Montreal Screwjob

Perhaps the most well known image of the Montreal Screwjob- Earl Hebner calls for the bell (on orders from Vince McMahon)

The Montreal Screwjob (a.k.a. the Montreal Incident, Survivor Series Screwjob, or The Double Cross) is professional wrestling parlance for a genuine incident that took place on November 9, 1997 during a match for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) Championship between Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels. The incident featured Chairman Vince McMahon instructing referee Earl Hebner to prematurely end the match, cheating Hart out of the WWF Championship he held. The incident was featured in the 1998 movie Wrestling with Shadows, a documentary about Hart's life as a WWF wrestler.

History

Hart's contract with WWF

After his loss to Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XII in March 1996, Bret Hart left the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now World Wrestling Entertainment). For the next seven months, he was in talks with both the WWF and World Championship Wrestling over contracts and was considering giving up wrestling.

In October 1996, Hart signed an unprecedented twenty-year contract with the WWF. Hart had been with and remained loyal to the WWF since 1984. He also had emerged from wrestling mainly in tag teams to becoming a popular and respected singles star. Between 1991 and 1996, Hart won the WWF Championship three times and the Intercontinental Title twice. He also won the 1991 and 1993 King of the Ring tournament, was named WWF Superstar of the Year in 1993, and was joint winner of the 1994 Royal Rumble alongside Lex Luger. The contract that he signed in 1996 called for him to wrestle three more years with the WWF and then complete his career in a behind-the-scenes writing and booking position. Both sides felt that the contract was a suitable and appropriate expression of Hart's loyalty to the WWF and its loyalty to him.

However, by the middle of 1997, the WWF was in serious financial straits due mainly to WCW taking over as North America's top pro wrestling promotion. This was cause for Vince McMahon to regret offering such an expensive deal to Hart.

As a result, WWF owner and chairman Vince McMahon informed Hart that he wished to withdraw from the contract, and he encouraged Hart to again seek employment with WCW. When Hart asked about his plans for his "Hitman" character, giving McMahon an option to entice Hart with interesting story ideas, the ideas put out by Vince made it clear to Hart that he was not part of McMahon's longterm plans. Meanwhile, Hart had developed concerns with the recent, less family-friendly direction of the WWF under its "Attitude" branding, as well as with his character expressing views that he did not personally endorse. Hart thus elected to sign with WCW.

On November 1, 1997, after several weeks of negotiations, Hart agreed to a three million dollar a year contract with WCW. As part of his WWF contract, Hart had "reasonable creative control" over his character in the last days of his WWF tenure. Therefore, he had input as to what he would and would not do and say.

Hart's personal feud with Michaels

He also had one major caveat: he would not lose the WWF Championship to Shawn Michaels, with whom he had personal animosity that had spanned for years. The legitimate backstage ill-feeling between Hart and Michaels, which had been bubbling for years, meant that neither man was willing to lose face in or out of the ring to the other, but they agreed to work together for the sake of the business. At the time, Hart and Michaels had radically different lifestyles and attitudes out of the ring and had clashed previously. One such incident was provoked when Michaels implied that Hart was sleeping with WWF valet Sunny. This led to Hart attacking Michaels backstage during a taping of RAW after they had gotten into a verbal argument. Hart has claimed on his own website that he never said he would not lose in Canada, as he had lost in Canada several times, his only demand was that he refused to lose to Michaels. However, Shawn Michaels said in his biography that Bret's excuse was that he was 'a hero (in Canada)', and that the fans might riot.

The relationship between both men was very rocky at best. Hart was angered about how much booking power The Clique, of which Michaels was a part, had apparently gained during the mid 1990s. (The Clique had all but run the main storylines of the WWF in 1995 with Diesel as WWF Champion and Michaels and Razor Ramon at the top of the midcard feuding over the Intercontinental Championship, while Hart was kept in midcard feuds with Hakushi, Jerry Lawler, Isaac Yankem, and Jean-Pierre Lafitte before defeating Diesel for the championship again at Survivor Series 1995).

At WrestleMania XII, Michaels beat Hart for the WWF Championship, and after the match, Hart claims that Michaels told him, "Get the fuck out of the ring; this is my moment." Hart also claims Michaels was supposed to "return the favor" at WrestleMania 13; however, Michaels needed knee surgery and would not be able to wrestle for months. Michaels gave up the title on a special episode of RAW dubbed Thursday RAW Thursday in what is now known today as the infamous "Lost My Smile" speech. [1] Despite popular belief, Michaels did not say that he was doing it because he had lost his smile. He did mention this, but he was referring to an earlier interview he had given after losing the title to Sycho Sid at Survivor Series 1996. It is believed by many, including Hart himself, believed that the speech was just an excuse to not drop the title to Hart in a match. Hart accused Michaels of having the surgery just to get out of wrestling him at WrestleMania 13. The injury was legitimate, though Michaels returned to active competition three months after WrestleMania.

