25 WWE Champions Who Never Got Their Rematch

3. Bret Hart

Montreal Screwjob Bret Hart Shawn Michaels
WWE.com

Title Lost: WWF Championship
Lost Title To: Shawn Michaels

Ah, the Montreal Screwjob. The backstory, match and aftermath is well-known to any fan who even remotely follows wrestling. Shawn, Earl and Vince screwed Bret out of the WWE title and sent him on his way to WCW in 1997.

Bret never wrestled for WWE again (the “matches” he competed in when he returned in 2010 simply shouldn’t and can’t count – he threw a few punches and kicks and slapped on a couple Sharpshooters), while Michaels would have his own unceremonious “end” to his WWE career (more of a long hiatus) just a few months later.

In hindsight, it’s a little surprising that Hart (and WCW) didn’t try to make hay out of the Screwjob and the fact Hart never got a title rematch. They could have pushed him as still the champ from “up north,” given him a belt and let him state his claim over and over. It would have been far better than the crappy angles we got for the next three years.

Contributor
Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.