"I got my first guaranteed contract" - Legend reveals how Montreal Screwjob led to his lengthy WWE deal
The Montreal Screwjob is seen as a major catalyst in shifting WWE's creative trajectory, one that ushered in a new era for the Stamord-based promotion. This new 'attitude,' so to speak, also led to a major financial boom for Vince McMahon and the company he had bought from his father, Vincent J. McMahon, in 1982. JBL recently spoke about the controversial incident.
Before the screwjob, WCW had secured big names like Scott Hall and Kevin Nash with 'guaranteed contracts' and bigger paychecks. McMahon couldn't match Ted Turner's checkbook, which is often seen as a major reason behind his reluctance to honor Bret Hart's original contract in the lead-up to Survivor Series 1997.
According to John Bradshaw Layfield (aka JBL), the incident changed the way WWE and the roster negotiated details. Speaking on What Were They Thinking? on Backstage Pass, the Hall of Famer attributed his first guaranteed contract with the company to the Montreal Screwjob.
"I got my first guaranteed contract for five years because of the Montreal Screwjob. Long story to go into (...) I had a concussion, I didn't want to come in. They [WWE] raised the year from two years to five years because (...) not that anybody would care about Justin Hawk Bradshaw but they didn't wanna lose any more guys. So, I was the benefactor from the Montreal Screwjob to get my first guaranteed contract," JBL said. [21:02 onwards]
JBL also reflected on the backstage atmosphere after the screwjob. The Hall of Famer revealed he was one of the talents to miss out on the things that went down behind the scenes because of his scheduled flight to Japan the day after Survivor Series.
"I missed the whole thing. This is crazy (...) Oh my god. One of the biggest moments in wrestling history, and I was there. Barry Windham and I were going to Japan a day later. So we were driving to Ottawa because they had to fly for [sic] Japan to work for Baba to compete in the tag team tournament with Doc [Steve Williams] and Stan [Hansen] and all the guys. So we had this long drive (...) then we had this long flight to Tokyo coming up," he said. [10:10 onwards]
Did Bret Hart leave WWE after Montreal Screwjob?
Survivor Series 1997 turned out to be The Hitman's last match in WWE for more than a decade. Hart was in negotiations with WCW over a possible jump in the lead-up to the Montreal Screwjob. He made his intentions clear by writing the initials WCW in the air post-match.
In WCW, Hart arguably didn't have the career his fans had hoped for him. The Excellence of Execution got lost in the nWo shuffle. He won the promotion's top title in November 1999 but vacated it just a month later, only to clinch it later that night in Baltimore, Maryland.
In all, Hart is a seven-time champion in WCW. He returned to WWE for a part-time stint in 2010.
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