What happened? I don't understand!?

Question

Bret Hart was "screwed" a while ago. Exactly what happened?
Why doen't he come back? Chavo quit and he came back.

Answer 1

The Montreal Screwjob (a.k.a. the Montreal Incident, Montreal Finish, Survivor Series Screwjob, or The Double Cross) is professional wrestling parlance for a genuine incident that took place on November 9, 1997 during a match for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) Championship between Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels at Survivor Series. The incident featured WWF Chairman Vince McMahon instructing referee Earl Hebner to prematurely end the match, cheating Hart out of the WWF Championship he held. The incident was featured in the 1998 movie Wrestling with Shadows, a documentary about Hart's life as a WWF wrestler. It was also featured in the McMahon DVD.

Hart's contract with WWF
After his loss to Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XII in March 1996, Bret Hart took a leave of absence from the World Wrestling Federation. For the next seven months, he was in talks with both the WWF and World Championship Wrestling over contracts and was considering giving up wrestling. He had briefly experimented with acting, playing in Lonesome Dove: The Outlaw Years, and was considering changing careers.

In October 1996, Hart signed an unprecedented twenty-year contract with the WWF. Hart had been with and remained loyal to the WWF since 1984. He also had emerged from wrestling mainly in tag teams to becoming a popular and respected singles star. Between 1991 and 1996, Hart won the WWF Championship three times and the Intercontinental Title twice. He also won the King of the Ring tournament in 1993, was featured as a participant in the main events of Wresltemanias IX, X and XII, was named WWF Superstar of the Year in 1993, and was joint winner of the 1994 Royal Rumble alongside Lex Luger. The contract that he signed in 1996 called for him to wrestle three more years with the WWF and then complete his career in a behind-the-scenes writing and booking position. Both sides felt that the contract was a suitable and appropriate expression of Hart's loyalty to the WWF and its loyalty to him.

However, by the middle of 1997, the WWF was in serious financial straits due mainly to WCW taking over as North America's top pro wrestling promotion. Additionally, many felt that Hart's behavior had become more erratic and he began making demands; for example, insisting that the European-only pay-per-view One Night Only also be shown in Canada. This was cause for Vince McMahon to regret offering such an expensive deal to Hart.

As a result, McMahon informed Hart that he wished to withdraw from the contract, and he encouraged Hart to again seek employment with WCW. When Hart asked about his plans for his "Hitman" character, giving McMahon an option to entice Hart with interesting story ideas, the ideas put out by Vince made it clear to Hart that he was not part of McMahon's longterm plans. Meanwhile, Hart had developed concerns with the recent, less family-friendly direction of the WWF under its "Attitude" branding, as well as with his character expressing views that he did not personally endorse (he had also been turned into a heel during the early part of 1997; something he had not cared for). Hart thus elected to sign with WCW.

On November 1, 1997, after several weeks of negotiations, Hart agreed to a three million dollar a year contract with WCW. As part of his WWF contract, Hart had "reasonable creative control" over his character in the last days of his WWF tenure. Therefore, he had input as to what he would and would not do and say.


[edit] Hart's personal feud with Michaels
Hart also had one major caveat: he would not lose the WWF Championship to Shawn Michaels, toward whom he had legitimate personal animosity that had spanned several years. The backstage ill-feeling between Hart and Michaels meant that neither man was willing to lose face in or out of the ring to the other, but they agreed to work together for the sake of the business. At the time, Hart and Michaels had radically different lifestyles and attitudes out of the ring and had clashed previously. One such incident was provoked when Michaels implied that Hart was sleeping with WWF valet Sunny. This led to Hart attacking Michaels backstage during a taping of RAW after they had gotten into a verbal argument (Hart claimed several years later in a shoot interview that the real reason for the fight was due to him expressing his concern that Michaels' drug problems would affect his ability to protect Hart's injured knee during a match). Hart has claimed on his own website that he never said he would not lose in Canada, as he had lost in Canada several times; instead, his only demand was that he not be made to lose to Michaels. However, Michaels said in his biography that Bret's excuse was that he was a hero in Canada, and that the fans might riot.

The relationship between both men was very rocky at best. Hart was angered about how much booking power The Clique, of which Michaels was a part, had apparently gained during the mid-1990s. The Clique had all but run the main storylines of the WWF in 1995, with Diesel as WWF Champion and Michaels and Razor Ramon at the top of the midcard feuding over the Intercontinental Championship. Meanwhile, Hart languished in midcard feuds with Hakushi, Jerry Lawler, Isaac Yankem, and Jean-Pierre Lafitte before defeating Diesel for the championship again at Survivor Series 1995. In the buildup to their 60-minute "Iron Man" match for the WWF title, both Hart and Michaels engaged in "worked-shoot" comments about the other's families and trainers. Both men feared that the other was taking potshots at his own expense.

