10 Wrestling Myths Debunked
1. Bret Could've Shown Up In WCW As WWF Champion
The Montreal Screwjob is a legendary incident of controversy in wrestling history. Although arguments about how and why it went down persist to this very day, the general consensus is that Earl Hebner, on the orders of Vince McMahon and with the involvement of HBK, called for the bell during Bret Hart versus Shawn Michaels during the main event of 1997's Survivor Series despite Hart not submitting to Michaels' sharpshooter. The justification for these actions was to take the prestigious WWF Championship away from Hart who was on his way to the WWF's rivals, WCW.
The myth that needs debunking here is not whether or not the Screwjob was a work, but that Vince had to take the title off Bret so he didn't show up the next night on Nitro with the belt. Fans will claim that The Hitman would've caused a PR disaster less than 24 hours after Survivor Series and embarrassed his former employers by taking their most prized possession to their arch-nemesis just like Alundra Blaze did.
In reality, WCW were already in court for that incident due to belts being considered IP of the company and wouldn't have risked another lawsuit. Plus, Bret was still contracted to the WWF the night after Survivor Series and even offered to drop the title on that night's Raw originally. So, in the words of Vince McMahon himself, there's absolutely no chance in hell Bret Hart could've shown up in WCW as WWF Champion.