7 Greatest Backfires In Wrestling History

In 1996, Vince McMahon signed Bret Hart to an unprecedented 20-year contract, but by 1997, he could no longer afford to pay "The Hitman." McMahon urged Hart to see if WCW would take him, and when he found out they would, Hart signed with the company. The only problem was that he was still WWE Champion.

Hart, who had creative control over his character, would be defending the title against Shawn Michaels in Montreal. He refused to lose the belt that evening, saying that he'd job to anyone, anywhere, just not Michaels in Canada. As he would still be in WWE for another month, it shouldn't have been a problem, but McMahon infamously double-crossed Hart during the match, using a false submission to take the title off of him.

All of a sudden, Vince McMahon was the most hated man in wrestling. He had screwed over his most loyal star, meaning that his own employees couldn't trust him. Instead of running from the controversy, though, McMahon embraced it. He used the momentum of the screwjob to make himself the top heel in a company, a star that he never had to worry would abandon WWE.

By the following year, the feud between McMahon and Steve Austin drove the company to new heights of popularity, ushering in WWE's most lucrative period ever.