The Montreal Screwjob: The Greatest Work in History?

This is probably a theory that has been thrown up by lots of people over the years. I'm not saying for one minute that I am definitely right, but I do think that what I discuss in this article is conceivable. In fact I would love if it was true because it would show that the IWC has not ruined the kayfabe enjoyment of the product completely. If I were to read an article like this right away, I would probably dismiss it totally and stop reading, but I do believe there is a case to be put forward that the Montreal Screwjob was a work.

The only grounds for this argument I have stem from my watching of the Bret Hart documentary that happened around the time of the Montreal Screwjob, the number of shoot interviews that Bret had on 'Off The Record' with Michael Landsburg and the recent storyline on Raw involving Bret and Vince McMahon.

Firstly, wrestlers main aim is to act in a way that the viewers believe that the product they are watching is real. The WWE often try to bring in events that seem like they are shoots when they are in fact works. The thing that usually gives them away is the fact that these 'shoot' events were caught on camera, if it was an actual shoot, or real life event, surely the WWE wouldn't catch it on camera, or broadcast it.

This is where the documentary comes in. Does it seem a little bit coincidental that there happened to be a documentary being filmed about Bret that captured the entire background to the most controversial event in Wrestling history? It's hard to know. All I know is that if the Montreal Screwjob was in fact a work, they have managed to capture the whole series of events that led to it on camera.

The story goes that Vince had agreed to let Bret leave and go sign for WCW because they had to cut down on costs during a period of time when the WWE second to WCW in ratings. Bret was one of the highest earners and his contract was expiring. 

Here's what I think is possible that happened. Vince knew he had to release Bret and so decided use this as a way of boosting his own ratings. Bret agreed to the screwjob in order to create a storyline that would see him leave for the WCW with a bad taste in his mouth, which would be a story that would be returned to at some stage in the future when the WWE could afford to have Bret back. Meanwhile Bret would go on TV and shoot about how much he hates McMahon, calling him every name under the sun and appearing bitter. 

Look at what the results of this were. Vince went on to be come the hated boss figure of the attitude era. The Montreal screwjob in fact kicked off this era. Vince became an excellent on-screen character and the WWE ratings began to soar. Meanwhile Bret was on WCW, not doing a whole lot. Another coincidence? The WCW didn't capitalize on the screwjob storyline when Bret arrived. Was there some sort of copyright preventing them from doing so? Are we to believe that Eric Bischoff didn't capitalize on this because he didn't realize it's potential? I find this hard to believe.

Is it possible that the WWE had planned to bring Bret back sooner than now? It would have made great sense to have an active Bret Hart return 10 years ago and feud with McMahon, and if this theory is to be believed, maybe this is what was planned. But here is where things would have started to go wrong. Several concussions caused Bret to retire from the ring. It became pointless to bring him back as a retired wrestler at that time when there were so many great story lines already in the WWE. Then soon later, Bret suffered a stroke and couldn't physically return until recently.

So maybe it's conceivable that everything that went on over the last 13 was a work. All the shoots and the hating was just keeping a storyline going and lending credibility to Vince McMahon's hated on-screen character.

When Bret did eventually return, the fact that he would work again with McMahon and Michaels having said for 13 years how much he hated them leads me to believe that there may be something in this theory. He says he didn't need the money, so really there isn't many real reasons why Bret would do it. I know he gives the argument for closure, but who's to know.

But obviously there are arguments against this. Why would WWE risk letting one of their biggest stars join their rivals in such hard times? Why would Shawn Michaels allow his personal reputation be greatly damaged?(although the fact that he is now a born again Christian and considers himself to have changed from his old self lends credence to the fact that he would allow it) Could even the greeat mind of Vince McMahon have anticipated the era that was about to unfold that the Montreal Screwjob effectively started? We'll never know.

I'm not saying that I believe this theory, far from it. All I'm saying is that it's possible that this could have happened. I think it would be great if it was true because it would mean that the WWE can still surprise us despite the presence of the Internet Wrestling Community who really have seemed to ruin the element of surprise that defined the Attitude Era, and WCW Nitro. 

So what do you think? leave a comment and tell me if maybe there's something in this, or whether I'm just having a storyline unfold in my head because these days the WWE won't write good stories for me!