WWE: Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart, Remembering the Montreal Screw-Job

“You screwed Bret! You screwed Bret!”

It's the chant that's been heard thousands of times in arenas all over the world, directed at one of two men: Shawn Michaels or Vince McMahon. The crowd reaction happened so often whenever either man was in the ring, especially in Canada, that it was not just routine, it was expected.

For fans of WWE, there had never been a bigger controversy in the business than the infamous Montreal screw-job at Survivor Series in 1997.

Bret Hart, having agreed to sign with WCW, was to wrestle his last match as WWE Champion that night against Michaels and retain the title.

The next night on RAW, he was going to give a farewell speech and then surrender the championship belt back to McMahon.

The rest is history.

Referee Earl Hebner called for the bell after Michaels applied the Sharpshooter to Hart, signaling the end of the match and a changing of hands for the WWE Title.

The only problem? Hart didn’t tap.

The moment was frozen in time and became an event that every fan, young and old, knew about and had an opinion on. For me, I was always torn on the issue.

On one hand, I could see Hart’s position. He indeed was screwed by both McMahon and Michaels. After all, the plan was for Hart to go over. It was discussed beforehand, and all parties involved agreed to it. If there had been an issue with the finish, then McMahon or Michaels should have aired their protest right then.

When Hart left the room after meeting with McMahon, he was under the impression that everything was fine and the match would go as planned. There was no reason for him to believe otherwise.

But then there’s the matter of tradition in the business, and how Hart thumbed his nose at it.

By wanting to go out on his own terms, with the WWE Championship in hand, Hart completely ignored the way business was supposed to be done in the industry.

The top championship in a promotion is only as important as the workers who hold it. By winning and losing the belt in the ring, the way it’s supposed to be, a worker is made and shot to the top or moves on, giving the next man an opportunity.

The champ hands off the belt to the next man in line, doing the favor so the new champ can establish himself as the top dog. That is the way titles should be won and lost—not handed back because the champ is leaving the company.

Oh yeah, there’s also the bit about Hart leaving to work for the competition.

Think about that. Hart, the product of a wrestling family, a man born and bred for the business, actually thought he could just sign a contract with WWE’s largest competitor, the company who had made it a mission to ruin McMahon, and go over for the belt.

Where exactly would that leave Michaels?

The bad blood between these two was common knowledge and existed before Montreal. They were not exactly best friends before the match happened. But by not agreeing to drop the WWE title to Michaels that night, Hart was ignoring the direction the company wanted to take and the man that was going to be the top star in his spot.

Hart understood that, but chose to play it his own way.

Of course, in the end, everything happened the way McMahon wanted. The WWE Championship had been put on the next man in line, and Hart was to leave for a new spot in a different company.

Hart's career was never the same after that, as no one in WCW seemed to have any idea how to book The Hitman. He often did not seem to fit the storylines he was placed in, and he eventually just became one of the many boys in the locker room, not one of the few top stars in the company.

Michaels continued as WWE Champion, flanked by Degeneration-X, but carried the stigma of being the guy who stabbed a colleague in the back. Yes, it is a cutthroat business, but it’s not often that a worker sides with a promoter over another wrestler. Michaels was hated for what he did, and some fans have likely never forgiven him for it.

Now, of course, Hart has finally made peace with Michaels, and everyone seems to have moved on from what happened. The fact is, it had dragged out long enough. Despite the fact that it had become so burned into our collective memories, it was time to let it go.

The Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart DVD collection is due to arrive on October 25, and while the majority of us have moved on, it is likely to stir up a reaction from fans. But it will be nothing new. We have all been down this road before.