WWE: Destruction of Bret Hart – Aftermath of the infamous Montreal incident

“1997 was the breaking point for wrestling and in many ways, my marriage with Bret. Outside of real-life tragedies such as Owen’s death and his stroke, that was the hardest night of Bret’s life for sure.” – Julie Hart on Bret Hart

For a professional wrestler, respect and leaving a lasting legacy is everything. A character is only as good as the person portraying it, and this was where Bret Hart found his “home”. Many consider Bret too serious for the business, when infact, Bret loved the business too much to “fake” it.

Like the old school wrestlers such as Ric Flair and Sammartino, Bret Hart lived through professional wrestling. For Bret, “The Hitman” wasn’t a character, but himself. As such, respect meant everything to Bret, and on a fateful night in November, it cost him everything.

In one second, Bret Hart lost his career, and his legacy was tainted. He wasn’t to be remembered as “The best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be” in the then WWF. He was simply known as the guy who was “screwed” out of the company. Bret Hart on that night essentially lost his life and his career.

Everyone has an opinion about what happened on that night. Whether it was his own fault or the fault of Vince McMahon, Shawn Michaels and Triple H, we can go on debating about it forever.

Today, I don’t intend to dig up an old grave, but instead I look at the aftermath of that night in Montreal, and how it impacted all the three individuals involved, but more so about the protagonist, Bret Hart. It has always been wondered what would have happened if the Montreal Screwjob had never happened. How did that one night impact the careers of Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart?

 

Well, Shawn Michaels went on to take a hiatus from professional wrestling for four years due to an injury, but came back and performed for the next eight years. In all fairness, Shawn’s hiatus was due to an injury he picked up during a match, and hence it can’t be blamed on that one night.