History Wrestling / MontrealScrewjob

The Screwjob actually qualifies as HilariousInHindsight when you consider how Hart ''won'' his first title in the WWF. The Hart Foundation (Hart and brother-in-law Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart, with non-relative manager "The Mouth of the South" Wrestling/JimmyHart) defeated the British Bulldogs (Wrestling/DynamiteKid and cousin Wrestling/DaveyBoySmith -- another brother-in-law, though not acknowledged as such at the time) for the [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwe-world-t.html WWF World Tag Team Titles]] on the 7 February 1987 (taped 26 January) episode of ''WWF Superstars''. Bret and "The Anvil" won due to referee Danny Davis generally ignoring the Harts' constant double-teaming and spending most of the time checking on the injured Dynamite Kid. After the Harts won the match, Davis left with them. It wasn't even the only match of the event defined by a massive betrayal, as the earlier Team Canada vs Team USA match ended in Team USA's loss due to Wrestling/{{Goldust}} walking out on them mid-match with Wrestling/TerriRunnels.

The Screwjob actually qualifies as HilariousInHindsight when you consider how Hart ''won'' his first title in the WWF. The Hart Foundation (Hart and brother-in-law Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart, w/non-relative manager [[Wrestling/JimmyHart "The Mouth of the South" Jimmy Hart]]) defeated the British Bulldogs ([[Wrestling/DynamiteKid The Dynamite Kid]] and cousin Wrestling/DaveyBoySmith -- another brother-in-law, though not acknowledged as such at the time) for the [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwe-world-t.html WWF World Tag Team Titles]] on the 7 February 1987 (taped 26 January) episode of ''WWF Superstars''. Bret and "The Anvil" won due to referee Danny Davis generally ignoring the Harts' constant double-teaming and spending most of the time checking on the injured Dynamite Kid. After the Harts won the match, Davis left with them.

* EveryoneHasStandards: According to Bret's documentary, Michaels claimed that he's both equally furious and baffled at what happened during the match. In reality, Michaels kept his mouth shut about the "screwjob" under Vince's instructions, but still felt bad over screwing Bret.

** A number of wrestlers attempted to walk out from the company in protest (Wrestling/MickFoley actually did for a day). Bret talked them out of it.
** Jim Cornette, who had proposed the finish to Vince [=McMahon=] as a hypothetical scenario but believed that [=McMahon=] wouldn't listen based on past experiences, was watching the match backstage on a monitor. As soon as he saw his hypothetical scenario become reality, Cornette immediately made his way out of the building and headed to his car to get as far away from the inevitable fallout as quickly as possible. According to Cornette, the only one who beat him to the parking lot was referee Earl Hebner.

** An inversion had happened over a decade earlier. On the November 21, 1985 episode of ''WWF on PRISM Network'', there was a match between David Sammartino and Ron Shaw that David had been booked to win. Unexpectedly, David ran off the ropes and jumped into Shaw's arms and "submitted" to a BearHug. It has become known as the "Phantom Submission Match."

* OhCrap: Going by Bret's description of the aftermath during the "Broken Skull Sessions" interview, Shawn Michaels had a ''huge'' one of these following the screwjob, after Vince had come to the locker room, been knocked out by Bret with one punch, and carried out again by his supporters. Shawn realized he was practically alone in the locker room with not only the furious Bret (who he'd just seen ''punch out his boss'') but Owen Hart, Davey Boy Smith, Wrestling/RickRude and Jim Neidhart- all family and friends of Bret Hart. Wrestling/TripleH wasn't there, and the most support Shawn could reasonably expect was from the equally-furious Undertaker, who would ''probably'' intervene if it looked like Shawn was going to be ''beaten to death.'' Then Bret walked over to Shawn, tapped him on the shoulder, [[BaitAndSwitch offered him his hand and said "Shawn, thank you for the match".]] (Bret said that when he later found out that Shawn had been in it up to his neck, despite swearing his ignorance, he wished he'd kicked Shawn's head off instead.)

