10 Best Booking Decisions In Wrestling History

5. The Montreal Screwjob

The Elite Comeback
WWE.com

Vince McMahon could have strapped up Steve Austin in late 1997. Or Ken Shamrock. Bret Hart was willing to do business with the pair of them, and he had plentiful time after Survivor Series to do it.

Vince didn't have to screw Bret Hart and incur the wrath of the locker room by throwing away his longest-standing relationship with a talent beloved by most of "the boys".

He did, listening (separately) to Jim Cornette and Triple H. McMahon, as he so often did, said "F*ck 'em". He knew that the locker room would get over it. He also knew that it wasn't quite Austin's time, and also the value of a transitional champion. (He also really, really liked Shawn Michaels.)

The word "decision" is applied a bit more loosely here. Vince didn't dream up his feud with Steve Austin before he rang for the bell - like the sack of evil, narcisstic trash that he is, he thought he was the babyface - but in binning off Bret, he binned off both a genius and an antiquated approach to his business. Bret was the last, fraying moral fibre, and once that was torn, Vince stormed ahead with the Attitude Era and made more money than ever.

If he didn't know the exact repercussions of the butterfly effect, he knew the direction of the flight and followed it.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!