Montreal Screwjob

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The events surrounding the main event of the Survivor Series 1997, the World Wrestling Federation Championship title match between title holder Bret Hart and challenger Shawn Michaels , are called Montreal Screwjob . This title match took place on November 9th at the Molson Center in Montréal ( Québec , Canada ).

In wrestling, a screw job is an unsettled outcome of a wrestling match. The so-called Montreal screw job went down as the most important screw job in wrestling history to date, as it ended Bret Hart's career in the WWF in front of a home audience differently than was agreed between him and Vince McMahon .

history

The story began in the fall of 1996, when Bret Hart couldn't decide whether he should stay with WWF (now WWE) for 1.5 million US dollars a year or accept Ted Turner's offer and switch to WCW . WWF boss Vince McMahon could not deal with this indecision and did not want to put everything on Hart, only to risk that he could switch to the competition after his WWF contract expired. McMahon therefore officially offered Hart a ten-year contract and both agreed a short time later that Hart should remain a crowd- pleaser in Canada and Europe , but should make a gimmick change to the heel for the audience in the US . From then on, Hart was to insult the American wrestling fans as the villain because of their alleged glorification of violence and the depraved youth and the newly worked out storyline Canada vs. USA represented externally.

McMahon then made it clear to Hart in September 1997 that the WWF was not as well positioned financially as the rival league WCW, and wanted to swap the ten-year contract that had previously been concluded for another well-paid one. McMahon also suggested that Hart cut his salary, roughly $ 30,000 a week, a little more than half, and pay him the rest later when the company was financially better. Hart did not respond to this suggestion. He was now five times WWF champion, which only Hulk Hogan had achieved before him . Bret Hart had creative control over his character for the last 30 days of his contract and was allowed to determine how the matches would end in the last month of his WWF career. McMahon made him an offer to lose his Survivor Series title and win it back on December 12 of that year. That would make him a six-time champion and, to date, the sole record holder. But the "Hitman" didn't want to lose in front of the home crowd, but rather to end his career at WWF as a champion. It was agreed that there would be a title defense on Sunday in the Survivor Series and Bret Hart should lose the title on the following Monday at RAW .

The match

Hart had meanwhile accepted WCW's offer and signed the contract. In his last days at WWF he wanted to stick to the match procedures that had been agreed with McMahon. McMahon assumed, however, that the WCW would present the now contractually bound Hart with a bang. He feared that Hart could switch to World Championship Wrestling with the WWF champion belt and reduce its value there, for example by throwing it in a garbage can, as WWF women's champion Alundra Blayze (Madusa Micheli) had done two years earlier . In order to prevent this, a secret agreement between McMahon, Hart's opponent Shawn Michaels and the referee Earl Hebner came about without Hart's knowledge.

Towards the end of the actual match, Michaels took Hart into his own surrender, the Sharpshooter , as agreed. Hart was supposed to get out of this, but McMahon gave Hebner a sign, whereupon he let the ring bell ring and the match ended. Michaels officially won in front of the horrified eyes of the Canadian audience as well as a visibly irritated Bret Hart, who only understood the sudden end of the match moments later. Shawn Michaels became the new WWF champion. When McMahon came to the ring after the match to congratulate new champion Shawn Michaels, Hart spat in his boss's face in his anger over the outcome of the match. He then disappeared from the hall together with Shawn Michaels and other officials and left a completely disillusioned Bret Hart alone in the ring, who now vented his anger on the equipment of a commentator's desk and then also disappeared into the catacombs.

Bret Hart went furiously to McMahon's office to confront him. However, this had locked itself. Hart then withdrew to his dressing room. A short time later, McMahon appeared to have a clarifying conversation. But Hart threatened to beat him if he didn't disappear by the time he had finished changing his clothes. However, since McMahon did not want to leave, Hart hit him hard in the face after a brief scuffle.

