5 reasons the Montreal Screwjob was the right thing to do 

The Montreal Screwjob saw WWE betray Bret Hart in one of the worst ways possible
The Montreal Screwjob saw WWE betray Bret Hart in one of the worst ways possible

#2 A certain Rattlesnake got a lot out of this event

While not often thought of as a benefactor of the Montreal Screwjob, Stone Cold Steve Austin was the one to dethrone Shawn Michaels. Between Survivor Series 1997 and WrestleMania XIV, HBK had a 140-day title reign.

Now, Austin had already had a run in with Bret Hart the previous year, in what's considered the greatest double-turn in all of professional wrestling. Austin's resilience turned him into a major babyface for fans to root for. Oddly enough, he'd be the one to get a bit of revenge for Hart.

youtube-cover

Thanks to the inclusion of Mike Tyson, who seemed to be on Michael's side, it looked like he was about to screw another major star out of a title. As a special enforcer, Tyson was wearing a D-X shirt, and had gotten into a short brawl with Austin in the weeks leading to the event.

In the end, Stone Cold Steve Austin overcame the numbers advantage of D-Generation X and had an extra trick up his sleeve. He turned Michaels' plan around, and Tyson assisted Austin in capturing the WWF Championship that night. In an attempt to replicate the Montreal Screwjob, in a sense, Michaels was hoisted by his own petard.

Bret Hart essentially helped Stone Cold Steve Austin become a mega star on two separate occasions, and Austin was the one to right the wrong that was the Montreal Screwjob.


#1 There is no Mr. McMahon without the Montreal Screwjob

The greatest character in professional wrestling, and you're wrong if you think otherwise. Mr. McMahon was, essentially, created on this night when he screwed Bret Hart. Without the Montreal Screwjob, there is no Mr. McMahon.

Well, according to him, Bret screwed Bret. An arrogant, pompous boss that was out to save his own hide and the company, even at the expense of an employee. Many people understood what it was like to work for someone like that, and that made it so much better when Stone Cold Steve Austin got the best of him for years on end.

The Stone Cold-Mr. McMahon feud is possibly the greatest feud of all time. That doesn't even have to limit it to professional wrestling, but TV in general. A lot of that doesn't really happen if fans don't have a real, honest to God reason to hate the man. Thanks to the Montreal Screwjob, they did. And it was thanks to the creation of Mr. McMahon that Steve Austin truly achieved his next level.

Quick Links

Edited by Prem Deshpande
sk promotional banner
Sportskeeda logo
Close menu
WWE
WWE
NBA
NBA
NFL
NFL
MMA
MMA
Tennis
Tennis
NHL
NHL
Golf
Golf
MLB
MLB
Soccer
Soccer
F1
F1
WNBA
WNBA
More
More
bell-icon Manage notifications