestlers revolted, but when McMahon went to talk to Hart, Hart punched him in the face. According to Hart, and it is worth noting that WWE commentator and wrestling guru Jim Ross has said Hart’s story on what happened is the definitive one, a large majority of other wrestlers were on his side and threatened to quit, but Hart asked that they not jeopardize their own careers for him.

The next night on Raw, Michaels came out with the championship and bragged about beating Hart and brought a midget dressed as Hart to beat up. Hart’s brothers-in-law Smith and Jim Neidhart left WWF for WCW, but Hart’s brother Owen was unable to get out of his contract and died in a stunt gone wrong for his entrance on a WWF pay per view about a year and a half later. After the screwjob and Owen, it seemed unlikely that the WWF and Bret Hart would ever work together again.

After a stint where he was completely misused and made nearly irrelevant in WCW, Hart’s career would end tragically in 2000 due to post-concussion syndrome after being kicked in the head, and he would spend his time outside the ring writing a blog ripping apart other wrestlers like Shawn Michaels and Hulk Hogan. In 2002 he suffered a stroke though he has since recovered. Shawn Michaels retired in 1998 due to a back injury, but returned in 2002. During the time he was away from the business he sobered up and became a born-again Christian.

In 2005, Vince McMahon made amends with Hart and the WWE released a three-disc DVD set featuring a documentary and some of Hart’s greatest matches. The next year Hart was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame and asked that Michaels not attend the ceremony. Hart and Michaels have since made amends both in real life and in kayfabe, and last year sat down for an interview for a WWE DVD in which they broke kayfabe and discussed their rivalry and Montreal at length. When Michaels retired in 2010, he gave a speech where he thanked his best friend Triple H, the production team at WWE, Vince McMahon, and Bret Hart. He said Hart was right to say all the things he did about Michaels over the years, and he thanked Hart for forgiving him for his mistakes. Hart returned to WWE television in 2010 and McMahon had Hart crush him in a match at WrestleMania XXVI as an apology for Montreal.

The Monreal Screwjob had a major effect on the business, as it helped usher the WWF into what was known as the “Attitude Era.” The product became edgier in terms of violence and language. The character of Mr. McMahon was born, since it was never really acknowledged that Vince McMahon ran the company before Montreal. Now he was an on-air character as the vicious boss who would lie, cheat, and steal to get what he wanted. That led to a monster feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin that helped WWF beat WCW in the ratings wars and keep them as the premier company in sports entertainment. Bret Hart getting screwed ended up saving the business in a sick way.

The Screwjob helped to turn more of the locker room against Michaels. A few months later, Michaels was retiring because of his back injury but he was trying to politic his way into beating Steve Austin at WrestleMania XIV so he could retire as champion and surrender the belt on Raw the next night. There are different accounts on what exactly happened, but Undertaker threatened Michaels in some way and told him he had to do what was right for business and drop the belt. People aren’t sure exactly what Taker did but have heard he threatened to break Michaels’ legs or threw Michaels off a wall, and as recently as 2002 Taker said if Michaels didn’t do the right thing he would do what needed to be done and it would have been a “long night” for Michaels. Montreal also caused Shawn Michaels to be booed every time he appeared in Canada for the next 13 years.

The most interesting part of the entire Montreal saga is how McMahon and Michaels’ portrayal of events changed over the years while Hart’s has always stayed the same. In the 2005 documentary WWE released about Hart, McMahon said there is regret on both sides over what happened at Montreal, but Hart states at least three times that he stands by his actions. In the 14 years and about two months since the Montreal Screwjob happened, Hart has never changed his story or his belief that what he did was right.

Meeting the Hitman

The list of celebrities (or at the very least have achieved some modicum of fame) I’ve met over the years is tiny. There was an autograph signing with Bruce Campbell when I was like 13 and I met the WWF wrestler Haku when I was six. Before a reading at the Palace Theatre I met David Sedaris before his show and t it was very awkward. I also ran into Donald Sutherland at an IKEA furniture in LA, but my family wouldn’t let me “disturb” him. I made the point that any actor walking around an IKEA while carrying a man purse is already at least a bit disturbed, but to no avail. Besides that, my time around famous people has not been particularly noteworthy, with one exception.

