WWE Hall Of Famer JBL Reflects On Whether The Montreal Screwjob Was Necessary

WWE Hall of Famer John Bradshaw Layfield has shared his perspective on one of wrestling’s most debated topics—the 1997 Montreal Screwjob and whether Bret Hart would have taken the WWF Championship to WCW had things played out differently.

Speaking on Something to Wrestle, JBL made it clear that he fully believes Hart would have kept his word and not appeared on WCW television with the title.

“I believe Bret Hart and Bret Hart’s a man of his word, if Bret Hart said he wasn’t going to take that on WCW television, then I 100% believe Bret Hart.”

While Layfield had complete faith in Hart’s integrity, he was far more sceptical about WCW’s then-president, Eric Bischoff. He pointed out that past incidents showed WCW’s willingness to use rival promotions’ titles for shock value, such as Madusa discarding the WWF Women’s Championship in a bin on Monday Nitro or Ric Flair bringing the WCW World Championship to WWF in 1991.

“I don’t believe Eric Bischoff because Eric didn’t give his word and they’d already done the stuff with Madusa with the belt and trash can, which I think had a big influence on this, by the way. You’d already done this stuff with Flair in the early ‘90s with the NWA Title in WWE—there’s historical precedent for this.”

JBL also highlighted WWE’s vulnerable position at the time, as WCW was dominating the Monday Night Wars and actively trying to eliminate its competition.

“We were getting our a*s kicked by WCW, they were trying to put us completely out of business… We can’t risk that title being on WCW television.”

Despite happening close to three decades ago, the Montreal Screwjob remains one of wrestling’s most controversial moments that continues to spark debate to this day.

Which Former WWE Writer Does JBL Think Is An “Abysmal Failure”?

JBL discussed why he believes former WWE head writer Vince Russo is an abysmal failure. Layfield said that despite being credited with helping usher in the Attitude Era, everything Russo was involved with ended horribly. He cited the infamous Brawl for All tournament as his prime example.

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