10 Most Ridiculous Conspiracy Theories About The Montreal Screwjob

Not to sound hyperbolic, but the Montreal Screwjob is the Kennedy Assassination of professional wrestling. The story is this: at Survivor Series 1997 in Montreal, Bret Hart didn’t want to drop the WWF Championship to Shawn Michaels in Canada, so Vince McMahon cooked up a plot where the Ref would ring the bell and screw Hart out of the title without him actually losing fair and square.

In the years since—and because it was never clear to fans if it was real or a storyline thing—the Montreal Screwjob has been much discussed and frequently analyzed. As a result, there are some really wacky conspiracy theories surrounding the incident. So, let’s talk about those!

10 Bret Hart Was A Mole for the WWF!

So, the basic idea of this conspiracy theory was this: the screwjob was constructed to look like Bret Hart was a victim so that nobody would suspect that he entered WCW as a mole so he could report back to Vince McMahon and/or bring the competition down from within. Sending a star over seems like overkill, when they could just send the Brooklyn Brawler or whoever and nobody would bat an eyelash.

9 Dave Meltzer Was In On It!

One conspiracy theory we came across is that noted wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer was in on the whole thing and was publishing misinformation about the backstage drama happening around the time of the Montreal Screwjob as a way to further sell the “legitimacy” of the event!

This one is especially hard to believe because it’s the thing people always accuse Dave Meltzer of; there’s always some angry fan who accuses Meltzer of being in AEW’s pocket, or WWE’s pocket, or whoever he’s currently said something charitable about.

8 It Was to Work the Smarks!

One of the most unbelievable theories is that, given the increase of fans on the internet who were “smart’ to the inner workings of the pro wrestling business, Vince McMahon and the WWF wanted to pull a stunt that would trick that particular contingent of fans into thinking the plot twist was “real” instead of a predetermined outcome.

Listen, it took WWE a long time to even acknowledge “the Internet” was a thing beyond being a vocal minority of annoying fans that they would acknowledge with disdain. We guarantee the WWF was not thinking about the Internet in 1997.

7 They Were Fighting Over Sunny!

Jake Roberts recently offered a theory—based somewhat in fact—about the Montreal Screwjob and the reasoning for it. Basically, according to Roberts, both men were sleeping with famed 1990s WWF valet Sunny, and their animosity was steeped in mutual jealousy. The reality is that Shawn Michaels dated Sunny for a spell, but she was friendly with Bret Hart, so he low-key accused Hart of cheating on his wife in a promo on Monday Night Raw. That’s probably as far as it goes.

6 Wrestling With Shadows is WWF Propaganda!

In 1997, Bret Hart was the focus of an acclaimed Canadian documentary film called Hitman Hart: Wrestling With Shadows that followed Hart during this tumultuous time, gaining unprecedented access to backstage wrestling stuff at a time when that world was still secret.

As a result of that, some have suggested that WWF bankrolled the documentary, which seems like way too much work and ignores the fact that Beyond the Mat had similar access and doesn’t really promote anything except that Mick Foley might actually die in the ring. Others have said that the screwjob was done to promote the movie, which is even more far-fetched.

5 Bret Was In On It!

Google “Montreal Screwjob conspiracy theories,” and you’ll find lots of people discussing whether the incident was a “work” and if Bret Hart was actually in on it. Several WWF wrestlers from the era have claimed it was a "work," while others have claimed it wasn’t. There’s no real way of knowing, but the best refutation of the theory comes from Bret Hart’s ex-wife Julie, who simply said the following: “my husband is not that good an actor.”

4 WWF Had to Do It To Avoid Another Madusa Moment!

The story goes that the Montreal Screwjob happened to prevent Bret Hart from appearing on WCW Monday Nitro the following night with the WWF Championship and doing something disrespectful, like when Madusa (FKA Alundra Blayze) dropped the WWF Women’s Title in a trash can.

With regard to this, we defer to Dave Meltzer’s detailed account of contracts, when they ended, and what the original plan was. Basically, Hart’s contract actually ended weeks after Survivor Series, and legal proceedings were establishing that title belts were actually the intellectual property of the promotions. So, there goes that theory.

3 It Was To Put Over Bret!

We saw one theory that hypothesized that the Montreal Screwjob happened to create sympathy for Bret Hart while he was on his way to WCW and generate interest in WWF so both companies could make lots of money off of the incident.

We’re not sure why WWF would care about WCW’s ability to make money, but the theory holds even less water when you remember (1) WCW has lots and lots of Ted Turner money to blow and (2) WCW completely squandered Bret Hart.

2 Vince and Shawn Were Lovers!

This one is a conspiracy theory that never gets old because it’s so juicy. Vince McMahon and Shawn Michaels were allegedly secret lovers, and therefore McMahon pushed Michaels to the moon and gave him every opportunity at the expense of other wrestlers. Aside from some wrestlers in shoot interviews being extremely adamant about this, there’s no actual proof of this one. That is, unless you know something we don’t and wish to give TheSportster an exclusive… ?

1 It Was Part of An Elaborate WWF Angle!

It’s been suggested, as we’ve stated, that the Screwjob was intended to make Bret Hart the ultimate babyface. This theory takes the plan even further; Bret Hart would legitimately go to WCW, where his contract would last for three years. Once those three years ended, Hart would then return to WWF and finally pursue the justice he felt he was due, continuing the storyline started by the screwjob. That’s ambitious, but it also feels like there are too many things that could go wrong by giving a star wrestler to the competition. Like, for example, what if he didn’t want to go back?

NEXT: Stone Cold Vs Bret Hart: 10 Things Fans Need To Know About Their WrestleMania 13 Submission Match