WWEThe Screwjob1997
Bret Hart vs Shawn Michaels — Montreal
The reality-shattering double-cross that changed wrestling forever.
The Montreal Screwjob is the most infamous double-cross in wrestling history. At Survivor Series 1997, with Bret Hart departing for WCW and refusing to lose his title in Canada, Vince McMahon ordered the bell rung while Shawn Michaels had Bret in his own Sharpshooter — handing Michaels the belt without Bret submitting. The fallout birthed the "Mr. McMahon" character and defined the Attitude Era.
Timeline
A bitter on-screen and real-life rivalry builds between Bret Hart, the loyal Canadian traditionalist, and Shawn Michaels, the brash Kliq-backed showman.
Bret, unable to be met on his contract, agrees to leave for WCW; McMahon needs the WWF Title off him before he goes.
At Survivor Series in Montreal, McMahon signals the timekeeper to ring the bell mid-Sharpshooter, awarding Michaels the title — the "screwjob."
An enraged Bret spits on McMahon and destroys equipment; the moment is captured in the documentary crew's cameras, cementing its legend.
Genuine animosity between Hart, Michaels and McMahon eventually thaws; Hart and Michaels reconcile publicly.
The Arc
No moment did more to collapse the wall between kayfabe and reality. The Screwjob was not a booked finish — it was a real betrayal, planned by McMahon and executed on live pay-per-view to strip a departing champion of the belt. The image of a stunned, furious Bret Hart mouthing accusations at his boss, then trashing the ring, was raw in a way scripted television could never be, and fans knew it.
Its consequences reshaped the industry. The public cast McMahon as the man who "screwed Bret Hart," and rather than run from it, McMahon leaned in — transforming himself from a background owner into the tyrannical on-screen "Mr. McMahon," the perfect foil for a rising Stone Cold Steve Austin. In that sense, the Screwjob didn't just end one rivalry; it lit the fuse for the entire Attitude Era. Years of real heat between Hart, Michaels and McMahon followed, before Hart and Michaels finally made peace.
Key Matches
The Wrestlers
The Screwjob centered on two of the finest performers of the 1990s — Bret "Hitman" Hart, the Excellence of Execution, and Shawn Michaels, the Heartbreak Kid. The third figure, Vince McMahon, is noted in plain text; the event transformed him into wrestling's definitive on-screen authority villain.
FAQ
What was the Montreal Screwjob?
At Survivor Series 1997 in Montreal, Vince McMahon ordered the referee to ring the bell while Shawn Michaels had Bret Hart in Hart's own Sharpshooter — declaring Michaels the winner without Bret submitting. It was a real double-cross, not a planned finish, executed to take the title off the departing Hart.
How did the Screwjob create the Mr. McMahon character?
The fallout turned Vince McMahon from a background owner into an on-screen villain. The public perception of McMahon as the man who screwed Bret Hart directly birthed the tyrannical "Mr. McMahon" persona that fueled the Attitude Era.
Did Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels reconcile?
Yes. The Screwjob caused years of genuine real-life animosity between Hart, Michaels and McMahon, but Hart and Michaels reconciled publicly years later.