Jimmy Korderas speaks on Montreal Screwjob; Was it a Work? | Up Close 

If it's a work it's the greatest work in wrestling history.

Not a work. No way Bret could pretend to have been this angry and upset for years. Bret was genuinely angry and upset. I understand why, to a point. No way this was a work.

It’s the only title match in wrestling history that ends with the camera on the loser after the bell...

If I was Earl, I would of just told Bret during the match what was gonna happen. Then let Bret decide how he would go about it.

Vince would never allow, if it was a work, to have one of his wrestlers write WCW in the air

This ref was in the ring when Owen fell to his death.

I wish people would stop saying Bret screwed Bret, it doesn't even make sense. Vince screwed Bret...he even admitted to it in later years

"Absolutely it was a work" George "The Animal" Steel

Apparently during Earl and Bret's conversation Earl swore on his kids lives that he wouldn't screw Bret

I still hold the hope at Vince's Funeral some video from just before the screw job comes out of Brett and Vince hugging saying most of you fell for the greatest work ever. They were the only two to know.

I only think it’s a work because of the video of Vince stumbling in the hallway selling Brets punch. Same guy that showed no pain after tearing both quads

Someone must have told the camera crew?

Bret was the best and he is still the champion ! Undefeated !

People love a conspiracy - myself too... but nah, it wasn’t a work for me. The heat Bret & Shawn had was real in my opinion. And I think it got to the point where they both couldn’t be in the same organisation anymore because Vince couldn’t manage them both at their egotistical worst. So then it’s about dropping 1 of them out, and Shawn was younger and had more years in him (or so Vince would have thought at that time) so they got rid of Bret and it fitted in perfectly with the “old dinosaur goes to WCW”.. narrative that Vince always pushed.

If I was Earl and Brett was my friend I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I would have at least whispered at Brett telling him they were going to screw him ... at least giving him a heads-up inside the ring.

It was the first "worked/shoot" double cross

Bret was leaving but didn’t wanna give up the belt, I never understood how this was anything more than insubordination

Shawn Michaels knew exactly what was going on before the match. Vince McMahon was, is and always will be lower than a snake, he treats his good money-making wrestlers like crap, he lies, he's just a horrible excuse for a human being using his authority to force his employees to do everything he says no matter how ridiculous it is

I admire Bret for his skills and talent in the ring and his commitment to his craft but he above all should have done the job. It's a time honored tradition to do the job if you're leaving the company. Bret was going off to make 3 million with WCW so I always had a hard time figuring his reasoning for not losing even if it was Canada.

I'm 70/30 it was a work. But Bret got dvd sales from wrestling with shadows and wwe sold the dvd, Vince decided to put the belt on Bret in July. Around the time he told Bret he couldn't afford his contract! Did Vince have an idea something might happen? Did Vince know Bret was stubborn enough not to put Shawn over down the line ? Bret took things to seriously back then, if he put Shawn over we wouldn't be talking about the SS97. But then Bret wouldn't have got all that money and publicity for all these years. Bret is sticking to his script. Also Bret worked the boys after he put Shawn over the year before at WM 96, he told Shawn let the boys believe we have real heat. So if he's done it before!!!!!

I'm telling you it was a work..wrestling with shadows was filming during the same time..Bret didn't wanna lose final match in Montreal; Vince didn't wanna risk anything done with his championship after what happened to women's title; so two professionals had to meet in the middle and that's what happened..genius money making vince decided to turn it into a huge scandal type storyline the Bret screwed Brett vince screwed Bret ordeal..it's all documented on wrestling with shadows how Bret felt leaving wwf for wcw..and now look..he pulled it off splendidly..Brett got notorious even more after survivor series..millions found out about it millions tuned into RAW the next night and the re rise of wwf and fall of wcw took place..Bret is from the big kayfabe Era of course its all a show when he talks about it...he's in character when it comes to talking about it and look they even made Bret vs vince eventually at wrestlemania...it was a work..and a damn effing perfect one..vince is genius

It's a bit funny how they decided to make a documentary on the lead up to the screw job plz it was all a work.

First of all, Vince dropped his side of the contract. Brett could have walked. Brett chose to do one more match to pass the belt. Vince could have passed that belt to anyone but Shawn. There were two types of ppl in the world at that time. The Montreal Screwjob was either the beginning or the end of your wrestling fandom.

my dad bret told me it was a work and i show know, as i'm his son.

Th s guy is damn cool !

