The fact that WCW couldn't find something interesting to do with Bret following the most talked-about, controversial angle in business history says a lot about their creativity and wrestling IQ.

It’s even more sad because this was the start of his turmoil not only in wrestling but in his personal life as well. This man genuinely loved doing what he did and regardless if he had a big ego or not, as some might say, there’s no denying that he was the most loyal and professional which would make sense on why he was the also the hurt about what happened to him.

"I was never driven by money I was driven by respect..." I like that

Be loyal to yourself before being loyal to the company.

Finest storyteller to ever grace the business. There’s no match like a Bret Hart match .

Has bad as this was for bret at the time, he became the hottest free agent in wrestling history. Its such a shame WCW messed up his run.

Bret Hart is a victim. He’s a victim of having morals in a corporate world with none. He’s a victim of the emphasis of marketability over content. He’s a victim a backstage politics and oneupmanship. He’s a victim of circumstances and timing. He’s a victim of dishonesty and betrayal by Vince and sadly he’s a victim of grief. What Bret said about the direction the business was going in the attitude era has ultimately come to pass. The business reached short term highs but at what cost? Bret knew in the long run the abandoning of the fundamental attractions of wrestling would harm the industry but nobody listened and nobody cared. He was right. Bret Hart is a victim but what should be remembered here is he was a bloody well talented one who deserves the upmost respect.

Bret was truly hurt. Sometimes a man dies on the inside after trauma. everything he believed in turned into a delusion. He was heartbroken. It wasn't about the championship. It wasn't because of the money. His Boss, co-workers, acquaintances, friends. People he spent so much time with stabbed him in the back. They showed they had no respect for him. They showed they did not care for his feelings.

My friend and I met Bret shortly after he arrived in WCW. He greeted us warmly with his smile and hugged us. Yet there was a bit of sadness in his smile. Bret implied to us what he said in this interview: he'd worked for the WWE for 14 years, hardly took time off, and [this was the appreciation he got]. I told him, "I would think that if anything, you should get a 'Best Employee' recognition for all you did!" Bret gave me his warm smile in response. I only wish that Bret, or someone could have foreseen the Goldberg factor. I had/have full respect for what Bret contributed to professional wrestling.

I think Vince had it planed for months before Montreal, that's why he made Bret heel for the fans to dislike him before showing him the door, still to this day i hate what they done to Bret Hart 🇨🇦

It hurts to see Bret hurt so much. He had more integrity in his little finger than either Vince or Shawn has in their whole bodies.

*Some facts about the double-cross:* -Hebner didn't know about the double-cross until he was going to the ring for the match -Bret offered to drop the belt to anyone apart from Michaels, including the Brooklyn Brawler (Bret also had his lawyer send a letter to Vince telling Vince he'd love to lose the belt to Steve Austin) - Vince never once asked Bret to drop the belt at the Survivor Series -There was never the slightest chance of Bret turning up on Nitro the night after the Survivor Series as his contract wasn't up until December 1st (and Bischoff had given Bret an extra week on top of that, leaving almost a month for Vince to work something out for Bret to drop the belt) -Bret had agreed to multiple scenarios to drop the belt, including on a major MSG house shows or at the December In Your House PPV -Michaels, HHH and Gerald Briscoe were in Michaels' hotel room the night before the double-cross with Briscoe trying to teach Michaels how to escape submission holds for real in case Bret tried to attack Michaels post-double-cross

In Sept 1997 I was in Birmingham in the UK at "One Night Only" Shawn convinced Vince that it was best for the company that he beat Bulldog that night, it was changed at the last minute that he did beat Bulldog and there was basically a riot. There was tension everywhere. Never seen anything like it a restyling event. From that point forward i was convinced there was something against the Harts by the McMahons. Brets story since Nov 1997 hasn't changed once. He was totally and utterly screwed. There was never a chance Bret was going to go to WCW with the belt. WCW as they were with Blayze would have been taken to court and they would have lost. The whole thing is harrowing. Owen not being able to leave cost him his life. Bulldog going to WCW got a back injury which caused him to have back issues which caused his addiction issues to get worse and Bret suffers a concussion which leads to a stroke.

Only if Owen have gotten his release from WWF as Bret Hart wished 😭😭 RiP Owen Hart 😢

I got in a lot of fights in elementary because of Bret when he turned. I still looked up to the Bret from 92-94. Seriously a knife to the heart as a child.

