Montreal Screwjob (Part 1)

PART 1 OF 2: 
The Montreal Screwjob was an unscripted professional wrestling incident at the WWF Survivor Series pay-per-view on November 9, 1997, at the Molson Centre in Montreal. World Wrestling Federation owner Vince McMahon manipulated the outcome of the main event title bout between Bret "The Hitman" Hart, the reigning WWF Champion, and The Heartbreak Kid, Shawn Michaels. 

Hart — a five-time champion, had been with the WWF since 1984, and was a consistent fan favorite. But shortly before Survivor Series, he signed a contract with rival company WCW following many months of back and forth between Hart and the two companies. Now we’ll get into the specifics of that deal and how it came about, but long story short The Hitman wasn’t willing to drop the title to Shawn Michaels, who he did not get along with on or off-screen, in his home country of Canada.

As a part of his final negotiated contract with WWF, Hart was to have a high degree of creative control of his final days with the company. Before the Survivor series match, Hart and McMahon came to an agreement that it would end with a DQ, and Hart would then forfeit the title shortly after to another opponent such as Stone Cold Steve Austin. In what is generally believed to be a personal, off-screen betrayal of Hart, McMahon colluded with Shawn Michaels and others to ensure the championship belt would change hands that night.

Twenty minutes into the match, Michaels put Hart in his own signature submission hold, The Sharpshooter. At McMahon’s request, the referee quickly called the match even though Hart had not submitted and he had thought that there were several more minutes choreographed in the match. Michaels became Champion and walked off with the belt right then and there. Many see this as the pivotal moment that birthed Vince McMahon’s pivot into a corporate villain that America loved to hate, and catapulted the WWF into massive success in the late 90s and beyond.

Listen in as the boys discuss one of wildest events in sports history, along with a healthy dose of 90's wrestling nostalgia.

*PART 2 COMES OUT THURSDAY, 2/16 @ 10 P.M. EST*

Available in video form on YouTube!