Earl=Judas Later he end up being FIRED anywayssss

Everyone thinks shawn hhh the ref and a bunch of others would have to be in on it and couldn't keep a secret. BS only bret and Vince were in on it and I think it was a work. Shawn and hhh went with it thinking they were actually screwing bret. But the contract bret had was iron clad and wouldnt have bankrupted WWF. There was no reason for bret to leave or for Vince to ask him to leave other than it being a work that put over vince shawn and started the entire stone cold dominatoon. It also put bret over big time. I think Owen's death and brets conclusion stopped bret from being able to come back and end the story the way they intended. And I also think the only reason they keep up the bs story to this day is because of Owen's death. Just my opinion lol

It was a work....and the powers at be are still getting us to talk about it to this day.Vincent,Earl and Bret were all in on it. If it weren't a work it would have went off air almost straight away and camera's would have been told to pan away from the ring,and we would never have seen Bret making the WCW sign,also Vince oversold the spit to the face he took. Wake up people, Vince was already eyeing up buying out WCW at that time.he didn't care Bret wad going to WCW, he was still going to end up on Vinces payroll.

Doubt it was a work. No way after 25 years that it has never been leaked it was a work. The egos at play were far too big for this to be a work.

in my opinion

If it's a work lol no one in on it will say it was one.

It wasn’t a work, Vince got dropped and you could see the swelling on his face, The facial reactions of everyone was way to real to he acted that well. People need to stop with conspiracy theories... There would be nothing to benefit from it being a work

It was a total "Work" between Brett and Vince. Always was always will be!!!

Bret Screw Bret... & I'm A Bret Hart Fan...

Its too stupid if anyone thinks its a work. Maybe our lives till recent days is a work. Hahahahaha

No way it was a work. Either way though, Bret screwed Bret!

Lots of talk here about "insubordination" and how Bret was in the wrong. Bret had creative control in his contract. Wrestlers aren't employees. They are contractors and the terms of their contracts govern. Plenty of wrestlers before then (and since) had dictated how they would exit the company or how their characters would develop because they had that creative control, and there were no issues. The problem here was that we were at the height of the Monday night wars and there was an extreme sense of distrust. Alundra Blayze had already gone over to WCW with the WWE women's title and thrown the belt in the trash live on Nitro. For Vince, he just couldn't risk it. Even though Bret wasn't going to do anything of that sort (and we later found out Bischoff wasn't interested in doing something like that, either). In the end, the paranoia go the best of Vince. I don't blame him for that. It was all really a product of circumstance and he had to do what he felt was in the best interests of his business. But to say Bret was "insubordinate" or in "in the wrong" isn't accurate. He was doing what he was contractually able to do. From the standpoint of right or wrong, it was actually Vince who was in the wrong because he breached a term of Bret's contract, namely his ability to have creative control over his character and his matches.

Bret should of said to Earl if they try to screw me, if they fire you. I will give you money . Hell Earl ended up getting fired anyways.

I don’t think it was a work. I think all the stars in the universe aligned perfectly that night and created one of the most memorable unscripted moment in professional wrestling history.

If it was a "work" then it was the most successful work it wrestling history because it A) allowed Bret to save face and claim that Shawn did not legitimately defeat him, B) establish Shawn as the top heal in the business, and C) give birth to the corporate Mr MacMahon character.

I never bought that whole it was a work thing. Do you have any idea what keeping that secret would entail? Bret couldn't tell anybody. Not even his wife. Jim Cornette. Jim Cornette would have hired planes to write it in the sky if that was a work. Russo,well you know him. He is so attention hungry he'd spill the beans for an interview on public access.

I'm still not sure if it was a shoot or planned!

I remember when Jim Korderas had a head full of hair and no facial hair

I'm STILL not convinced it was a work that shit was for real and I'm sticking with it.

Knowing Bret had creative control in last 60 days, knowing going to WCW was a real thought, Vince simply shouldn't have left the title on Bret. Taker shouldve retained at Summerskam with HBK screwing Bret. Bret and Shawn could have had an epic double DQ at Survivor Series leaving fans to wonder who was better

Not a work at all. It was as real as a heart attack

It was a total work! It was 1997 and Vince had said since 91 that wrestling was fake. It's not like the old days, when the business was protected and played off as real; the champion had to be a true shooter to protect the belt from someone going into business for themselves. It's not like Brets value was going to go down. It's a belt given to someone the owner thinks will draw money from people wanting to be entertained by a scripted fight. Bret knew it was happening and it was a work. Too many coincidences; the documentary being filmed, Bret being mic'd up when he went to confront Vince behind closed doors, the fact wwe sold the DVD.

Everyone knew but Bret

Definitely a work

Good to see he is honest, would I do the same, yes

Greatest work of all time. Scott Hall totally convinced me.

mate it waznt rite

You can tell when Bret gets mad for real. It was not a work. 😠

I always said this. Earl was loyal to Bret and said to brey I got your back and earl is saying that he didn't know until he got until the ring what was going on? Then why didn't earl tell Bret in the ring wen earl got that belt from him? If I was earl and u knew what they were going to do and how fuck up It was going be to Bret I would told him and tell him to come up with something quick