Vince McMahon suffered swelling of his left eye and a concussion . Shortly afterwards, in the TV documentary Hitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows , which was being shot at the time , the Canadian confessed: “The old man ran into my fist… ok, I helped a little - I hit as hard as I could . "

epilogue

Vince McMahon then became a hateful figure among Canadian wrestling fans, and the scandal was treated as the most talked-about event in wrestling years later. At the same time, the Montreal Screwjob made it possible for McMahon to step into the foreground in the shows himself and, as a malicious boss, to decisively shape events in the following years. At the Survivor Series the following year, the events were then caricatured with Mick Foley and The Rock . Also in the PlayStation 2 game SmackDown vs. Raw 2006 there was a nod to Montreal.

For Shawn Michaels, the events marked the rise of the undisputed villain of WWF / WWE broadcasts and the confirmation of all of his critics that Michael's diva-like demeanor was displayed when he was supposed to be doing unpleasant work for him. Only after several years of injury, his marriage and a demonstratively Christian way of life meant a change in demeanor and a rapprochement with the fans.

Earl Hebner was terminated by Hart's friendship, which had linked the two for years. In the meantime Hebner and Hart have spoken out and their relationship has been professionally cemented, but the long-time referee had to deal with hostility from the fans until his dismissal in 2005, who gave him the screams "You screwed Bret" ( " You screwed Bret " ) .

When the WCW was bought by the WWF in 2001, Bret Hart had already left the wrestling business. The reason for his resignation was a chronic concussion, which he had suffered from a careless kick by Bill Goldberg , which also resulted in a stroke . After the Montreal Screwjob, Bret Hart had sworn to himself and all of his fans never to work for WWF / WWE again or to ever appear in front of a WWE camera again. In December 2005 the 3 DVD box Bret Hitman Hart - The best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be . According to Hart, this DVD box is dedicated to all of his fans. In April 2006, Hart appeared on a WWE promotion when he was inducted into their Hall of Fame . He did this to thank all of his long-time fans, but Bret Hart did not want to appear at WrestleMania the following day , as he usually did when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame , because, as he said, he "kept his word". On January 4, 2010, Bret Hart first appeared again on WWE Raw. There was also the first public meeting between Hart and Michaels, which ended with a gesture of reconciliation. An extended storyline with Vince McMahon followed, which ended with a match between Bret Hart and Vince McMahon on March 28, 2010 at WrestleMania 26. This match showed little of Hart's earlier technical brilliance, but was almost a pure brawl, which Hart was able to win after numerous hits with a chair against McMahon - much to the delight of the indoor audience, who cheered frenetically. The Montreal Screwjob was "avenged" in front of the cameras. Hart stayed on the WWE camera for a few more months, but rarely stepped into the ring.

In 2014, Hart laid out his point of view in Sports Illustrated . He described that the screw job was planned by Vince McMahon, McMahon's future son-in-law Paul Levesque ( Triple H ) and Shawn Michaels, and these referees had “blackmailed” Earl Hebner into cooperation . The screwjob would have polarized the wrestlers behind the scenes: while his brother Owen Hart , Mark Calaway ( The Undertaker ), Richard Rood ( Rick Rude ), Davey Boy Smith ( The British Bulldog ) and Jim Neidhart fought on Hart's side, stood next to Paul Levesque and Shawn Michaels also McMahon's son Shane McMahon as well as Robert Remus ( Sgt. Slaughter ) and Jerry Brisco to McMahon. Hart gave McMahon "the best chin hook of his life", but since the following years - unlike McMahon - were rather disappointing, Hart admits that although he "won a fight", McMahon "won the whole battle" have. For his career slump after the screw job, he primarily blamed the cool relationship with WCW draft horse Hulk Hogan .

Conspiracy theory

Among many wrestling fans, the conspiracy theory still applies today that the Montreal Screwjob was a single work or even a worked shoot . The reason is simple, since at that time the WWF / E seemed to be losing the quota war with the WCW, they looked for a way out and began to promote "rougher, bloodthirsty" matches and storylines. The Attitude Era actually began around the time of the screwjob , which was indirectly initiated by it. It was also possible to create the new gimmick of the unscrupulous villain for McMahon, which, in combination with Steve Austin and The Rock, generated a high ratings that would later help to win over WCW.

swell

  1. ↑ Bret Hart opens up about the infamous 'Montreal Screwjob' , Sports Illustrated

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