Traición de Montreal

La Traición de Montreal (también llamado El Robo de Montreal, La Traición de Survivor Series o La Doble Cruzada) fue un suceso que se produjo durante una lucha por el Campeonato de la WWF entre Bret Hart y Shawn Michaels. El incidente se produjo durante el combate principal de Survivor Series el 9 de noviembre de 1997 en el Molson Centre de Montreal, Quebec, Canadá. La traición consistió en que Vince Mcmahon decidió realizar un cambio en el final del combate y en que solo se lo informó al oponente de Hart, Shawn Michaels. El plan fue realizado cuando el arbitro, Earl Hebner, bajo las órdenes de McMahon, hizo sonar la campana y terminar el combate cuando Michaels le aplicó a Hart el Sharpshooter, aunque Hart nunca se rindió. Michaels fue declarado ganador del combate y nuevo Campeón de la WWF.

La razón de la traición fue que Hart iba a irse a la WCW, después de que McMahon le dijese a Hart que tenía problemas económicos y que no podría cumplir el contrato de 20 años en la compañía que Hart había firmado. Hart, quien tenía una clausula en su contrato que le garantizaba "cierto control creativo", se negó a perder el título en su país de origen, Canada, y a perder frente a Shawn Michaels, con quien no se llevaba bien. McMahon insistió en que Hart debería perder frente a Michaels en Montreal, por temor a que Hart firmara con la WCW mientras fuese el Campeón de la WWF. Aunque McMahon y Hart acordaron de que el combate terminaría con la victoria de Hart reteniendo el título, McMahon estaba decidido a quitarle el título de Hart.

La traición ha generado un gran legado y fue parte de una cronica en el documental Hitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows. El impacto que produjo el incidente en la Attitude Era dio lugar a combates, storylines y a la creación del personaje "Mr. McMahon", el jefe cruel. Después del incidente Hart fue aislado de la WWF y McMahon y Michaels continúan recibiendo una actitud de enfado por parte del publico en la actualidad, en especial en Canadá. La relación entre Hart y McMahon ha mejorado con los años y culminó con la introducción de Hart en el Hall of Fame en el año 2006.

Historia

La salida de Bret Hart de la WWF

Bret "The Hitman" Hart

En el momento de la traición, Bret Hart llevaba 14 años en la WWF, tras haber comenzado su carrera en 1984 como miembro del grupo The Hart Foundation. Hart había logrado grandes éxitos como luchador individual desde 1990, consiguiendo el campeonato intercontinental en dos ocasiones y el campeonato de la WWF en cinco ocasiones. El éxito de Hart como luchador se incrementó en el grupo The Kliq, un grupo formado Kevin Nash, Shawn Michaels, Scott Hall, Paul Levesque y Sean Waltman, quienes tenían una gran influencia en la compañía.​​ Después de WrestleMania XII, Hart se tomó unas vacaciones de siete meses durante las cuales negoció un contrato con la WWF y con la WCW. En octubre de 1996, Hart rechazo un contrato de la WCW por valor de 9 millones de dólares, y firmó un contrato de 20 años que le ofreció Mcmahon, quien le prometió que iba a ser el luchador mejor pagado de la compañía y le aseguró un puesto importante en la empresa después de su retiro.​​

A mitad de 1997, la WWF tuvo problemas financieros debido a su competencia, la WCW, la cual se había convertido en la mayor promoción de lucha libre en los Estados Unidos.​

Durante varios meses antes de Survivor Series, Bret Hart y Shawn Michaels tuvieron varias discusiones en el backstage, incluyendo una pelea después de un house show en Hartford, Connecticut. Después de un show en San Jose, California, Hart habló con Michaels sobre la profesionalidad y de la confianza mutua en el ring. Hart le dijo que no tendría problemas en perder frente a él si McMahon se lo pidiera. Michaels, en cambio, le dijo que él nunca debería perder contra Hart. Hart quedo indignado por la actitud de Michaels​ y se negó a perder el Campeonato de la WWF frente a Michaels en Montreal.

