Kevin Sullivan Shares Doubts About Veracity Of Major Story From WWE Lore
The "Montreal Screwjob" took place more than 25 years ago, with Vince McMahon infamously calling for an early end to Bret Hart's WWF Championship defense against Shawn Michaels. From there, Michaels was declared the winner and Hart would continue as planned to WCW. The event is cemented in the mind of most wrestling fans and it's generally agreed to be true rather than part of a storyline.
There are still some, however, who doubt the truth of the tale, including former WCW star Kevin Sullivan. Speaking on "Tuesday with the Taskmaster," Sullivan detailed his thoughts on the matter.
"I have my doubts about Bret's screwjob," Sullivan said. "The documentary people, they [gave them] free access everywhere ... except when Bret came back from the ring and went in to see Vince. Wouldn't they [have] pushed in the camera just to get that?"
The documentary Sullivan was referring to is "Hitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows," whose crew had rare access backstage for Survivor Series 1997 when the "Montreal Screwjob" took place. Sullivan's doubt seems to stem from the convenience that the camera crews happened to be present to capture everything except Hart allegedly punching McMahon in his office.
"I go back and forth with that," Sullivan continued. "But I also say to myself, they never should've got in that position. ... They knew he was leaving and here's the thing that I question about this: Vince helped him get that contract with Turner."
Sullivan explained that there were countless other ways McMahon and the company could've gotten the championship off Hart, even if it was true the champion adamantly didn't want to lose to Michaels. In the end, WCW failed to capitalize on any of the goodwill Hart may have had with fans following the incident and he wound up retired after injuries just a few years later.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Tuesday with the Taskmaster" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.