The best there is, the best there was, the best there ever will be. Hope all is well for Brett hart

Thank you so much for posting this. Bret was a serious class act

Totally believe Brett on this. Vince has been a bad dude probably since the beginning. Thank you Brett for so many years of wrestling enjoyment. Haven't watched any wrestling for years now. But back then I watched regularly. Appreciated wrestlers like Brett back then.

If this was a work, we are the biggest marks ever haha

That's what 14 years of loyalty and carrying the company through the Monday night wars gets you

Former World Wrestling Federation Champion, Bret Hitman Hart. In his 1st interview, post-Survivor Series and the RAW Segment that followed.

The best there is! The best there was! And the best That will ever be!💯

Obviously so much has come out since this interview details wise but I find it so interesting how hard he is still trying to protect the business during this interview. Internet isn’t mainstream yet. Curtain hasn’t been pulled back completely yet and he tells certain things just enough to a point where the veil won’t be pulled back. Through all the bs he went through, he’s still trying to protect the business for his fellow wrestlers and for the fans as well. Internet was the worst thing to ever happen to pro wrestling.

Brett’s Canadian spirit is Amazing 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

Just like Jim cornette always says…the Montreal screw job is the greatest work shoot double cross in wrestling history

I was always a loyal Bret Hart fan

Thanks for all the great Canadian content ✌️🥰

Anyone who is saying this was Bret's fault or that Bret was even just 1% responsible is wrong. This was 100% on Vince MacMahon. Bret's last day wasn't even the Survivor Series. He still had another month and a half. Even if that was his last day. The second that he was signing with WCW, Vince should have said "Bret we need you to lose on Raw. Who do you feel comfortable losing to?" They could have broken up the Hart Foundation and given Owen the belt on Raw. Or replaced Shawn at the Survivor Series with Owen. Then had Owen lose to Shawn the next day. Shawn would have cried but he wasn't going anywhere. He was a place holder for Austin.

Bret said himself that Big Van Vader told him before the match that he (Bret) was going to get screwed. Bret said, "I know. I'm just going to try to stop it." So there it is folks. Bret knew, but he couldn't stop it.

Bret had no problem with dropping the belt to shawn, he offered to put shawn over and showed respect, shawn replied I appreciate that but I'm not willing to do the same for you.

I fully agree with bret in this interview, when I watched SS97 I was 17 years of age and still to this day when watching it said "that was BS, bret was reversing the hold, where the F is ref running off to"

Bret is 10000% right. Shame on Vince, Shawn, DX, and everyone involved. This will never be erased from WWE’s wrongdoings

Even now watching this,is very emotional😥Bret tell.s it as always in truth!🤔and his integrity shines through.💖Great honest wrestler,and great looking!😁🤘💗

Bro for that shit to happen to Bret.... he's still such a class act...respect!!🤛💪

Bret was right and if Vince had taken his suggestion concerning releases, the Owen might still be alive.

The Best

The Zapruder film is higher quality than the clip they'd showed of the screw job. It was 1997 furcrisakes.

I imagine what happens if the screw job didn't happen. Bret will relinquish the title on Raw the night after and was interrupted by Michaels ending with a "forceful" handshake to bret and all wrestlers would come down to the ring giving a proper send off to Bret

Bret's surprised at how he was treated, when eleven years earlier, they pulled the same stunt on Wendi Richter when Richter faced a competitor called "The Spider Lady" and got screwed out of her Ladies Championship and out of the entire WWF? Oh sure, you can make all kinds of excuses...Vince didn't want/couldn't afford to have Bret walk out on WCW television with the WWF Championship in hand and toss it in a trash can like Medusa did, but come on. Bret's as honest as the day is long, and he's got more integrity than that. I don't understand why they didn't have Bret win in Montreal and have him relinquish the belt in the ring that same night after the match, say goodbye to the fans and go proudly into that good night. But I guess when you're a compulsive liar and a control freak who absolutely has to have it your way all the time come hell or high water...and you OWN the company...I suppose Vince McMahon feels perfectly justified in perpetrating that other time-honored tradition: de-value and screw over the talent on their way out.

The best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be. Bret "Hitman" Hart.

Reminds me of CM Punk…Vince since those days just never knew what it took to make a superstar.

Off The Record was the original "shoot interview".

That time honoured tradition it such BS, how many times did SHawn drop his belts to avoid doing the job??

