“What If” Scenarios That Would Have Transformed WWE History

Easily one of the most controversial nights in professional wrestling history, the night a WCW-bound Bret Hart was horrendously screwed out of his WWE Championship by Vince McMahon and his pals in Montreal ultimately led to arguably the greatest era in company history.

In the wake of that jaw-dropping Survivor Series 1997 conclusion, the despicable Mr. McMahon "character" was born, 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin was given the perfect heel figure to clash with as he continued his rise to the top of the industry, and WWE eventually conquered their Atlanta rivals in the Monday Night Wars.

But would all of those things have been guaranteed, had Bret stayed put in WWE and without that dreadful trick in Montreal?

For one thing, Hart would have likely continued to be one of the company's top stars and not had his own legendary career brought to a screeching halt thanks to a sickening Goldberg boot.

And while WWE certainly had begun leaning towards a more attitude-filled product in the time leading up to that infamous Hart vs. Shawn Michaels fight, it was the controversial Montreal Screwjob that really ignited the era that would ultimately transform the likes of Austin, The Rock, Mick Foley, and Triple H into genuine superstars.

With no 'Bret screwed Bret' interview or the vitriol aimed at Vince post-Screwjob, too, that aforementioned big bad boss figure possibly wouldn't have been created either.

Who knows if there'd even still be a WWE without that night in Montreal.