At WrestleMania XII, Michaels beat Hart for the WWF Championship, and after the match, Hart claims that Michaels told him, "Get the **** out of the ring; this is my moment." The match itself was also suspect, with both men not cooperating with the other at times. Hart also claims Michaels was supposed to "return the favor" at WrestleMania 13; however, Michaels needed knee surgery and would not be able to wrestle for months. Michaels gave up the title on a special episode of RAW dubbed Thursday RAW Thursday in what is now known today as the infamous "Lost My Smile" speech. [1] Despite popular belief, Michaels did not say that he was doing it because he had lost his smile. He did mention this, but he was referring to an earlier interview he had given after losing the title to Sycho Sid at Survivor Series 1996. It is believed by many, including Hart himself, that the speech was just an excuse to not drop the title to Hart in a match. Hart accused Michaels of having the surgery just to get out of wrestling him at WrestleMania 13. The injury was legitimate, though Michaels returned to active competition three months after WrestleMania.

There are several reasons some people dispute Hart's version of events, however:

It had been reported on the internet prior to Thursday RAW Thursday that Michaels would drop the belt to Sid[citation needed], who would face The Undertaker at WrestleMania for the title in the main event, which did in fact become the WrestleMania main event for that year.
Although Hart won the title in a four-way match also involving Steve Austin, The Undertaker, and Vader at In Your House: Final Four three days after Michaels gave it up, Hart dropped it to Sid the next day (the man rumored to be scheduled to win the title on Thursday RAW Thursday).
Hart was not placed in the main event at WrestleMania, nor was he given a main event program until SummerSlam 1997 six months later.
Hart was scheduled to face Michaels at King of the Ring 1997. However, Hart withdrew from the match to have surgery of his own in an ironic twist.


[edit] Search to end Hart's reign as champion
Hart regained the WWF title at SummerSlam 1997 (strangely enough, due to interference from special guest referee Michaels, who hit Undertaker with a chair most likely aimed at him, but he ducked), but McMahon began seeking a way to move the belt off of him when Hart began talks with WCW. Michaels was booked as the number one contender to Hart's title in the fall of 1997. Of course, Hart took immediate issue with the idea that he would lose the title to Michaels, in Montreal, at the Survivor Series 1997 PPV event on November 9, 1997. He did not believe that Michaels would have offered a loss in return had he stayed in the WWF.

McMahon tentatively agreed to end the match in Montreal with a planned disqualification finish, which would involve various cohorts of both Hart and Michaels running in and disrupting the match. Hart said that he could make a live speech the next day on the November 10, 1997 edition of RAW and then hand the belt back or that he could lose the title to Ken Shamrock who had, in the weeks leading to Survivor Series, made both Hart and Michaels tap out to his Ankle Lock finisher.

McMahon, however, felt that Bret was lying to him and would instead appear on WCW Monday Nitro with the title the next night, despite Bret being legally unable to do so. There is a common misconception that Bret's WWF contract expired at the Survivor Series; it actually expired several weeks later. McMahon was actually concerned that Eric Bischoff, WCW's Executive Vice President, would announce on the live Nitro (which aired prior to the WWF RAW program) that his company had just signed the reigning WWF Champion to a contract (the night after Survivor Series, McMahon's suspicions proved correct, as Bischoff and his nWo cohorts opened the Nitro show by walking to the ring draped in Canadian flags). McMahon's fear was intensified by memories of an incident that had occurred in December 1995, where then-WWF Women's Champion Alundra Blayze had signed with WCW. Bischoff coerced Blayze to appear on Nitro with the Women's Title Belt, which she did; she then proceeded to drop the belt into a trash can, in full view of the live TV audience.


[edit] Setup
The Wednesday before Survivor Series, McMahon devised what would become the Montreal Screwjob. As Gerald Brisco allegedly sat in a hotel room showing Michaels how to defend himself should Bret attempt to shoot on him, McMahon decided, with counsel from others, that he had no alternative other than to make sure that Survivor Series would end with Michaels as champion.

On the day of Survivor Series, Hart and McMahon sat in a room and discussed the different possibilities for ending the match. Vince apparently seemed to agree to everything that Hart wanted to do. Hart left the meeting feeling a little more relaxed, despite being warned by several wrestlers beforehand (including Vader, who was a veteran of the Japanese scene and knew the prospect of a screwjob could be looming) never to let himself be pinned for more than a count of one or be put in any submission moves.

