The Montreal Screwjob is infamous in the wrestling world. In November 1997, reigning WWF Champion Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart took on Shawn Michaels in a highly anticipated match at Survivor Series.
Hart was screwed over due to the outcome being manipulated by the WWF.
Michaels had Hart in his trademark Sharpshooter submission hold, and despite Hart not tapping out, the referee ended the match.
Why did it happen?
Following conflict between Hart and WWF manager Vince McMahon, Hart decided to move to rival company World Championship Wrestling (WCW). This brought his 14-year stay at the WWF to an end.
He signed his contract with WCW on 1 November 1997 and was due to move to the company on 5 December. McMahon was worried about Hart moving to WCW while still holding the WWF Championship, so he sought to agree for it to be passed to Michaels.
Hart refused due to his dislike for his rival. McMahon persisted with his wish for Hart to drop the title, and as Survivor Series approached, his worries grew further.
The owner took matters into his own hands and devised a plan to pre-emptively strip the champion of his title before his WCW move. This resulted in the Montreal Screwjob.
Hart would be betrayed, and this would be the last time Hart appeared as a WWF wrestler before moving to WCW.
Hart talks about Dave Meltzer
Following the incident, Hart was criticised by some superstars such as Ric Flair for refusing to give up the title. McMahon argued that the wrestler was putting the company in a difficult situation.
Some fans even began to believe that the entire scenario was staged, resulting in further backlash for Hart.
Hart credits Dave Meltzer for helping to get his side of the story out. The wrestling legend spoke out recently and explained the importance of Meltzer’s report.
He said:
“Dave Meltzer and the Observer was another element that saved me because the night the Screwjob happened, I called Dave Meltzer. I never called Dave Meltzer, and I think Dave would vouch for that. I never called him ever until that night. But that night, I called him, and I told him everything I could think of. Like all the facts. I talked to him for at least an hour, and he would probably be making notes. I gave him a pretty heavy account of everything that transpired leading into that moment, and, you know, he wrote it all up in his Observer. But it was – if you want to read what happened, the details of it all, it’s great. Whenever I looked at it, I go, ‘that is so accurate of what really transpired.’”
What could have been?
Without Meltzer’s account of the Montreal Screwjob, our opinions of Hart could have been very different. There seemed to be a belief growing that the entire event was staged, which affected Hart’s reputation.
However, once Meltzer’s report became public, all was clear. McMahon had set up Hart’s downfall.
To this day, ‘The Hitman’ remains one of the most beloved wrestlers of all time.
Featured image credit: Getty
