5. Montreal Screwjob
Survivor Series 1998 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_T1euMQwZPQ Often well hear none wrestling fans saying how it is fake, but if any one night proved it wasnt fake, it was Survivor Series 1998. On that night it became very, very real. Bret Hart had been a staple of WWF television for over a decade, winning numerous tag team and singles titles and having many classic matches, and few people would have seen Hart leaving the way he did. From what we now know, The Hitman was signed to a long and expensive contract with the WWF and due to their losing streak in the Monday Night Wars and the ever-growing popularity of WCW, they were losing money quickly. Hart agreed to leave the contract and join the opposition. At Survivor Series Hart was supposed to lose the WWF Championship to Shawn Michaels. As the PPV was taking place in his native Canada, Hart refused to drop the title and instead promised to turn up on Raw the next day and hand the belt over to McMahon. That never happened. Former WWF wrestlers had turned up on WCW TV before with their belts and to see Bret Hart with the WWF Championship on Nitro would have been hugely embarrassing and a final nail in the coffin for the company. So, instead, as Michaels applied the Sharpshooter on Bret, Vince called for Earl Hebner to call for the bell. The match was over, Michaels was the champion and he quickly escaped to the back. Hart, realising what had taken place, spat at Vince and began to tear apart the announcing desk. That night is etched in wrestling history, not only for the Screwjob but for the seeds it planted. On that night Mr McMahon was born.