The Montreal Screwjob was a work, according to legendary wrestling reporter (Exclusive)

The Montreal Screwjob was one of the most controversial moments in WWE history. Legendary reporter Bill Apter recently explained why he thinks Bret Hart knew about Vince McMahon's plan ahead of time.

At Survivor Series 1997, Hart expected to retain the WWE Championship against real-life rival Shawn Michaels via disqualification before joining WCW. However, McMahon booked Michaels as the winner without informing Hart because he was worried The Hitman would appear in WCW with the WWE title. Following the match, Hart spat at McMahon and punched him in the face backstage.

Apter addressed the Montreal Screwjob on Sportskeeda's The Wrestling Time Machine with host Mac Davis and WWE Hall of Famer Teddy Long. He speculated that the on-screen and off-screen events of that night were all scripted:

"I'm gonna say something that's gonna get a lot of people ticked off," Apter said. "I think they all knew it was gonna happen at that time, and I think Vince let Bret punch him in the face to make that whole thing just [seem real]. They needed to get rid of him [Bret Hart] because he was making the money they couldn't pay him anymore." [7:57 – 8:17]

While he appreciates that many people will disagree with his opinion, Apter is convinced Hart and McMahon orchestrated the Montreal Screwjob together:

"Yeah, I've said that on shows before. Now, if Bret's watching this or hearing this, he's gonna disagree with me, but I said many times I thought the whole thing was a work because that was the best way to get out of doing this." [8:22 – 8:36]

Watch the video above to hear more from the panel about Hart's recent Montreal Screwjob comments.

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Teddy Long's take on the Montreal Screwjob

Around the time of Survivor Series 1997, Teddy Long had not yet started working for WWE. He joined the company a year later as a referee before becoming an on-screen authority figure and manager.

Responding to Bill Apter's theory, Long only had positive things to say about Bret Hart. He also refused to elaborate on whether he thinks the Montreal Screwjob might have been planned:

"If it was a work and Bret exposed it to being a work, then it wouldn't be as popular as it is," Long said. "You wouldn't be able to really talk about it. My thing is this, I love Bret to death. Whenever I'm on a signing and I know he's there, I always make sure I go by and speak to him. Me and him have always been good friends. I don't know what to say about this. I'm just gonna stay out of it because I wasn't even working there at the time all this went down, so I really don't know." [8:52 – 9:21]

Bill Apter is not the only person to raise questions about the Montreal Screwjob. In an interview on the Cheap Heat Productions Podcast, former WWE referee Jimmy Korderas said it is "very plausible" Hart knew about the plan.

Do you think Bret Hart had prior knowledge of the Survivor Series 1997 finish? Hit the discuss button and let us know.

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