Mike Chioda Reveals Abandoned Plans For Montreal Screwjob Match

It's been 25 years since the "Montreal Screwjob" took place, yet new pieces of information regarding the fateful WWE Survivor Series match are still coming to light. During the latest "Monday Mailbag" on AdFreeShows, former WWE referee Mike Chioda shared the initial plan for the match between Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart before the "Screwjob" was organized behind the scenes.

"It wasn't going to be a referee swap," Chioda said, correcting a previous account of the situation. "I go in, and Owen [Hart] was supposed to be right behind me. ... I count 'one, two,' Owen's right behind me, he picks me up by my belt and my shirt, throws me through the second rope." From there, Chioda stated that he was supposed to be down for the count while Michaels, who had been attempting to pin Bret, would stand up and superkick Owen.

The referee of the match between Hart and Michaels was, somewhat notoriously, Earl Hebner. From Chioda's account, it seems as though he was supposed to be sent out to replace Hebner after the referee was knocked out of commission, only for Chioda to be also taken out by Owen. However, as many fans know, that's not what would end up occurring.

Instead, Michaels placed Bret in his own finisher, the Sharpshooter, early on in the match. WWE owner Vince McMahon, who was at ringside by this point, told Hebner to call for the bell even though Hart hadn't tapped. The chaos that ensued would wind up changing the wrestling business in a number of ways, from the genesis of the "Mr. McMahon" character to opening up the reality of the wrestling industry in the eyes of fans.