Independent wrestling star Teddy Hart was recently a guest on former WWE star Sean “X-Pac” Waltman’s podcast, XPac 12360. During the appearance, Hart discussed the ripple effects felt by The Hart Family after The Montreal Screwjob.
In 1997 Bret Hart was victim to the screwjob by Vince McMahon at the Survivor Series pay-per-view (PPV). Hart was told the match was ending in a disqualification. Instead, McMahon instructed referee Earl Hebner to call for the bell once Shawn Michaels locked Hart in the Sharpshooter.
Michaels was awarded the WWE Title and the submission victory despite Hart never tapping out. Hart was preparing to go to WCW later that year and McMahon wanted to ensure he wouldn’t leave with the title.
Teddy Hart described the ripple effect the screwjob had on his family:
“It affected the unity of our family plus the WWE family because Bret [Hart] and Shawn [Michaels] were good friends before that. And it put guys like you [Waltman] in an awkward spot.
“That whole rift thing in WCW, where some of your friends left and went there and Bret going after and hitting Vince [McMahon], I think was one of the worst things that ever happened in wrestling history. That situation caused Owen [Hart] to end up in that situation too.
“Like a ripple effect. Like Davey [Boy Smith] wasn’t in the right headspace after he tried to make his comeback and Jim [Neidhart] suffered definitely from not being in the WWE system because the structure in WWE compared to WCW at the time, you know WCW was pretty wild… the ripple effect of that Montreal screwjob f–ked everybody over.”
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