The Montreal Screwjob will probably go down in history as the most controversial event in the history of pro-wrestling as well as one of the most influential in the business because it was one of the pioneers of the WWE's Attitude era which helped them become bigger than WCW and eventually buy them.

People have mixed opinions about the Montreal Screwjob. I'm sure there are facts out there which we fans don't know of, even if we've heard all the
interviews that Bret Hart or Vince McMahon or Shawn Michaels gave about it and even if we read its Wikipedia page along with all the references. Some facts would be embedded within the minds of the people involved in it, and others who were present in the roster at that time (e.g., Undertaker). Bret Hart has stated in a few interviews that Undertaker would be able to back him for every word that he stated, but I have never heard Undertaker mention anything about the Montreal Screwjob in any of his back-stage out-of-character interviews. I'm sure he knows all about it, though (being a good friend of Bret, the locker-room leader for Vince, and the longest lasting wrestler in the WWE along with Shawn Michaels).

My personal take on it is that championships, victories and matches are scripted. Bret Hart did not own the championship title. He was given the belt because he was a good wrestler and one of the fan-favourites, but he should not have felt that he was bigger than the business and larger than the company. If he was going to WCW, he should have had no problems in dropping the title to Shawn Michaels as Vince asked him to do on Survivor series. He can't be willing to goto WCW on one side and also hold the WWF championship belt on the other side. Bret said that he did not want to lose the title in his country in front of his country-men and he was all-right with losing the title to Shawn the next night on Raw, but how would that have made a difference? He was still going to lose it in front of his country-men and in his own country. His character was that of a Canadian national hero and he also said that he was treated that way in Canada, but once again - it was only an on-screen character. It was not a real character. I'm sure that his fans in Canada knew that wrestling is scripted, and so are the results of matches or championships. His character or his fan-following cannot be more important than the company which created it in the first place, and gave it the platform to grow. I'm sure his contract-price would not have gotten altered whether he would've retained the title or dropped it that night, so I don't understand how it mattered to him. A lot of champions have otherwise dropped their titles in their home-towns or countries, so I don't see why Bret couldn't.

This leads me to believe that whatever Vince did was correct, because Bret left him with no other option, as he was adamant about retaining the title that night. You have to do what the boss says because he created the industry and made you (and many others) popular. Don't get me wrong here - I have immense respect for Bret Hart, and I think that he is one of the greatest wrestlers ever. Very few could match him in technical skill. I stood up, clapped for him during his Hall of Fame induction and bowed down to him in salute. I was very happy that Vince decided to induct him, and he showed up. It was one of my happiest moments in the wrestling industry. But hey, there are lot of wrestlers out there like Undertaker and Shawn Michaels who have survived in the industry for much longer than Bret Hart and who have never been title-hungry. Look at the number of championships they have, as against the high number of championships and long title-reigns which HHH or Edge or John Cena have had. But there is no doubt that Undertaker and Shawn are bigger legends than them. Championship titles don't matter that much, because they are scripted at the end of the day. Bret had passion for the job he did and the skill he had, but he got too emotional with it (in my estimation) instead of treating it as 'business'. That makes me feel that what Vince said ("Bret Hart screwed Bret Hart") was true. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter as to how many championships you held, and why do you want to hang on to it when you are leaving the company?

I don't expect everyone to agree with me, and if you post a reply to this, please bear in mind that I have not offended Bret Hart. I have backed my points with reasoning and I expect the same from you when you state your opinions. No offensive comments from die-hard Bret Hart fans, please - I have also been one of you.