However, [=McMahon=] was nervous about sending Hart out of the company as the champion. [=McMahon=] still had some leftover anger concerning then-WWF Women's Champion [[Wrestling/{{Madusa}} Alundra Blayze]] tossing the WWF Women's Championship belt in the trash live on ''WCW Monday Nitro''. [=McMahon=] reportedly feared Hart would show up on WCW programming with the WWF Championship and proceed to do the very same[[note]]This would have been impossible, at least in a legal sense, and Vince (and Eric Bischoff) knew that. Not only was Bret still under contract for a short time after the Screwjob, it had been established by then that a wrestling belt is the intellectual property of the promotion that owns it, not to mention that the belt itself would be stolen property at that point. ''However'', there was nothing preventing Bischoff from opening up Nitro with a simple statement of fact: that they had signed '''the reigning WWF champion''' to a contract and he would be appearing on WCW programming in a couple weeks. This would have accomplished pretty much the same thing, only without the lawsuits and possible criminal charges[[/note]], even though the WWF had filed multiple lawsuits regarding the Blayze incident against WCW. Since Hart had refused to drop the belt to Michaels in Canada, [=McMahon=] had to worry about the possibility of Bret jumping ship with the championship belt.

However, [=McMahon=] was nervous about sending Hart out of the company as the champion. [=McMahon=] still had some leftover anger concerning then-WWF Women's Champion [[Wrestling/{{Madusa}} Alundra Blayze]] tossing the WWF Women's Championship belt in the trash live on ''WCW Monday Nitro''. [=McMahon=] reportedly feared Hart would show up on WCW programming with the WWF Championship and proceed to do the very same, even though the WWF had filed multiple lawsuits regarding the Blayze incident against WCW. Since Hart had refused to drop the belt to Michaels in Canada, [=McMahon=] had to worry about the possibility of Bret jumping ship with the championship belt.

* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: A number of wrestlers attempted to walk out from the company in protest (Wrestling/MickFoley actually did for a day). Bret talked them out of it.
** Jim Cornette, who had proposed the finish to Vince McMahon as a hypothetical scenario but believed that McMahon wouldn't listen based on past experiences, was watching the match backstage on a monitor. As soon as he saw his hypothetical scenario become reality, Cornette immediately made his way out of the building and headed to his car to get as far away from the inevitable fallout as quickly as possible. According to Cornette, the only one who beat him to the parking lot was referee Earl Hebner.

** Even after Michaels' RealLife HeelFaithTurn, this has been his stance regarding the screwjob. Both in kayfabe and in real life, Michaels feels like he did what was necessary to save the WWF, even though he didn't like doing it.

Well, that's the story [=McMahon=] will tell you, anyway. Wrestling critics/historians say the reason for the Screwjob on [=McMahon=]'s end was money. At the time of ''Survivor Series'' 1997, Hart had been earning just shy of two million dollars per year, making him the highest-paid worker in the WWF (for comparison, Shawn Michaels was earning $750,000 per year). Also at the time, Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin and Wrestling/TheUndertaker had new contracts under negotiation with the WWF. When Austin and Taker compared themselves to Hart, that's when [=McMahon=] got ''really'' weary. However, whatever the reason might have been -- respect, money, prestige, or something else -- [=McMahon=] knew he had to get the belt off of Bret by any means necessary.

* AccidentalMisnaming: In the [[UsefulNotes/ProfessionalWrestlingJargon lexicon of pro wrestling]] the Montreal Screwjob isn't technically a screwjob, it's a double cross. A screwjob is actually an inconclusive ending to a match, where neither wrestler is conclusively defeated. But "Montreal Screwjob" does sound better, and the naming stuck.
** HistoryMarchesOn. As with many language items, the term 'screwjob' has since changed, and now more or less means 'an authority figure conspiring with a heel to deny the babyface the win', most likely thanks to this incident.

[[caption-width-right:325: Ring the '''[[PrecisionFStrike FUCKING]]''' bell!!]]

Well, that's the story [=McMahon=] will tell you, anyway. Wrestling critics/historians say the reason for the Screwjob on [=McMahon=]'s end was money. At the time of ''Survivor Series'' 1997, Hart had been earning just shy of two million dollars per year, making him the highest-paid worker in the WWF (for comparison, Shawn Michaels was earning $750,000 per year). Also at the time, Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin and Wrestling/TheUndertaker had new contracts under negotiation with the WWF. When Austin and Taker compared themselves to Hart, that's when [=McMahon=] got ''really'' weary. However, whatever the reason might have been -- respect, money, prestige, or something else -- [=McMahon=] knew he had to get the belt off of Bret by any means necessary, and so, Vince hatched a plot on the night of ''Survivor Series''. When Michaels caught Hart in the Sharpshooter submission hold as planned, [=McMahon=] ordered mainstay referee Earl Hebner to ring the bell as if Hart had submitted to the hold, despite Hart clearly having done no such thing. This ended the match, promptly made Michaels the champion, and screwed Hart on his way out of the WWF without a proper send-off.