Lamentando su decisión de ofrecer Hart un contrato largo y caro, McMahon comenzó a aplazar los pagos a Hart. McMahon también comenzó a animar a Hart a que buscase empleo en la WCW.​ McMahon no tenia problemas de que Hart utilizase el personaje de "The Hitman" en la WCW, pero estaba preocupado por la posibilidad de que entrase en la WCW con el campeonato de la WWF. Dudando de los sentimientos de lealtad, Hart entró en negociaciones con WCW después McMahon le informó de que tendría que aplazar el pago de Hart indefinidamente. A partir de entonces, Hart empezó a considerar una oferta del entonces presidente de la WCW, Eric Bischoff. Además Hart informó a McMahon de que la WWF tendría que cumplir su contrato si él optara por quedarse. Sin embargo, cuando Hart habló con McMahon sobre los planes futuros y storylines, quedo muy decepcionado por los planes de McMahon.​ Hart estaba incomodo sobre los avances hacia el controvertido combate, que mas tarde la WWF llamaría "Attitude Era". Convencido de que no estaba en los planes de futuro de McMahon, el 1 de noviembre de 1997 Hart avisó a la WWF y firmó un acuerdo con la WCW que le ofreció un contrato de 3 millones de dolares. Cuando Hart le preguntó a McMahon si se burlaran de él después de salir de la WWF, como había ocurrido con otros luchadores que se habían marchado, McMahon le aseguró que nada de eso pasaría nunca.​

Transición del titulo

Vince McMahon

El inminente cambio de Hart hacia la WCW creó una situación muy tensa, ya que había ganado el campeonato de la WWF en SummerSlam 1997 contra The Undertaker. El contrato de Hart con la WCW estaba estipulado para empezar el 5 de diciembre, un mes después del evento anual de Survivor Series, el cual tendría lugar en la ciudad de Montreal.​ McMahon, ansioso por que Hart cediera el título, pidio el consentimiento de Hart para qe perdiera frente a Michaels. Hart se negó ha hacerlo, tomando como pretexto su popularidad en Canadá, donde el se sentía reconocido como un héroe nacional.​ Hart, quien había estado liderando un grupo canadiense llamado The Hart Foundation no quería perder su título en Cánada. Como parte de su rivalidad, Michaels repetidamente había realizado actos insultantes tanto a la bandera como a los fanáticos canadienses. Hart creía que una derrota ante su mayor rival en su país de origen sería humillante hacía él y afectaría considerablemente su carrera en la WCW.​ Wrestling fans also knew of Hart's long-standing personal difficulty with Michaels—Hart had been angered at Michaels's forfeiture of the WWF Championship on Monday Night Raw, which ruined plans for a Hart-Michaels rematch at WrestleMania 13, where Hart claims that Michaels was expected to lose the title to him.​ Hart also believed that Michaels had faked a knee injury and talked about major surgery just to get out of their planned match.​​ While Michaels denied rumors that he did not want to lose to Hart,​ Hart felt certain that Michaels would not have offered a loss in return if he had been staying with the WWF.​ The two had been involved in a real fight after Michaels implied that Hart was having an affair with WWF valet Sunny.​ The recent storyline rivalry had also seen Michaels make insulting remarks about Hart's father Stu Hart, which had left Bret and others in the Hart family upset.​ McMahon's offering of a $3 million contract to Hart in 1996 had reportedly also upset Michaels.​

McMahon remained insistent about Hart dropping the title. The WWF owner was anxious over a possible reenactment of then-reigning WWF Women's Champion Alundra Blayze's defection to WCW in 1995, which resulted in her dropping the WWF Women’s Championship belt in a trash can before a live audience on WCW Monday Nitro, despite claims from Bischoff (according to Hart's DVD biography)​ that legal issues between the WWF and WCW would prevent such a thing, and that he would rather have Hart join WCW with a "clean slate". Hart continued to refuse to drop the title to Michaels, offering to lose the title anywhere in the U.S. prior to Survivor Series or to surrender the title to McMahon on the episode of Monday Night Raw the day after Survivor Series, in Ottawa.​​ After several disagreements, McMahon, Michaels and Hart agreed to a proposal of a disqualification finish, which would be the result of a brawl between Hart's allies Owen Hart, Jim Neidhart, and Davey Boy Smith with Michaels's allies Triple H, Rick Rude and Chyna, who would interfere in the match to aid Michaels.​ Hart would then hand over the title to McMahon the next day on Raw or lose it to Ken Shamrock. Hart also asked for and obtained McMahon's permission for an opportunity to explain his actions, his heel character, praise McMahon and the WWF and thus leave on good terms with the company and the fans.​​

