10 Years Since the Screwjob

November 9th marks the 10 year anniversary of the Montreal Screwjob. For you non-wrestling nerds, the Montreal Screwjob is arguably the biggest piece of wrestling folklore in the modern era. Bret Hart was leaving the WWE and though the Vince McMahon wanted Bret to drop the title at Survivor Series, that was not the plan. Bret was unable to do Michaels the favor as he actually disliked HBK in real life and did not want to end his illustrious WWE carreer losing to a bitter rival in his home country of Canada.

History tells it (actually Michaels himself tells it) that when he heard about the controversy and Bret’s unwillingness to drop the belt, Michaels contacted Vince himself and suggested “pulling one over” on Bret. The plan was made and only a handful of people within WWE knew of the plan (including Triple H, the McMahons, Gerald Brisco, and Sgt. Slaughter). The plan was for Michaels to throw Hart in a sharpshooter and for referee Earl Hebner to call for the bell almost immediately thereafter. And that’s what happened. Hart and the fans in Canada were shocked. Bret threw a real life tantrum that included destroying monitors and spitting in Vince McMahon’s face on camera. Michaels ran back to the dressing room while getting pelted with garbage and being shoved by angry fans.

As documented in A&E’s “Walking with Shadows” documentary and admitted by Vince and Shane McMahon, Hart then went backstage and knocked McMahon out with one punch. McMahon injured his ankle badly in the fall. Michaels told Bret he knew nothing of the plan. “My hands are clean of this one man–I swear to God” was exactly what Michaels said to Hart after the match. Those words run through my mind every time I find myself wanting to like Shawn Michaels. It’s not so much that I think Bret handled the situation well at all or was completely in the right–as much as it is I think Shawn Michaels proved to be a weak character. Another great moment from the A&E documentary is Hart’s ex-wife screaming at Triple H while he sulks. The only thing I’ve never liked about Hunter is his dedicated allegiance to Michaels who is a bonafied douchebag.

So Bret left the WWE. He had a couple of semi-memorable years in the WCW and that was it. Michaels on the other hand led the WWE into the “Attitude Era” aka the glory years and continues to be a top draw this day. To the wrestling purest, though, Bret will always be a god. And Michaels, well Michaels always comes off as kind of gay. And seeming gay compared to a guy who wears all pink is pretty pretty impressive.