Bret Hart Reveals Original WWE Survivor Series 1997 Plans Before Montreal Screwjob

It’s been 25 years since the Montreal Screwjob, and it remains one of the most controversial events in American pro wrestling history.

With WWF Champion Bret Hart set to depart WWF for WCW, Vince McMahon needed the title off The Hitman, and schemed to swerve Hart out of the title, with Hart unwilling to drop the championship in Canada to Shawn Michaels.

The question remains though, what would have happened if the match went off as Hart expected? Well Hitman gave his side of the story to Sports Illustrated:

“We had another 25 minutes,” Hart began. “The match was already good, and we hadn’t even hit our stride.”

Whilst Hart and Michaels were far from friends in 1997, Hart always enjoyed working with HBK in the ring:

“Even when we didn’t get along, Shawn and I always had great chemistry together in the ring,” Hart says. “When we worked together, we wanted to be flawless, and we didn’t get along, and that added to the intensity. When I clothesline Shawn over the top rope and we brawl and fight outside the ring, I could tell it was going to be a really special match. It was very competitive."

“That match was just starting,” Hart continues. “All the brawling was done just to set up the actual match. It was going to really get going after I reversed his sharpshooter. We pictured the crowd standing up and going crazy. That was going to be the moment when it took off.”

The situation was awkward regardless of the outcome, with Hart needing to do the job to someone before he went to Atlanta. However he never believed Vince McMahon would do him dirty:

“I convinced myself they weren’t going to screw me,” Hart says. “I gave Vince 14 years, and I gave him 100% every night. We would have had a great match that night.”