Reacciones

While much of the live Montreal audience immediately understood what had happened and responded angrily, television viewers had been left largely confused as Survivor Series went off the air four minutes ahead of schedule with the parting image of Michaels holding the belt aloft as he disappeared backstage. Rumors and expressions of surprise and shock pervaded the Internet almost immediately after the match ended. Many fans and observers considered it a creative and all-time great "worked" match finish.​ Subsequent WWF shows saw large numbers of fans loudly chanting "We want Bret", holding up pro-Hart signs and booing Michaels, McMahon and others believed to be responsible for the screwjob. Observers of professional wrestling speculated whether the entire episode would result in WCW becoming the dominant brand in Canada, where a large majority of fans had remained loyal to WWF, especially as the Hart family was working with the company.​

As seen on Hart's documentary, Hart proceeded to the dressing rooms and questioned Michaels, who pleaded that he knew nothing about what had taken place and was equally outraged.​ As recounted in Michaels's autobiography, he offered his assurance that he would not carry the title out the next day on Raw and would refuse to say anything derogatory about Hart.​ Hart proceeded to the dressing room to shower and change after discovering that McMahon, Brisco, and Remus had locked themselves in McMahon's office. When McMahon went to Hart's dressing room and tried to explain himself, Hart angrily rebuffed him and warned him to leave immediately or risk being punched.​​ An altercation ensued, with Hart punching McMahon in his face and dropping him to the floor. Although Vince's son Shane McMahon and Brisco struggled briefly with Hart and Davey Boy Smith, Hart told them to take McMahon and leave or risk similar consequences.​ Hart angrily asked McMahon if he was going to screw him on the pay he was still owed, to which a groggy McMahon replied in the negative.​ In the hallway outside the dressing rooms, Hart's then-wife Julie angrily confronted Levesque and others about the finish.​ McMahon had a black eye and a broken ankle, which had resulted when Gerald Brisco accidentally stepped on his ankle during the scuffle.​ Michaels and Levesque were later confronted and assailed by angry fans outside the Molson Centre and in the lobby of their hotel.​ While Jim Neidhart, Davey Boy Smith, and Owen Hart had flown out of Montreal with Bret Hart, McMahon faced a major revolt in the WWF locker room. Most wrestlers were outraged at him and threatened to boycott Raw or leave the company altogether.​ McMahon addressed a meeting in an effort to mollify the wrestlers who had been outraged that a WWF veteran had been double-crossed by McMahon—many feared for their own future and were suspicious of McMahon.​ McMahon sought to explain that Hart had been disregarding the company's interests. By refusing to drop the title in Montreal, McMahon claimed Hart was jeopardizing the company's future by creating a potentially embarrassing situation that could affect its fortunes. The potential revolt was also quelled by Bret Hart's counsel to wrestlers who asked him about boycotting Raw or leaving the company altogether. Hart advised them to fulfill their contractual obligations and not risk their own future over the episode.​ Mick Foley did not attend the next night's Raw show, but he returned to work after that due to his contract stipulations.​​ Of the Hart family, only Owen Hart continued to work with the company, being unable to terminate his contract.​

At the Raw taping in Ottawa, Michaels appeared carrying the WWF title and performing a segment where he boasted before the audience of how he beat Hart with his own trademark move in his own country. McMahon gave a televised interview to commentator Jim Ross, explaining his version of events and making the now-infamous statement "Vince McMahon didn't screw Bret Hart. Bret screwed Bret."​ On another Raw show, Michaels performed a skit badgering a midget dressed up as Hart. On WCW Nitro, Vince McMahon and Shawn Michaels were criticized by commentators Mike Tenay and Tony Schiavone. Eric Bischoff announced on the show that Hart's character had signed with the New World Order stable while Hollywood Hogan, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall stood with Canadian flags and sang the Canadian national anthem.​ Appearing on WCW Nitro, former Michaels ally Rick Rude also criticized Michaels by name. Despite the television shows and considerable antagonism from the fans, both Michaels and Triple H continued to deny any knowledge or involvement in the screwjob for several years when discussing the episode in real-life interviews.

