“You’ll Always Be Loyal..”: WWE Legend Reveals Why Vince McMahon Did Not Make Him a Part of the Montreal Screwjob

The wrestling world is full of incidents that shook the fans to their core. Such occurrences, as rare as they may be, have the potential to change the image of a promotion. None of the incidents would come close to the infamous ‘Montreal Screwjob’ in terms of pure shock value. The world stood still and took notice when the said incident occurred in 1997. The WWE Chairman Vince McMahon is known to be the mastermind behind this controversy.

Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart was at the receiving end of this infamous incident. It had become clear that The Hitman would be leaving WWE in favor of the then-rival promotion WCW in 1997. And the incumbent WWF champion had refused to put over Shawn Michaels at that year’s Survivor Series.

Then Chairman Vince McMahon didn’t want to risk his promotion’s prestigious title ending up at the rival promotion. Thus, he concocted a secret plan with close aids to change the match’s outcome. Former WWE commentator and official Jim Ross aka JR recently talked about that fateful night in Grilling JR (h/t: wrestlinginc.com).

JR opens up about a conversation with Vince McMahon

He talked about not being told about the said incident and confronting McMahon later. “I said [to Vince], ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ He said, ‘Because I want the talent to always know the truth and that is you didn’t have, you were not a party to this deal. This is not your idea. You didn’t endorse it.”

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“You’ll always be loyal to the talent and if you’d have known … [Ross] could have prevented it.’ I couldn’t prevent it. It was a done deal” added the former WWE announcer. JR was serving as The Head of Talent for the promotion at that time. And he was also on commentary duties that night.

The incident and its aftermath

During the championship match, Michaels would ironically lock Hart in his own trademark Sharpshooter submission. The referee for the match, Earl Hebner on prior instructions from the Chairman ordered for the ring to the bell. And in the process, handing the match and the title to HBK. This would go on to surprise everyone present at the arena and numerous watching at home. 

Realizing that he had been duped, Hart would cause a ruckus backstage and even went on to manhandle McMahon. The Chairman would later go on and announce in an interview that he was not in the wrong. He would utter the now infamous line, “Bret Screwed Bret”.

The fact that Vince McMahon did not even entrust his close associate Jim Ross with the secret goes to show how closely guarded his plan was. All the involved parties Vince McMahon, Bret Hart, and Shawn Michaels would eventually iron out their differences. But it cannot be denied that the incident will forever be regarded as a blemish in the rich history of the promotion.

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