Canada shut down to watch this interview. It was like Roosevelt speaking after Pearl Harbor.

I don’t believe it, someone was able to find this!!!!

When this story is told it's often said "It was shitty to do it in Canada". But according to Jim Cornette, they gave Brett suggestions on where he could lose and he just refused all of them. 1. "How bout losing on this night?" - No, that's PPV. 2. "How bout losing on Saturday in Detroit?" - No, cause the next fight is in Canada and I can't go into a fight in Canada not being the champ 3. "How bout losing the event after that" No, that's in Canada. Not saying they were right to screw him, if his contract said he had creative control. Just that the "it was in Canada" factor probably wasn't all that important.

"I said. What is he gonna do. Call the newspapers ? That's what he did. I coudnt believe Bret" - Jim Cornette

The craziest thing about this, is that as hurtful as this was to Bret Hart, they still took better care of him than Goldberg ever did.

Dec 97 is when wrestling exploded, there were documentaries on tlc, a&e on pro wrestling and the screwjob , first time i saw wrestling on front page news, it all happened because of the bret hart controversy, the most exciting year to be a wrestling fan

Shawn Michaels was the accomplice. It was Triple H's idea to "Do Business For Him".

Little did Brett Hart know WCW would do literally nothing with him and his career was officially over. No one saw that coming at that point in time.

He didnt want to lose on his way out the door. Thats the bottom line. If he loved the business as much as he says, he would have done the right thing. He screwed himself because he didnt want to drop the belt

Back in the day i didn't understand what Bret was complaining about saying he was screwed unless you were a smart fan and understood the business backstage as a kid in the 90s the business was very protected .the inner works of the business wasn't exposed like today . Fans in 1997 didn't know Vince was the boss of wwf he was presented as a commentator and he never wanted fans to know he was the boss until WCW took over as the number one wrestling company

4:47 Bret said with his mouth and I quote "THIS WAS CAREFULLY PLOTTED OUT" so I KNOW not believe that the Montreal Screwjob was SET UP BY THE MASTERS OF WRESTLING!!

In all honesty he didn’t go out on his back he went out on his stomach

As far as the suggested scenario of Bret beating Shawn then come LIVE on Raw the next day and stepping down as WWE champion and skip off to WCW??? Dont make me laugh! Absolutely not!! No promoter will allow that

I miss show hosts like this guy, well spoken, clearly does homework & gives chance for the guest to speak his mind .

Owen should have the opportunity to be released

Watched this live after school

Class act

Having your ex top guy being able to say he never got beat for the competition’s main title is not reasonable. At all.

Legend

Love these 90s wrestling vids.

Was Landsberg actually siding with Vince on this? Bret didn't even need to show up as he already fulfilled his yearly dates and could have just sent the belt to Vince and left to WCW

Excellence of Execution.....👌👌👌

Bret "The Reasonable Creative Control Man" Hart

I could make a case for both sides, Hart's side and McMahon's, however I think Hart here has the stronger case, he was "screwed" and it wasn't right or fair since he was super loyal (reminds me of myself) to the company for 14 years, having only missed 2 shows in those 14 years which is pretty amazing. I think Hart's demands were reasonable, and McMahon didn't take into account that Michaels told Hart that he'd never put him over, part of the reason why Hart didn't want to lose to Shawn. As I said, I could make a case for both sides, but I'd definitely favor Bret's side as he has the stronger case, he WAS in fact a Canadian Hero and he didn't want to tarnish that, so he didn't want to lose to HBK, they should have had it end in a DQ or something with DX and the Harts coming down in a big brawl, to conclude the match in a DQ. Bret clearly stated that he'd relinquish the belt and give his farewell speech the next night on Raw and then he and the WWE would have parted ways amicably. I'm sorry but IMHO that's what Vince, should have done, despite Hart not wanting to honor the "time honored tradition". I think an exception could have been made for a man who carried the company on his back in 1994 and a good part of 1995 as well but how quickly Vince forgets about that. I'm glad they ultimately got everything settled in the mid 2000s, an argument can be made for both sides being wrong, but Vince was definitely more wrong then Bret, Bret wasn't wrong, so much as he was a tad bit selfish, caring only for the dignity of his character and his Canadian pride and all of that but ultimately Bret is right here, Bret didn't screw Bret, that's a blatant lie out of Vince's mouth, Vince screwed Bret and that's the end of it.

