The Montreal Screwjob was without a doubt one of the biggest moments in wrestling history. Vince McMahon and his cronies lied to their WWF Champion Bret Hart and covertly manipulated the end of the match so Hart would lose the WWF title to Shawn Michaels even though that was not in the script. This “Screwjob” is believed to be a real-life betrayal of Bret Hart, one of WWE’s longest-tenured and popular wrestlers at the time.
The Legacy Of The Montreal Screwjob
The Montreal Screwjob garnered a notorious legacy both on and off-screen, it created far-reaching implications for the future of WWE, with many crediting as the birth of the Attitude Era as well as the creation of the “Mr. McMahon” character. Though what made the Montreal Screwjob so iconic was the real-life drama it created.
The real-life part is what is important here — the real-life story of the match is why it became one of wrestling's most iconic moments. 24 years later, it is still considered to be the best example of pro wrestling kayfabe being ripped to shreds and it still might be the most famous match finish that ever happened.
As it was one of the most famous match finishes ever, WWE has made every effort to recreate that magic. There have been many attempts at recreating the Montreal Screwjob, the problem is none of them were real. Because the Montreal Screwjob became so infamous, WWE has tried to use the event to propel other storylines, to turn wrestlers heel, to switch the championship.
Having a heel authority figure ending a match prematurely is one thing, but do WWE really need to create shot-for-shot recreations of the Montreal Screwjob? What does that accomplish? It just looks like a desperate attempt to recreate past glory.
The Montreal Screwjob’s value is in the fact that it was real life, and every time WWE has attempted kayfabe imitations of it, it just got more and more embarrassing.
It’s funny to even think WWE is trying to use it as a way to propel stories anymore. They just see it as a meme, something to do whenever they are in Montreal, or whenever Bret Hart is in town, or one of his relatives are in a match, or Shawn Michaels is in town, or there’s a heel authority figure, or as a way to not have a heel lose.
It has lost all meaning at this point. Whenever WWE attempts to recreate the Screwjob, the reaction from the crowd is eye rolls. Nobody cares that the heels have cheated the babyface out of their victory, they just throw their hands up in despair at WWE doing the Screwjob yet again.
The Imitations Of The Montreal Screwjob
The first time WWE recreated the Montreal Screwjob was exactly one year after the first one, Survivor Series 1998. For two years in a row, Survivor Series ended in a screwjob. One was real, one was a mere imitation. The Rock was facing Mankind for the WWF title, Rock locked in the infamous Sharpshooter as Vince McMahon called for the bell at ringside. Rock turned heel to become the Corporate Champion as JR yelled, “They screwed us all!” A Rock heel turn did not need all of the baggage of the Montreal Screwjob.
The next time WWE recreated the Screwjob was in 2001, quite fitting, the event which birthed the Attitude Era had a cheap knockoff in the year that it ended. A recently heel Stone Cold Steve Austin faced Chris Benoit on a Raw in Canada. McMahon called for the bell while Austin had Benoit in a crossface as a building of angry Canadians made their feelings known.
With each imitation, the stakes just got lower and lower, they did a Montreal Screwjob in a Street Fight with Shane McMahon and Shawn Michaels at Saturday Night’s Main Event 06. They did another when CM Punk faced Undertaker in a submission match at Breaking Point 09. They did another on a random Smackdown when Daniel Bryan faced the Big Show in 2012. Then another in a Women’s Championship match between Natalya and Charlotte Flair as Bret Hart was at ringside.
That was the last one… For now.
WWE aren’t the only ones who have ripped off the Screwjob — WCW did it, TNA did it, and even the WWE '13 video game did it. The Montreal Screwjob was an iconic, once-in-a-lifetime event because it was real. Any kayfabe imitation will never accomplish the same goals as the original.