In an interview on the first episode of WWE Confidential in 2002, Michaels conceded that both he and Paul Levesque (Triple H) were aware of what was going to happen at Montreal as they had been involved in the discussion with Vince McMahon and Gerald Brisco prior to the event.

On his DVD The Shawn Michaels Story-Heartbreak and Triumph, Michaels and Helmsley said they were told "No matter what, deny everything".

Legado

La traición de Montreal ha adquirido una considerable infamia en la lucha libre profesional. Un gran numero de aficionados han proclamado el suceso como uno de los momentos más impactantes en la historia de lucha libre profesional. Tras la traición, Hart se alejó de McMahon y rechazó las ofertas de inducción al Salón de la Fama de WWF.​ El documental Hitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows incluyo imagenes de las conversación que McMahon tuvo con Hart en las cuales expresó la determinación de Hart por salir "de la manera correcta". En las grabaciones, Hart se negó a dejarle el título a Michaels.​

The Montreal Screwjob's impact defined later storylines and rivalries. WWF successfully tapped fan outrage at Vince McMahon by creating the persona of "Mr. McMahon"-an authoritarian, arrogant heel boss who imposed his own will and authority on rebellious characters such as Stone Cold Steve Austin.​ Within the storylines, McMahon "screwed" such wrestlers in order to hand the title to the performer of his choice. The "Bret screwed Bret" line inspired promos that Vince McMahon made during his feud with Austin. At Unforgiven: In Your House, McMahon sat at ringside during Austin's title defense, which caused Austin to allude to the Montreal Screwjob during a promotional interview. At Survivor Series 1998—the first anniversary of the screwjob—McMahon's son Shane, a match referee, abandoned his on-screen rebellion against his father and allowed his father to screw Austin, by refusing to count Austin's pinfall against Mankind. The McMahons then double-crossed Mankind in his main event title match against The Rock. Just as The Rock put on the sharpshooter hold on Mankind, McMahon called for the bell to be rung. The Rock was declared the winner by submission and the new WWF Champion, fully re-enacting the Hart double-cross.​ To top off the night, McMahon responded to the audience's shock through mimicking a quote from his interview with JR; he stated, "Vince McMahon didn't screw the people, the people screwed the people!"

On May 28, 2001, Stone Cold Steve Austin defended the WWF Title against Chris Benoit on RAW from Calgary. Austin got Benoit in the Crippler Crossface and Vince McMahon quickly ordered the bell to be rung despite the fact that Benoit never tapped out. Earl Hebner happened to be the referee for the match; Bret's father Stu was in the front row.

Michaels referred to the screwjob while on a 2005 WWE Raw in Montreal. Michaels, who was feuding with Hulk Hogan at the time, verbally ran down Hart in front of a hostile Montreal crowd. During the promo, Hart's entrance music played, which turned out to be another setup by Michaels.

During a 2006 feud between Michaels and the McMahons, Vince knocked out referee Mike Chioda just as Shane McMahon trapped Michaels in the sharpshooter during a match on the March 18 edition of Saturday Night's Main Event. McMahon screamed at the timekeeper to ring the bell and awarded the match "by submission" to Shane. WCW invoked the screwjob at Starrcade 1997, as Hart prevented Hollywood Hogan from leaving with the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. He claimed that the referee Nick Patrick gave a fast count and that he would not allow Sting to be screwed.​ At Starrcade 1999, the finish of the match between Goldberg and Bret Hart was for guest referee Roddy Piper to "ring the bell" once Hart placed Goldberg in the sharpshooter despite Goldberg not submitting.​