Undertaker said he was willing to be involved as a transfer champion between them. Bret said he was willing to relinquish the title on RAW BUT I thought of a better idea that would have been similar in controversy as that night was. As heated in real life as Bret and Shawn were. They eventually sell a seemingly shoot fight, both shoving or throwing referee out of the ring. Vince McMahon enters to get between them and Bret throws him out of the ring and sells a serious fall outside, PPV goes black. No winner apparently. Next night on Raw Vince announces he has stripped Bret of the title for his un-sportsman like conduct on him the referee, shawn, etc. Adding I own this company dammit, breaking that kayfabe officially.

What a brilliant work.

"I'll never be back" Bret appears on Raw in 2010 to bury the hatchet with Michaels

Thank goodness for the wrestling with shadows documentary. If not for that doc we would have never known Vince screwed Bret that night.

All they had to do was let Undertaker beat him... Why did HBK "have to" win? They didn't trust eachother....

I think that they were all in it and it was a work

Why is the footage of the match such poor quality? And zoomed in?

Bret is such a little cry baby. He should have dropped the belt and gone on with his life. All his reasoning not to is nothing more than ego driven garbage. Do what the boss says and drop the belt, and they wouldn't have to strip it off you the way they did.

This Canada gimmick took over him to the point in which he didn't want to lose in Canada vs HBK. HBK didn't help things either with his attitude. Bottom line is Bret should have stayed with the wwe. WcW with Hogan and hall and Nash calling shots alone should have educated Bret. Fans forget the foundation was starting to get cheers towards the end in America . Bret eventually could have turned face again and enjoyed the attitude era making a ton of money. The 2 men who loved him in real life. The rock and Austin. Those 2 would have had his back vs the haters.

WCW should’ve had Brett join nWo and nobody else. Scott, Kevin, Hulk, X-PAC and Brett. All wrestlers who left the WWF to take it out on WCW. I think that would’ve worked for Brett, especially if he kept bringing up being mistreated like Hulk did with the fans turning on him.

He wanted to go out in a classy way by relinquishing the belt and going to the major competitor. C'MON BRET!?!?!?!?! I love you but THIS IS FUCKING WRESTLING.

Loved Bret and his career. But he needed to drop that belt to Shawn. He grew up in the business, this was his life, he knows full well the right thing to do was drop that belt to Shawn.. He forced Vince's hand.. To this day he is too stubborn to admit that he was wrong.

Man , if vince released owen he'd still be alive and probably would have had a great career in WCW. Rest in peace owen

Much as I think that Vince and Shawn fucked Bret over, for Bret to think that he could go out as champion and hand back the title on Raw before going to WCW at a time when that company was a huge threat to the WWF, and when people who jumped ship had already taken their title belts with them on their way out in both directions, he really should've known better.

What I don’t get is he says he has creative control in his contract and very next sentence says he didn’t want to take the vail off wrestling. A year prior to this whatever left of kayfabe was killed by the Kliq at the garden.

If Vince would have released Owen things would have been very different

14:30 Bret Hart Saying for Vince to release Owen well they released him alright...... From the harness

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

8:47 lol like Vince would swear on that

Did I hear Roger Clemens?

I wasn’t even 1 years old when this happened 😂 but I’ve been watching the Documentaries and at first I said Vince was right because Bret would have taken the title to WCW, but after hearing him speak he seems like he genuinely would have handed it over, Vince deserved that loogy and the punch

he did see the thing with the midget though. it was on 'wrestling with shadows'. work?

This is about Bret and he got treated unfairly

19:56 I’m surprised Bret Hart didn’t punch Michael Landsberg like he did Vince McMahon after that comment

How stupid could Bret Hart be? Do you really think that McMahon is going to let someone forfeit his company's main title and just walk away? No! Bc then Bret can go to WCW and say that he is the undisputed WWF Champion because he was never pinned or made to submit in that ring. That was absolutely never ever going to happen.

What's tragic is that without Bret getting screwed the WWE doesn't take off like it did. He singlehandedly saved wrestling and how matches were done.

This incident made wrestling headline news for years and launched the Attitude Era. And so sometimes, the bad guy wins

If only he did give Owen that release...

"I'd love to see [Vince] give my brother a release" - Oh, Vince sure released him alright.

I don't blame Earl it's a shame what vince and the company done to the referee putting that on him Earl hebner still gets hate mail and threats to this very day

Bret RULES

honorable to the very end

He should of dropped the title to someone else if it was such a big deal to him