[[http://www.411mania.com/wrestling/columns/125208/ This 411mania column]] has a good rundown of the events leading up to (and surrounding) the Screwjob.

Along with the extensive article on Wiki/{{Wikipedia}}, [[http://www.411mania.com/wrestling/columns/125208/ this 411mania column]] has a good rundown of the events leading up to (and surrounding) the Screwjob.

->''"Some would say... ''I'' screwed Bret Hart. ''Bret Hart'' would definitely tell you I screwed him. I look at it from a different standpoint...I look at it from the standpoint of the referee did not screw Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels certainly did not screw Bret Hart, nor did Vince [=McMahon=] screw Bret Hart. I truly believe that ''Bret Hart''... screwed Bret Hart. And he can look in the mirror, and know that."''

->''"Some would say... ''I'' screwed Bret Hart. ''Bret Hart'' would definitely tell you I screwed him. I look at it from a different standpoint...I look at it from the standpoint of the referee did not screw Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels certainly did not screw Bret Hart, nor did Vince [=McMahon=] screw Bret Hart. I truly believe that Bret Hart...screwed Bret Hart. And he can look in the mirror, and know that."''

* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Wrestling/JimCornette has stated on ''Series/DarkSideOfTheRing'' that he was the first one to suggest a double cross on Bret during a booking meeting. (Cornette first suggested booking Bret with Wrestling/KenShamrock, who with his background in MMA could have legitimately beaten Bret in a fight if he refused to do the job.) In June 2019, Cornette detailed on his podcast that he actually came up with the finish. He says he suggested it hypothetically because Vince [=McMahon=] rarely took his suggestions. Cornette didn't know Vince was actually going to use the finish until he saw it live that night. Since he figured his "idea" wasn't going to be used, Cornette never bothered to ask about confirmation about the finish.

Well, that's the story [=McMahon=] will tell you, anyway. Wrestling critics/historians say the reason for the Screwjob on [=McMahon=]'s end was money. At the time of ''Survivor Series'' 1997, Hart had been earning just shy of two million dollars per year, making him the highest-paid worker in the WWF (for comparison, Shawn Michaels was earning $750,000 per year). Also at the time, Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin and Wrestling/TheUndertaker had new contracts under negotiation with the WWF. When Austin and Taker compared themselves to Hart, that's when [=McMahon=] got ''really'' weary. However, whatever the reason might have been -- respect, money, prestige, or something else -- [=McMahon=] knew he had to get the belt off of Bret by any means necessary.

And so, Vince hatched a plot on the night of ''Survivor Series''. When Michaels caught Hart in the Sharpshooter submission hold as planned, [=McMahon=] ordered mainstay referee Earl Hebner to ring the bell as if Hart had submitted to the hold, despite Hart clearly having done no such thing. This ended the match, promptly made Michaels the champion, and screwed Hart on his way out of the WWF without a proper send-off.

Bret Hart left the WWF and spent three years [[DemotedToExtra getting bumped about in WCW]] thanks to the company's [[WagTheDirector notoriously-biased booking]] and nobody really knowing what to do with him. This was despite Hart being -- at the time -- ''the hottest free agent in professional wrestling'' (something that ''[=McMahon=] himself'' predicted would happen). The people pressuring Wrestling/EricBischoff, the head of WCW creative at the time, didn't want Hart to get over if he jumped ship. WCW kept Bret on the shelf for over a month before popping a buyrate with the then-considered-washed-up Flair and being buried in pointless United States Title feuds. After enduring a mule kick by Wrestling/{{Goldberg}} during their World Heavyweight Championship match at ''Starrcade 1999'', Hart suffered a career-ending concussion and retired from in-ring action. A stroke suffered after Hart's retirement has ensured that, save for special circumstances where he doesn't have to take a bump, he'll never perform in the ring again. Following his retirement, Hart had very little love lost for WWF -- thanks both to the Screwjob and the death of his brother [[Wrestling/OwenHart Owen]] at the ''Over the Edge'' PPV in 1999 -- but managed to put his animosity aside to help preserve his legacy. He worked with WWE to produce a DVD set that became widely acclaimed as a great retrospective on his career ([[WhatCouldHaveBeen one that WWE initially planned as a smearjob set called "Screwed"]] until Hart heard about the plans). In 2006, Hart accepted induction into the WWE Hall of Fame, making his first appearance on WWE programming of any kind in nearly a decade to accept the honor. A few years later, Hart signed up again with WWE to ensure a proper and honorable exit from the business (see below).

