Vince McMahon, former WWE Chairman and CEO, was notorious throughout his executive tenure for enforcing bizarre rules on his personnel. It should be no secret, then, that the legendary wrestling promoter imposed similar rules to his life.
This was evident in the critically-acclaimed Wrestling With Shadows documentary. Chronicling Bret Hart’s final days as WWF Champion before he left for WCW, it also featured documentation of the Montreal Screwjob. Despite the nature of the incident and the effect it had on his business, Vince McMahon is said to have been cooperative with the filming crew throughout the process.
According to Mick Foley, though, Vince wasn’t keen to be shown requiring assistance at any point. ‘The Hardcore Legend’ detailed as such on the latest Foley Is Pod episode, explaining how much of a hatred McMahon has for “human frailty”:
“Vince knew he [Bret Hart] was gonna take a shot. He was putting himself in position to take that shot. I don’t think he realized how quickly it was going to come. The one thing that I think Vince asked was that [the film crew] not show him needing help in Bret’s film.
This is the same guy who slid into the ring, somehow tore both quads, still tried to stand up and still cut a promo after tearing both quads. He’s not a big fan of human frailty.”
Vince McMahon Carefully Planned The Montreal Screwjob
The tale of the Montreal Screwjob is one as old as time. Vince McMahon instructed Shawn Michaels to screw Bret Hart out of the WWF Championship ahead of ‘The Hitman’ departing for the competition. Numerous other parties were aware of the situation, including referee Earl Hebner, Michaels’ D-Generation X allies, and close executives.
Per Dave Meltzer in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, it was actually Triple H who pleaded with Shawn Michaels to not put Bret Hart over, as had been the original plan. Instead, a Sharpshooter and quick ring of the bell led to one of professional wrestling’s most controversial moments.