The Montreal Screwjob is professional wrestling parlance for an incident that took place November 9, 1997, during a match for the World Wrestling Federation Heavyweight title between Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels in Montreal, Canada.

History

In October 1996, Bret Hart signed an unprecedented 20-year contract with the WWF after considering a very lucrative offer from World Championship Wrestling. The contract called for him to wrestle three more years and then complete his career in a behind-the-scenes position. Both sides felt that it was an expression of Hart's loyalty to the WWF and its loyalty to him.

However, by the middle of 1997, the WWF was in serious financial straits. Owner Vince McMahon informed Hart that he wished to withdraw from the contract and encouraged him to again seek employment with WCW. At this time, Bret was still WWF World champion.

As part of his contract, Hart had creative control over his character in the last days of his WWF tenure. He had two major caveats: he would not lose the WWF World title to Shawn Michaels, and he would not lose it in his home country of Canada. The legitimate feud between Hart and Michaels meant that neither man was willing to lose face to the other, but they agreed to work together for the sake of the business. McMahon began seeking a way to transition the title off of Hart.

Of course, Hart took immediate issue with the idea that he would lose the title to Michaels, in Montreal, at Survivor Series. He did not believe that Michaels would offer him a loss in return, and moreover he did not want to lose to Michaels in Canada. On November 1, Hart finally agreed to a contract with WCW, and was set to leave the WWF by the end of the year. McMahon tentatively agreed to work the match in Montreal with a planned disqualification finish, and told Hart he would lose the title the next month in Springfield, Massachusetts. After much negotiation, Hart agreed to this plan.

The setup

However, in Montreal, things went a bit differently. Hart was aware of the possibility of a double-cross, and reportedly went as far as asking referee Earl Hebner to swear an oath that he would not participate in such an incident. The match script given to Hart detailed the planned disqualification finish.

During the match, Hart allowed Michaels to place him in the Sharpshooter, his famous finishing hold. Michaels then gave Hart his foot to reverse the hold, but McMahon stood up at ringside and ordered the timekeeper to "Ring the fucking bell!" Hebner signalled for the nonexistent submission and Michaels was awarded the title. This is an extreme example of a screwjob (hence the term Montreal Screwjob) as well as a shoot event.

Hart was immediately outraged. He stood in the ring and spat at McMahon, hitting him in the face. He also destroyed several television monitors before climbing the turnbuckles and signing the letters "WCW" to the crowd. Backstage, he and McMahon had a physical confrontation in which he punched McMahon hard enough to break McMahon's jaw and knock him unconscious.

Legacy

It was apparently the first double-cross in the modern age. In the days to follow, Hart left for WCW, and McMahon claimed he could not trust Bret with the title, fearing he would show up on the competition's television show with the WWF World title belt. McMahon had reason to fear this; earlier in the WWF/WCW rivalry, the WWF women's champion, Debra Miceli (wrestling as Madusa), showed up on WCW Monday Nitro with the championship belt. Miceli proceeded to throw the WWF belt in a trash can on live TV, imitating a well-publicized act by heavyweight boxer Riddick Bowe. Michaels claimed innocence but several years later admitted that he too had been in on the fix, as had apparently everyone except Hart's family and close friends backstage.

A legacy of this incident is that at wrestling shows in Montreal (and to a lesser extent, Canada in general), chants of "You screwed Bret!" will spontaneously arise when key players in the screwjob make their appearences, particularly Hebner and Michaels.

It is important to note that some observers hold the opinion that the Montreal incident was in fact a work, not a shoot, and that Vince McMahon, Bret Hart, and Shawn Michaels all conspired to generate controversy and interest in the product by staging it. However, given the enmity between Hart and McMahon which persisted for several years, as well as Michaels' confession of his role, this seems unlikely at best.

The incident was featured in the 2000 film, "Wrestling with Shadows", a documentary about Bret Hart's life as a WWF wrestler.