The Montreal Screwjob at Survivor Series 1997 is one of the most storied nights in wrestling history, marking the occasion when referee Earl Hebner rang the bell while Shawn Michaels had the Sharpshooter applied to Bret Hart despite Hart not tapping out. Hart and Michaels had such hostility for one another backstage that Hart refused to drop the title to Michaels in Montreal, and Vince McMahon made the decision to take matters into his own hands.
After the incident, Bret Hart went to WCW, and it would be many years before he returned to the WWE in any capacity. However, he was able to mend his relationship with Vince McMahon and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006. It would be another four years before he and Shawn Michaels were able to repair their relationship, making up publicly during an in-ring segment on WWE Raw in 2010.
Bret Hart Wishes Animosity With Shawn Michaels Hadn’t Happened And Says The Two Are Now Close Friends
As part of a Montreal Screwjob profile written by Jonathan Snowden of The Ringer, Bret Hart reflected on his relationship with Shawn Michaels and detailed the moment he decided it was time to mend fences between the two. He also indicated that had the two not had such bad blood between them, he might not have suffered a career-ending injury at the hands of Goldberg.
“We had our issues over the years. But I watched Undertaker and Shawn Michaels wrestle at one of the WrestleManias. Even then, I had such a bitterness towards Shawn, but I had to admit it was one of the greatest matches I ever watched. That’s where I ended up deciding to make friends with Shawn and bury the hatchet and all that.
“It was very truthful, that little storyline with me and Vince and Shawn. Me and Shawn making up in the ring (in 2010) and shaking hands and all that, that was all very real and very moving for me. And was not something that was orchestrated. Shawn wanted that off his back and I was in a position to take it off his back and that was the best resolution for both of us. We’ve been friends ever since. And I’m grateful that he’s in a better place today.
“I wish that none of the bad history that we had-had ever happened. I wished I’d never left for WCW because I probably wouldn’t have had a stroke and I probably wouldn’t have had to wrestle Bill Goldberg.”