"They had to do it" – The Undertaker opens up about controversial WWE title change

The Undertaker was one of WWE's top main-eventers throughout the 1990s. In a recent podcast episode, the wrestling icon gave his take on Shawn Michaels' WWE Championship win over Bret Hart in 1997.

WCW-bound Hart initially thought he would retain the title against his real-life rival at Survivor Series. However, then-WWE Chairman Vince McMahon feared The Hitman might show up on rival show WCW Nitro with the championship. As a result, he booked Michaels to win without informing Hart.

At the time, The Undertaker was furious that nobody in WWE consulted him about the controversial booking decision. Now, almost 27 years later, he said on Six Feet Under that McMahon had little choice but to take the title off Hart:

"As mad as I was about it, about the Screwjob, at the end of the day, I don't know at that point there was any choice. They had to do it. And that s*cks because I consider Bret a really good friend. You hate for something like that to happen, but I know Bret wanted to stay. It's just one of those situations. Really unfortunate," The Undertaker stated. [58:27 – 59:01]

The incident occurred after Hart refused to lose the title to Michaels due to their legitimate dislike of one another. The finish to the match has since become known as the Montreal Screwjob.

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Why The Undertaker feels bad for Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels

To this day, interviewers occasionally ask Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels to reflect on what happened at Survivor Series 1997.

Given how talented both men were as wrestlers, The Undertaker thinks it is a shame that a negative moment is still a big talking point:

"That s*cked, man. I guess it's great for the marks [wrestling fans] to talk and argue about. That's the only good thing, I guess. I don't know. But I feel bad for Shawn and Bret. I mean, I'm friends with both of them. I think the world of both of those guys. I'm glad everybody is kind of in a different spot now, but it really s*cked that that had to happen." [1:00:07 – 1:00:30]

The Undertaker also gave his take on WWE fans calling Hart "sour" due to his remarks about modern-day wrestling.

What are your thoughts on the Survivor Series 1997 finish? Hit the discuss button and let us know.

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Please credit Six Feet Under w/Mark Calaway and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.