The Undertaker opens up on 1997 event that changed the fate of two WWE Hall of Famers

The Undertaker is one of the most revered pro wrestlers the WWE has ever produced. Despite his in-ring retirement, the Stamford-based promotion features The Phenom in several documentaries and docuseries episodes. He recently talked about a moment in the past that changed the fate of two Hall of Famers.

Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels fought one of the most notorious matches at Survivor Series 1997 in Montreal. HBK used Hart’s submission move, The Sharpshooter, but before The Hitman could submit, referee Earl Hebner rang the bell and declared Michaels as the winner and new WWE Champion on Vince McMahon’s orders. Hart wasn’t aware that this was going to happen at all.

This incident is infamously known as The Montreal Screwjob, which marred the fates of Michaels and Hart. The Undertaker, known as a locker room leader back then, talked about the incident and its impact on both the Hall of Famers and his Six Feet Under Podcast.

“That's a shame. As you said, they both had great, such stellar careers, phenomenal careers. And you get asked about one political hit job. I guess it's great for the marks to talk and argue about... No, why would you be proud of that, right? That sucked, man. I guess it's great for the marks to talk and argue about that's the only good thing I guess... But I feel bad for Shawn and Bret. I'm friends with both of them. I think the world of both of those guys, and I'm glad everybody's kind of in a different spot now, but it really sucked that had to happen," said Taker. [59:46 - 1:00:30]

The reason behind Vince McMahon screwing Bret Hart over was the latter's decision to quit WWE for WCW soon after. He didn’t want The Hitman to remain the champ after former Women's Champion Alundra Blayze threw her title into a trash can in a live WCW episode.

Interestingly, while The Undertaker mentioned his grief for Bret Hart, he also holds the Hall of Famer in high regard. Moreover, he recently unveiled that The Hitman is one of the few wrestlers who made him chase greatness.

---

The Undertaker credits Bret Hart for taking him to new heights

While 1997 was a bad year for Bret Hart, it also features one of the most legendary matches he fought against The Undertaker.

Hart and The Phenom clashed at SummerSlam, and Taker lost his WWE Title. Despite this, The Deadman recalled this moment on the same episode of his podcast as an uplifter in his career.

"I didn't wanna be known, "Oh, he was one of the grealest characters ever.' I also wanted to be known as one of the great workers, and Bret, working with him allowed me to do that because his work was solid and he was only gonna go so far within the range of the gimmick and everything, and I liked that because it forced me to figure out how to have good wrestling matches and be in character too." [20:59-21.34]

Bret Hart is still praised for being a good technical wrestler, which inspired many others to execute more cleanly. While the Montreal Screwjob was a dark event, HBK and The Hitman now stand as two of the only seven wrestlers inducted twice into the WWE Hall of Fame.

Just like The Undertaker, it would be interesting to see The Hitman make some WWE cameos in the future.

If you use any of the above quotes, please credit the Six Feet Under podcast and give an H/T to Sportskeeda for the transcription.