Bret Hart left the WWF and spent three years [[DemotedToExtra getting bumped about in WCW]] thanks to the company's [[WagTheDirector notoriously-biased booking]] and nobody really knowing what to do with him. This was despite Hart being -- at the time -- ''the hottest free agent in professional wrestling'' (something that ''[=McMahon=] himself'' predicted would happen). The people pressuring Eric Bischoff, the head of WCW creative at the time, didn't want Hart to get over if he jumped ship. WCW kept Bret on the shelf for over a month before popping a buyrate with the then-considered-washed-up Flair and being buried in pointless United States Title feuds. Thanks to an errant kick by Bill Goldberg during a match in 2000, Hart suffered a career-ending concussion and retired from in-ring action. A stroke suffered after Hart's retirement has ensured that, save for special circumstances where he doesn't have to take a bump, he'll never perform in the ring again. Following his retirement, Hart had very little love lost for WWF -- thanks both to the Screwjob and the death of his brother [[Wrestling/OwenHart Owen]] at the ''Over the Edge'' PPV in 1999 -- but managed to put his animosity aside to help preserve his legacy. He worked with WWE to produce a DVD set that became widely acclaimed as a great retrospective on his career ([[WhatCouldHaveBeen one that WWE initially planned as a smearjob set called "Screwed"]] until Hart heard about the plans). In 2006, Hart accepted induction into the WWE Hall of Fame, making his first appearance on WWE programming of any kind in nearly a decade to accept the honor. A few years later, Hart signed up again with WWE to ensure a proper and honorable exit from the business (see below).

** Earl Hebner didn't want to participate in the finish on ethical grounds; Gerald Briscoe told Hebner he'd be fired if he didn't. Hebner agreed to go with it because he needed the job. When discussing the Screwjob as part of a 2020 [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41E2ENNe1LM interview]] with Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin, Bret admitted that he would probably have done the same thing in Earl's place and didn't hold it against him.

* OhCrap: Going by Bret's description of the aftermath during the "Broken Skull Sessions" interview, Shawn Michaels had a ''huge'' one of these following the screwjob, after Vince had come to the locker room, been knocked out by Bret with one punch, and carried out again by his supporters. Shawn realized he was practically alone in the locker room with not only the furious Bret (who he'd just seen ''punch out his boss'') but Owen Hart, Davey Boy Smith, Rick Rude and Jim Neidhart- all family and friends of Bret Hart. Triple H wasn't there, and the most support Shawn could reasonably expect was from the equally-furious Undertaker, who would ''probably'' intervene if it looked like Shawn was going to be ''beaten to death.'' Then Bret walked over to Shawn, tapped him on the shoulder, [[BaitAndSwitch offered him his hand and said "Shawn, thank you for the match".]] (Bret said that when he later found out that Shawn had been in it up to his neck, despite swearing his ignorance, he wished he'd kicked Shawn's head off instead.)

Bret Hart left the WWF and spent three years [[DemotedToExtra getting bumped about in WCW]] thanks to the comapny's notoriously-biased booking and nobody really knowing what to do with him. This was despite Hart being -- at the time -- ''the hottest free agent in professional wrestling'' (something that ''[=McMahon=] himself'' predicted would happen). The people pressuring Eric Bischoff, the head of WCW creative at the time, didn't want Hart to get over if he jumped ship. WCW kept Bret on the shelf for over a month before popping a buyrate with the then-considered-washed-up Flair and being buried in pointless United States Title feuds. Thanks to an errant kick by Bill Goldberg during a match in 2000, Hart suffered a career-ending concussion and retired from in-ring action. A stroke suffered after Hart's retirement has ensured that, save for special circumstances where he doesn't have to take a bump, he'll never perform in the ring again. Following his retirement, Hart had very little love lost for WWF -- thanks both to the Screwjob and the death of his brother [[Wrestling/OwenHart Owen]] in 1999 -- but managed to put his animosity aside to help preserve his legacy. He worked with WWE to produce a DVD set that became widely acclaimed as a great retrospective on his career ([[WhatCouldHaveBeen one that WWE initially planned as a smearjob set called ''Screwed'']] until Hart heard about the plans). In 2006, Hart accepted induction into the WWE Hall of Fame, making his first appearance on WWE programming of any kind in nearly a decade to accept the honor. A few years later, Hart signed up again with WWE to ensure a proper and honorable exit from the business (see below).