SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
The following is a snippet of the initial coverage of the Montreal Screwjob from the Nov. 15, 1997 edition of the Pro Wrestling Torch Newsletter (issue #466)…
ORIGINAL HEADLINE: McMahon double-crosses Bret in title match – Bret punches McMahon backstage afterward; did Michaels know the plot? How will Owen respond?
Bret Hart walked into the ring Sunday night at Survivor Series in Montreal expecting to walk out with the WWF Title. Instead, Shawn Michaels did.
Vince McMahon, frustrated with his inability to convince Bret to drop the WWF Title before WCW announced their acquisition of Bret on national television, devised a plot to wrest the belt from Bret without his consent. Afterward, because of his anger, Bret punched McMahon in the locker room minutes after the match, giving McMahon a black eye and a sore jaw.
The double-cross led to major unrest in the WWF locker room. Family members Owen Hart, Davey Boy Smith, and Jim Neidhart wanted to quit. They no-showed Raw on Monday and the Raw taping on Tuesday. Their status is up in the air. Mick Foley (Mankind) flew home and no-showed Raw on Monday apparently in protest of McMahon’s actions, but did fly back for the Tuesday taping.
There is also controversy regarding whether Michaels was in on it. He is claiming vociferously that he wasn’t in on it. Very few are believing his story.
There are very few instances in the modern history of wrestling — the last few decades — where a promoter double-crossed a wrestler in the finish to get a title belt off of him. Bob Backlund lost the WWF Title to Iron Sheik when Arnold Skaaland threw in the towel. Backlund knew he was going to be asked to drop the title soon, but the promoters didn’t trust him to do it, so they had his manager toss in the towel. Backlund for years has claimed he wasn’t in on the finish, but some were skeptical of his claim. Backlund called Bret a few days ago and asked him, “Now do you believe me?”
The closest parallel in Vince McMahon’s promoting history to what happened Sunday night in Montreal happened Nov. 25, 1985 when Fabulous Moolah, under a mask as Spider Lady, pinned Wendi Richter to capture the WWF Title at Madison Square Garden. Richter’s ego had been running out of control in McMahon’s eyes and she wasn’t willing to drop the title, so McMahon instructed the referee to make a rapid fire three count when Richter wasn’t expecting it and award the belt to Moolah.
Just over a week after the news broke that Bret Hart planned to leave the WWF for WCW, the WWF’s motivation for that was in question. Did the WWF encourage him to leave purely for financial reasons because they felt they were overpaying him? Did they encourage him to leave because they wanted to invest in Shawn Michaels as their top star and since he and Bret couldn’t get along, they had to get rid of Bret? Did they need to improve the profitability of the WWF in case McMahon decided to sell a minority interest in the WWF to several private investors or in a public stock offering? Or was McMahon clearing away obstacles (financial and ego) for an eventual return of Hulk Hogan?
No matter what the motivation, it was indisputable that the WWF wasn’t disappointed Bret left, and Bret was eager to leave the WWF. In other words, the splitting of the two sides was mutual. In fact, it was cordial to a degree.
It was cordial until McMahon and Bret butted heads over the finish at Survivor Series………
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