The Montreal Screwjob is an incident that has been documented so very many times since 1997, most comprehensively in WWE's 2011 documentary Greatest Rivalries: Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart DVD. As you've heard, the issue was Vince McMahon, unable to pay Bret Hart the amount they had agreed upon, had freed Bret Hart from him WWE contract to negotiate with WCW - while The Hitman was still the company's world champion. The solution was obvious - have Bret drop the title to Shawn Michaels at their planned match at Survivor Series. Unfortunately, things weren't that simple. Bret, having had problems with Shawn numerous times during their years working together, told HBK that he'd be happy to job for him. Shawn, well documented as being difficult to work with during that time, said something to the effect of 'I appreciate you saying that, but I wan't you to know, I wouldn't do the same for you.' This, understandably, pissed off the Excellence of Execution, who then refused to drop the title to Shawn at Survivor Series. The creative back-and-forth is documented by Jim Cornette below - but the long story short is, Vince McMahon couldn't come up with a finish that pleased Bret, so he told him he'd retain via DQ and devise the infamous Screwjob with Shawn, Triple H and eventually Earl Hebner. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VfXWbsFAG8 The incident caused bad blood between Bret and Vince for years, and it would be almost thirteen years before Bret would be seen on WWE Raw again.
Journalism graduate from the University of Technology, Sydney.
As a child, when I wasn't doing typical Australian things like fending off dingoes while riding in the pouches of kangaroos, I was watching wrestling.
