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The Montreal Screwjob is often regarded as one of the worst incidents in professional wrestling history. It happened back in 1997, and "The Hit Man" Bret Hart was the face of WWE back then. He was carrying the WWE World Championship when the incident took place and he was supposed to defend the title against one of his biggest rivals, Shawn Michaels.
Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels had a long running rivalry. Hart was supposed to defend the Championship against Shawn Michaels at Survivor Series, where Vince McMahon wanted Hart to drop the Championship 2 Michaels, but Hart wanted to keep the Championship. Even during the match, Hart refused to job to Michaels.
Why WCW signed Rick Rude after Bret Hart's WWE departure following the Montreal Screwjob
Eventually, Vince McMahon called for the bell and declared Shawn Michaels the winner. It frustrated Hurt so much that he quit WWE instantly and went to WCW. Eric Bischoff, who was one of the key figures of WCW back then, recently revealed that WCW signed "Ravishing" Rick Rude hours after the departure of Bret Hart. Speaking on his "83 Weeks" Podcast, he revealed the following on hiring Rick Rude;
Bret Hart left WWE after the Montreal Screwjob in 1997
“I’m not really sure what the WWE contract status was with Rick. The only thing I knew is he wasn’t under contract, because that was the first question out of my mouth when Rick called me. But it goes back to the Montreal Screwjob. I was at home on a Sunday night, wasn’t watching the pay-per-view.
Hart joined WCW soon after leaving WWE
"I was just with my wife and my kids. Typical Sunday night, about 10 o’clock, nine o’clock, whatever time it was. And that was back when I had a hard line in my house. Had a regular phone, which I haven’t had in years. But the phone rang, and it was Rick Rude. And Rick had witnessed the Vince McMahon-Bret Hart confrontation. I don’t know if he saw the punch, if he was in the room or was outside the room."
Hart instantly joined WCW after leaving WWE following the Montreal Screwjob, and everybody expected this would be the end of WWE since they lost their biggest star. But ultimately, WWE triumphed over WCW, and Hart's career ended after he received a botched Super Kick from Goldberg. After Hart and Michaels' departure, new stars like Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock emerged, who went on to become the biggest stars of sports entertainment.