There are several reasons some people dispute Hart's version of events however: 1) It had been reported on the internet prior to Thursday RAW Thursday that Michaels would drop the belt to Sid, who would face The Undertaker at WrestleMania for the title in the main event, which did in fact become the WrestleMania main event for that year; 2) although Hart won the title in a four-way match also involving Steve Austin, The Undertaker, and Vader at In Your House: Final Four three days after Michaels gave it up, Hart dropped it to Sid the next day (the man rumored to be scheduled to win the title on Thursday RAW Thursday); 3) Hart was not placed in the main event at WrestleMania, nor was he given a main event program until SummerSlam 1997 six months later.

Hart was scheduled face Michaels at King of the Ring 1997. However, Hart withdrew from the match to have surgery of his own in an ironic twist.

Search to end Hart's reign as champion

Hart regained the WWF title at SummerSlam 1997, but McMahon began seeking a way to move the belt off of him when Hart began talks with WCW. Michaels was booked as the number one contender to Hart's title in the fall of 1997. Of course, Hart took immediate issue with the idea that he would lose the title to Michaels, in Montreal, at the Survivor Series 1997 PPV event on November 9, 1997. He did not believe that Michaels would have offered a loss in return had he stayed in the WWF.

McMahon tentatively agreed to end the match in Montreal with a planned disqualification finish, which would involve various cohorts of both Hart and Michaels running in and disrupting the match. Hart said that he could make a live speech the next day on the November 10, 1997 edition of RAW and then hand the belt back or that he could lose the title to Ken Shamrock who had, in the weeks leading to Survivor Series, made both Hart and Michaels tap out to his Ankle Lock finisher

McMahon, however, felt that Bret was lying to him and would instead appear on WCW Monday Nitro with the Title the next night. This is despite Bret being legally unable to do so; although there is a common misconception that Bret's WWF contract expired at the Survivor Series, it actually expired several weeks later. McMahon was actually concerned that Eric Bischoff, WCW's Executive Vice President, would announce on the live WCW Monday Nitro, which aired prior to the WWF RAW program, that they had just signed the reigning WWF Champion to a contract.

Setup

The Wednesday before Survivor Series, Vince McMahon devised what would become the Montreal Screwjob. As allegedly Gerald Brisco sat in a hotel room showing Michaels how to defend himself should Bret attempt to shoot on him, McMahon decided, with counsel from others, including Michaels, that he had no alternative other than to make sure that Survivor Series would end with Michaels as champion.

On the day of Survivor Series, Hart and McMahon sat in a room and discussed the different possibilities. Vince seemed to agree to everything that Hart wanted to do, knowing full well that he was never going to fulfill it. Hart left feeling a little more relaxed, despite being warned by several wrestlers (including Vader, who was a veteran of the Japanese scene and knew the prospect of a screwjob could be looming) never to let himself be pinned for more than a count of one or be put in any submission moves.

Vince McMahon and Sgt. Slaughter watch intently from ringside.

However, Hart was deeply aware of the possibility of a last minute change of plan behind his back and, fearing a double cross, went as far as asking the match's referee Earl Hebner to swear an oath on his children's lives that he would not participate in such an incident. Hebner shook on this. The match plans detailed to Hart on the day discussed the planned disqualification finish. Michaels would put Hart in the Sharpshooter, and Hart would reverse, only for D-Generation X and the Hart Foundation to run down for a big brawl to end the match.

Execution

During the match, after an arena-wide brawl before the match had even officially started, Hart allowed Michaels to place him in the Sharpshooter, his famous finishing leglock hold. Michaels then gave Hart his foot to reverse the hold. McMahon, positioned at ringside, elbowed the timekeeper and screamed at him to "Ring the damn bell!" Hebner then signalled to the timekeeper as if Hart had submitted to the hold, then bolted backstage from the ring and left in a waiting car. Michaels was quickly awarded the match and the title as his theme music began to play, all while Hart remained in the ring in shock.

McMahon, moments after being spat at by Hart.

