10 Wrestlers Who Jumped Ship (And Ruined Their Careers)

Oh, Bret. Poor old Bret. What a grand f*cking disaster this was.

Though the Montreal Screwjob was effectively a catalyst for WWE's most successful period, the man on the other side was ruined soon after. Hart's decision to jump to competitors WCW spurred the whole thing in the first place. Had Eric Bischof & co. any idea how to capitalise on the moment's infamy, they could have turned it into a money storyline, and made 'The Hitman' every bit as important to them as he was McMahon. Instead, they shoehorned him into bloated New World Order angle, switched his alignment about 40 times in the first year, and generally p*ssed every opportunity up the wall.

The writing was typically awful, and Bret never once looked happy throughout the run. Burned by WWE, then again by WCW's booking, Hart coasted on bitterness. Then, to compound his misery, Goldberg booted him clean in the head at Starrcade '99, spurring the concussion issues that eventually destroyed his in-ring career. Hart did return to the ring after that, but was forced to step away entirely when the full extent of his problems came to light.

A deluge of destructive dominos fell within the space of a couple of years. Joining WCW didn't tank Bret's career alone, but the events that transpired there did.