The date: April 26, 2009. The place: Collector’s Realm, Poughkeepsie, NY. The person in question: former WWF superstar Bret “Hitman” Hart. The Hitman was in town for an autograph signing at Collectors Realm before heading to the Mid-Hudson Civic Center, where he was making an appearance for Northeast Wrestling (NEW). Also with him at this signing was his former tag team partner Jim “the Anvil” Neidhart, but I didn’t really care about meeting him. Not to digress, but the Anvil was always a bit of a tool and Bret was obviously the workhorse in their team.

With me on this journey to meet Bret Hart was my brother Joe and my girlfriend Brie came down to hang out, but not to see the Hitman. The signing was set to take place between noon and 2 p.m., but you had to purchase autograph/photo tickets in advance. We purchased our tickets a few weeks before the signing and it was a good idea, as Raymond Ave. was packed with several hundred people from all over waiting to meet Hart. This was a surprise, as I didn’t think many people had ever heard of Collectors Realm. I only knew of it because Brie went to Vassar College down the road from the store. While overhearing multiple conversations over the course of the three hour wait in the ninety degree heat, I found out that Collectors Realm evidently hosts autograph signings with ex-wrestlers regularly.

The meet and greet took place in a back room on the second or third floor of the building that holds Collectors Realm and the other shops on the block. To get up to this room, we had to wait outside and eventually make our way into a cramped hallway reminiscent of a narrower version of a high school hall. From here, the ninety degree heat from outside transformed into a a hotter, humid environment that reeked of sweaty wrestling nerds. By the time we got to the threshhold to meet Bret, Joe and I were clammy messes clutching our items to be signed, our hair all kinds of dishevelled and eyes gone dead from the hours of heat and waiting. The only consolation was that we were by far not the dorkiest people there, but that is something to discuss another time.

By the time we got inside the room to meet Bret, our shabby condition was the least of our concerns. More important was the fact that the Hitman looked pissed. I should explain this: several years ago, Bret had a stroke that limited him a great deal. He recovered enough to walk and talk and appear basically normal, but you could tell when he was tired and worn down. After three plus hours of shaking hands, signing autographs, and taking pictures he looked miserable.

Once it was our turn, we decided to try to beat his misery with sheer enthusiasm. We came upon the Hitman with Rollins like focus - solid handshakes and a “nice to meet you” with solid eye contact. It definitely took him aback, but none of us (me, Joe, and the Hitman) had that much time to react, because it was photo time. For the record, the picture ended up looking absolutely ridiculous. After that we were marshaled out of the room, where we had to get back in line to get our items signed.

Waiting in line again afforded us the opportunity to watch the Hitman interact with his adoring public. He was mostly brief with them, a bit cold and abrupt. To be fair to the man, he had been doing this for hours and for years before this, really. It had to be old hat. He came alive for a moment with the person in front of us, who mentioned the drawing with a bulldog on the inside cover of his autobiography and brought his own bulldog with him for the photo. Bret then asked the guy what he thought of the book, but clammed right up and merely signed it and sent the guy away once he said he hadn’t started it yet.

And then it was our turn. Joe went first, carrying an action figure to be signed. When he got up to him, he told Bret something along the lines of “You were the greatest.” Bret nodded appreciatively and thanked him while signing. I brought his autobiography with me to get signed and as I handed it to him, I struggled to come up with something interesting to say. What I ended up telling him was severely dorky, although not as bad as the “It’s still real to me dammit” guy.

I told him a true story from my youth, circa 1992. At the time, Hulk Hogan was on his way out of the WWF and Bret was poised to become the new top face of the company. It goes more or less as follows: When I was a little kid, I was a fan of you and Hulk Hogan, but I wasn’t sure who would win. So I asked my grandfather and he said, “Hogan is big, but Bret Hart is a real wrestler.” From that point on, you were my favorite.

It was weird. He looked at me and asked my name. I gave it and he signed my book. I remember thinking, “That’s all? Name and signature? What a dick.”

But then, he spoke. “Hogan was always afraid of me. He knew I would show him up, show everyone what he really was.”

At this time, my brother and I were wide eyed. We knew he didn’t like Hogan, but he was going on a tirade. Unfortunately, the Collectors Realm staff pushed us away to keep the line moving while Bret was going off on Hogan. As we looked back on our way out, Bret was still talking with an impassioned look in his eye.

It was, in a few words, both surreal and awesome. We managed to meet Bret Hart (a childhood hero) and have a memorable experience in doing so. After hours of sweating and standing around like characters in a bad Kevin Smith movie, the payoff was worth it. When celebrity encounters can often be major disappointments, the Hitman truly delivered one for the ages.