It has been claimed that Bret Hart said he was ready to disown his brother Owen in the aftermath of the Montreal Screwjob.
November 9th 1997 is a day that changed wrestling forever, but it has now been suggested that the infamous events of that night could have had even deeper ramifications.
The 1997 Survivor Series is an event that will live in wrestling infamy as the night that Vince McMahon screwed Bret Hart out of the WWF Championship ahead of him departing for WCW. With Shawn Michaels locking in the Sharpshooter on Hart, referee Earl Hebner called for the bell despite The Hitman never submitting.
A disgusted Hart later spat on McMahon and punched him in the face backstage. The incident also led to many Superstars threatening to boycott Monday Night Raw the following night.
Speaking during a new interview with Sportskeeda, Vince Russo who was working with WWE as a writer at the time, claimed that an irate Bret Hart later threatened to disown his brother Owen if he remained with WWE after the incident. Russo described receiving a phone call from a “hysterical” Owen, who said that Bret was threatening to disown him.
“Bro, he’s hysterical, he’s hysterical, upset hysterical. ‘Vince, Vince, you’ve gotta call Bret, you’ve gotta call Bret. He’s threatening to disown me as a brother if I come back to the company. Vince, you’ve gotta call Bret.’ Bro, that’s not in my place to call Bret! So I said, ‘Owen, you’ve gotta call Vince [McMahon], bro.’ He goes, ‘No, I tried calling Vince. I can’t get a hold of Vince. Vince [Russo], you need to call Bret,’
Russo went on to say that he did eventually phone Bret Hart who told him he felt like showing up on Raw with a gun. Furthermore, Russo explained that Hart was really upset, adding that the incident “really affected him.”
Owen Hart would remain with WWE until his untimely death in 1999.
Bret Hart remained at odds with Vince McMahon for almost a decade, before working with WWE on a collection of his best matches in 2005, later being inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2006.
H/t to Sportskeeda for the transcription.