Resolución

With its "Attitude Era" programming and the popularity of its wrestlers such as Austin, The Rock and Mankind, WWF surpassed its arch rival WCW. With its business steadily declining, WCW was put up for sale and purchased by McMahon in 2001, making WWF the single-largest wrestling company in North America. Bret Hart's entry into WCW had been hailed at the time as a major coup for the company, but it subsequently failed to utilize his popular appeal.​ Hart's active wrestling career ended in 2000 after he suffered a serious concussion during a match with Goldberg. After dropping the WWF title to Austin at WrestleMania XIV in 1998, Michaels was forced into retirement for four years because of serious neck and back injuries. After a long period of rehabilitation, Michaels returned to the ring in 2002.​

Many fans and wrestling observers believed WWE had been making overtures to Bret Hart since 2004. Canadian wrestler and long-time Hart family friend Chris Benoit's victory over Triple H and Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XX that won him the World Heavyweight Championship and again at Backlash 2004 in Edmonton, Alberta, were considered by several wrestling observers and fans as a symbolic apology to Hart and Canadian fans. In the later match in Edmonton, Shawn Michaels submitted to Benoit's application of the sharpshooter hold.​ After weeks of speculation, WWE.com announced in late August 2005 that Hart and WWE had agreed to collaborate on a DVD project chronicling Hart's wrestling career. In subsequent interviews, Hart attributed his decision to his desire to be remembered for his storied career that spanned two decades.​ The project, which had been given the working title of Screwed: The Bret Hart Story, was renamed Bret "Hit Man" Hart: The Best There Is, The Best There Was, The Best There Ever Will Be.​ In the 2006 DVD chronicling his career, both Hart and Bischoff denied that his holding the WWF title was a factor in WCW's desire to sign him. While McMahon claimed that there was mutual regret, Hart defended his actions and asserted that he stood by what he did.

Bret Hart's refusal to lose to Michaels in Montreal has been criticized by others such as Ric Flair, who asserted that it was Hart's responsibility to drop the title belt of a company he was leaving​ (ironically, Flair himself was WCW champion when he left the company and signed with the WWF in 1991, even appearing on TV with the NWA/WCW belt, but also dropped the WWF Title to Hart in his last match on Oct. 12, 1992 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan at a house show). Hart, however, maintains that he was prepared to lose the title anywhere and to anyone, except to Michaels in Canada given that, during 1997, his "Hitman" character had been built up as a great Canadian hero. As his contract with WWF did not expire for four more weeks, Hart asserts that there was plenty of time and several other opportunities for him to drop the title. Several accounts claim that McMahon had originally proposed that Hart drop the title at December's In Your House pay-per-view in Springfield, Massachusetts, and at January's Royal Rumble in San José, California.​

Although Shawn Michaels expressed happiness at Hart's 2006 induction into the Hall of Fame, the Hart-Michaels relationship remains laced with antagonism.​ Michaels criticized Hart's behavior and conduct during his days in WWF in his 2005 autobiography, comparing the screwjob to a "mafia hit",​ and Hart has stated in his 2007 autobiography that he will "never forgive" Michaels.​ In interviews prior to the induction ceremony, Hart asserted that he would walk out from the ceremony if he saw Shawn Michaels anywhere on the WrestleMania 22 weekend. Michaels decided to leave the Hall of Fame ceremony early to avoid a possible scene. Hart did not appear at the WrestleMania show in a mini-ceremony with the other inductees, explaining in an interview that he had never intended to attend or appear at the show.​ Hart would later return to WWE television on the June 11, 2007 edition of Raw, where he appeared in a taped promo spot mocking Mr. McMahon's "appreciation night". Hart has never reconciled with Michaels. In a November 17, 2008 radio interview, Hart mocked Michaels' version of the incident, saying, "And Shawn’s this Christian today; and in his book, he wrote that Vince took a dive and that I never even hit him and I thought, ‘This guy is such a liar.’ I wonder what kind of Christian he is." Asked if he had seen or spoken to Michaels since 1997, Hart said, "No. And I hope I never do…for his sake."​

Enlaces externos

• WWE.com article, The Hit Man: Ten years later
• Montreal Screwjob Archive
• http://www.wwe.com/inside/whatif/whatifmontreal/