Earl Hebner Believes Montreal Screwjob Was A Work
The former WWE ref thinks he was the one who got screwed.
Former WWE referee Earl Hebner has revealed that he believes the Montreal Screwjob was a work. Hebner appeared on VOC Nation's In The Room Podcast to discuss both his tumultuous tenure in the WWE, and also his current work in AEW.
Hebner was the third man in the ring on that infamous night at Survivor Series 1997 and was responsible for following Vince McMahon's instructions to signal that the match was over and screw Bret Hart out of the WWF World Heavyweight Championship.
However, Hebner stated on the podcast that he believes that his role in the incident was interchangeable and that, in fact, he was the only party not privy to the intended outcome:
"At that time, I really didn’t think it was a work. Today, I think it was. Somebody had to be the gopher, somebody had to ring the bell, and to make it look official, it was me... if you look back at the tapes, Vince and Sgt. Slaughter was at that ring. Regardless of whether I rang that bell or not after the sharpshooter, somebody was gonna ring it to make it official."
Despite his involvement in the incident, Hebner also stated that he and Bret have since reconciled and that the pair are now friends:
"Now that I’ve been with Bret, talked to Bret, been on some indy shows with him, we’re great friends now, believe me. He calls me here and there, and I talk to him. I’m pretty sure that both of them knew it was a work…the only one that didn’t know at the time was me…I know I [got screwed], but I don’t know if they did.”
Hebner isn't the first prominent figure in wrestling to state their belief that Bret may have been in on the plan all along. In a shoot interview with Title Match Wrestling, Kevin Nash stated his view that the whole thing had been worked.