10 Best WWE Championship Reigns Under 100 Days

As the audience's aversion against Bret Hart began to wane in 1997, he won the WWF Championship from The Undertaker at that year's SummerSlam. He would go on to have successful title defenses against The Patriot, 'Taker, Faarooq, and Ken Shamrock, and all seemed great for The Hitman.

Seemed.

You see, though Hart was still a major draw and not a complete knob like his actual enemy Shawn Michaels was, he elicited a lot of anxiety behind the scenes. Because the WWF could no longer afford his lucrative contract, he reluctantly signed a three-year deal with WCW at the request of Vince McMahon. Although he said he wouldn't do so, McMahon was anxious that Hart would take the WWF Championship with him to the rival brand.

He had to resort to drastic measures.

Going against their verbal agreement to have him defeat Michaels at Survivor Series (he wasn't too keen on losing in Canada, especially to Shawn) and then forfeit the title the next night, McMahon demanded that the referee declare Michaels the winner via submission, even though he never tapped out to the Sharpshooter.

This infamous incident ended Hart's 98-day reign and his positive working relationship with McMahon for the next decade, but it helped start what would become the company's biggest boom period.