Bret Hart Says Montreal Screwjob Match Had 25 Minutes To Go

Bret Hart has reflected on one of the most infamous moments in wrestling history, twenty-five years after the Montreal Screwjob at Survivor Series 1997.

The most notorious end to a match in wrestling history saw Vince McMahon call for the bell to end Bret Hart’s WWE Championship match with Shawn Michaels at 1997’s Survivor Series. Hart was leaving for WCW at McMahon’s behest and the former WWE Chairman took the opportunity to get the championship off of Hart and anoint Michaels as the new champion.

Speaking to Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated Bret Hart discussed the rest of the match that the two men didn’t get to live out as it came to a premature end with The Hitman locked in his own Sharpshooter:

“We had another 25 minutes. The match was already good, and we hadn’t even hit our stride. When I clothesline Shawn over the top rope and we brawl and fight outside the ring, I could tell it was going to be a really special match. It was very competitive.”

“That match was just starting. All the brawling was done just to set up the actual match. It was going to really get going after I reversed his sharpshooter. We pictured the crowd standing up and going crazy. That was going to be the moment when it took off.”

Instead, that was the moment the match and Hart’s WWE career came crashing to an end. He returned to the company to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006 and returned to the ring for the promotion in 2010 with a match against Vince McMahon at WrestleMania 26.