Why did Vince McMahon betray Bret Hart?

At Survivor Series 1997, Vince McMahon signaled for referee Earl Hebner to prematurely ring the bell in the WWE title main event between Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels.

We are, of course, referring to the infamous Montreal Screwjob, where Vince McMahon made one of the most controversial moves in WWE history. So why did Vince McMahon betray Bret Hart and have the WWE title changed without his consent?

On this day 23 years ago, Bret Hart was the victim of the infamous Montreal Screwjob, losing his world heavyweight title to Shawn Michaels when Vince McMahon ordered referee Earl Hebner to ring the bell as Michaels held Hart in the Sharpshooter pic.twitter.com/XSjvJwHDf2

— SI Wrestling (@SI_wrestling) November 9, 2020

It goes back to December 1995 - nearly two full years before the Montreal Screwjob. Madusa had signed with WCW, jumping ship from WWE. She took the Women's Championship and threw it in the trash on Nitro. While she later admitted that Eric Bischoff coerced her into doing it, Vince McMahon was on constant alert.

1997 was one of the peaks of the Monday Night Wars when then-WWE champion Bret Hart was given the go-ahead by Vince McMahon to approach WCW for a more lucrative contract.

Bret Hart was about to leave WWE, but he didn't want to drop the World title to Shawn Michaels in Montreal, Canada. Instead, the planned finish was a disqualification, with Bret Hart vacating the title the following night on RAW.

However, Vince McMahon felt like he couldn't take the risk of another Madusa incident. Imagine the impact if Bret Hart showed up on Nitro and trashed the WWE title on live TV.

Shawn Michaels revealed years later that Triple H gave Vince McMahon the idea of "bringing business to Bret Hart". Although Bret Hart was never likely going to do what Madusa did, Vince McMahon couldn't take the chance.

Was Vince McMahon's betrayal a personal attack on Bret Hart?

Contrary to popular belief, Vince McMahon's decision to betray Bret Hart had nothing to do with The Hitman himself. However, the nature of how it was done is still criticized to this day.

After the Montreal Screwjob, Vince McMahon confronted Bret Hart backstage and allowed him to take a shot at him. pic.twitter.com/810fUVrIDK

— Wrestling Facts (@WrestlingsFacts) January 21, 2020

Vince McMahon's ultimate goal was to protect WWE, and through the controversy, the Mr. McMahon character was born. Had it not been for that character, it's unlikely that 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin and The Rock would have reached the level of megastardom that they did.

Thankfully, Bret Hart and Vince McMahon made amends years later. Bret Hart was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006 - nearly a decade after The Montreal Screwjob.