Vince McMahon and Sgt. Slaughter watch intently from ringside.Actually, Hart himself was also deeply aware of the possibility of a last minute change of plan behind his back and, fearing a double-cross, went so far as to ask the match's referee, Earl Hebner, to swear an oath on his children's lives that he would not participate in such an incident. Hebner agreed. The match plans detailed to Hart on the day of Survivor Series discussed the planned disqualification finish: Michaels would put Hart in the latter's famed "Sharpshooter" finishing hold, and Hart would reverse, only for D-Generation X and the Hart Foundation to run down for a big brawl to end the match.


[edit] Execution
After an arena-wide brawl before the match had even officially started, Hart allowed Michaels to place him in the Sharpshooter after accidentally knocking Hebner out, as per the planned finish. Michaels then gave Hart his foot to reverse the hold. Hebner, having come back up to his feet, then signalled to the timekeeper to ring the bell and end the match as if Hart had submitted to the hold; McMahon, seated at ringside, elbowed the timekeeper and screamed at him to "Ring the ******* bell!" Hebner then bolted backstage from the ring and left the Molson Centre in a waiting car. Just as Hart broke the hold and Michaels fell to the mat, the latter was quickly awarded the match and the title as his theme music began to play. All the while, Hart remained in the ring in shock.

McMahon, moments after being spat on by Hart.Astounded by the unexpected turn of events, Hart was immediately outraged. Michaels showed no celebration whatsoever over the victory and even gave an expression of apparent anger and frustration. As Hart stood dazed in the ring, Triple H and Gerald Brisco came out to escort Michaels backstage as the fans threw garbage at him and relentlessly and loudly booed at him; one fan even went so far as to shove Michaels as he was passing him. Hart looked down at McMahon from the ring, spat right in his eye and, shortly after announcers Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler departed their position, destroyed several TV monitors at ringside before climbing the turnbuckles and signing the letters "WCW" in the air to the rabid crowd. Bret's younger brother Owen Hart and his brothers-in-law Jim Neidhart and Davey Boy Smith came down to the ring to try and calm him down.

Backstage, after cooling off, Hart learned that many of the other wrestlers were disgusted at the finish and were forcefully pressuring the now-in-hiding McMahon to face Hart and explain himself (Hart even proclaimed to his then-wife Julie, "The piece of ****'s locked himself up in his office"). Hart's son was physically upset at what had happened, and Julie Hart laid a verbal onslaught onto Triple H (whom she believed knew about the whole thing, despite his "swearing to God" in ignorance), while the Undertaker confronted McMahon and demanded that he meet with Hart face-to-face. McMahon, along with Brisco and son Shane, went to see Hart - an incident that ended up as a physical confrontation in the Montreal locker rooms.

As Hart got ready to shower, McMahon entered and tried to justify his actions but was told to get out or get punched in the face. He persistently defended his actions and the good relationship the two once had, only for Hart, with Davey Boy Smith on hand, to angrily ignore the comments and continually order McMahon to leave. McMahon refused, leading into a grappling of sorts between the two as well as additional members of both parties joining the melee. Smith, not prepared for a physical confrontation, had already removed his leg brace and strained a muscle in pulling Shane away from the fight. The end result had Hart punching McMahon in the jaw, knocking him to the floor (in Mick Foley's book, Have a Nice Day, he reveals a conversation with Owen Hart, in which Owen heard that Bret went into the shower and told him that he would "punch (McMahon) in the ******* mouth" if he was still there when he came out). Hart then threatened Shane and Brisco to leave as well or "suffer the same consequences." As they quickly regrouped for an exit, one of them accidentally trampled onto McMahon's ankle and nearly broke it in attempt to help him off the floor.

Several wrestlers threatened to walk out on the WWF after the event (Foley and Undertaker being two of them) and were only calmed by a backstage meeting in which McMahon lied in order to soften the pain of the wrestlers, as they felt that if it could happen to one of the most loyal and popular members of the roster, it could happen to anyone. Owen Hart (claiming a knee injury) left out of loyalty to his brother, but would eventually return a month later when he was unable to get out of his contract. Neidhart and Smith also quit, and were formally released soon afterwards and joined Bret in WCW. Rick Rude, who was a manager of D-Generation X and worked on a pay-per-appearance basis, left a week later after appearing on Nitro the same night as a pre-taped RAW (Rude chastised the WWF and mentioned Shawn Michaels by name on the live Nitro). Brian "Crush" Adams left two weeks after Survivor Series, using the "screwjob" as an excuse. In reality, he felt because the WWF was losing the war to WCW, he would fare better there. Mick Foley walked out, but returned after realizing he would have been in breach of contract. Barry Windham also no-showed, demonstrating how angry he was. However, he returned to the WWF a week later after believing that he had made his point.

Bret Hart retired in 1999 because he suffered a concussion by a kick to his head.

Answer 2

bret was in the buisness for a long time and chavo still had some business fo rey.