Astounded by the unexpected turn of events, Hart was immediately outraged. As Hart stood dazed in the ring, Triple H and Gerald Brisco came out to escort Michaels backstage as the fans threw garbage at him and rained boos. Michaels himself was told to act even more outraged than Hart, as it was feared that Hart would attack and pummel him for real if he didn't (as he had tried to do, but was unsuccessful at several months earlier backstage at a RAW taping). As ringside commentators Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler quickly departed their announce position, Hart looked down at McMahon from the ring, spit right in his eye, and shortly after destroyed several TV monitors at ringside before climbing the turnbuckles and signing the letters "WCW" to the rabid crowd. Owen Hart, Jim Neidhart, and Davey Boy Smith hit the ring to try and calm him down.

Backstage, after cooling off, he learned that many of the other wrestlers were disgusted and were forcefully pressuring the now-in-hiding McMahon to face up to Hart and explain himself (Hart even proclaimed to his wife, "The piece of shit's locked himself up in his office"). Hart's son was physically upset at what had happened, and his wife laid a verbal onslaught onto Triple H (whom she rightfully believed knew about the whole thing), while the Undertaker confronted McMahon and demanded that he meet with Hart face-to-face. McMahon, along with Brisco and son Shane, went to see Hart, and the incident ended up as a physical confrontation in the Montreal locker rooms. After McMahon tried to apologize to Hart, he was told to get out or get punched in the face. McMahon refused to leave and got punched in the face. With Shane and Brisco also there, one of them accidentally trampled onto McMahon's ankle and broke it.

Several wrestlers threatened to walk out on the WWF after the event and were only calmed by a backstage meeting in which McMahon lied in order to soften the pain of the wrestlers, fearing that if it could happen to one of the most loyal and popular members on the roster, it could happen to anyone. Owen Hart (claiming a knee injury) left out of loyalty to his brother, but would eventually return a month later when he was unable to get out of his contract. Jim Neidhart and Davey Boy also quit, and were formally released soon afterwards. Rick Rude, who was a manager of DX and worked on a per show basis, left a week later after appearing on Nitro the same night as a pre-taped RAW. Brian "Crush" Adams left two weeks after Survivors Series using the "screwjob" as an excuse. In reality, he felt the WWF was losing the war to WCW, and he would fare better there. Mick Foley walked out, but returned after realizing he would have been in breach of contract. Barry Windham also no-showed demonstrating how angry he was. However, he returned to the WWF a week later after believing that he had made his point.

Legacy

In the days to follow, Hart left for WCW, and McMahon claimed that he could not trust Bret with the title, fearing that he would show up on the competition's TV show with the WWF Championship. In Hart's newly released DVD The Best There Is, the Best There Was, and the Best There Ever Will Be, both Hart and Eric Bischoff clearly stated that Hart being the WWF Champion was not a factor in Hart's jump to WCW, and Bischoff had advised Hart to do whatever he needed to do (in terms of ending his WWF Championship run) in order to begin a clean and fresh start in his WCW career. The WWF, however, refutes this contention and felt that its paranoia was justified, and furthermore maintains that Hart should have followed the "time-honored tradition" of losing his title and putting over the new champion before leaving the company. In the era of the Monday Night Wars, given the bad blood between Bischoff and McMahon and WCW and the WWF, it is hard to say who, if anyone, was right.

At Saturday Night's Main Event, Shane McMahon defeats Shawn Michaels in a similar manner.

The classic "Bret screwed Bret" line would be thrown into a couple of promos that Vince McMahon cut during his feud with Stone Cold. Unforgiven 1998 opened with a video package that ended with McMahon saying, "Vince McMahon didn't screw Stone Cold. Stone Cold screwed Stone Cold." This was obviously a play on what McMahon spoke about Hart the year earlier.

The Montreal Screwjob was the first heavily publicized professional wrestling double cross since Wendi Richter lost the WWF Women's Championship to a masked Fabulous Moolah following a contract dispute on November 25, 1985. It is not, however, the only screwjob in wrestling history; in fact, such incidents are common practice among some companies and have been for years.

Evolution of "Mr. McMahon"

After this event, the popular opinion was that this was a deathblow for the WWF and a major score for WCW. The combination of a company screwing over a popular wrestler and angering many fans should have dealt a massive blow to the WWF and given WCW a great amount of hype to work from. Ironically, it went the other way around. McMahon harnessed the real-life hatred that fans had held for him afterwards and created the "Mr. McMahon" character. This, combined with the red-hot popularity of Stone Cold Steve Austin, created a feud that later pushed the ratings in the WWF's favor. WCW, on the other hand, more-or-less sat on Hart for years never pushing him and never having him do anything relevant in terms of storylines, despite the fact that he was being paid nearly $3 million per year. It was only in his later years with WCW that they would push Hart to main event status (he was at the beginning regarded as a "midcard talent") despite his previous accomplishments.

The aftermath of the real-life screwjob and McMahon's later "Bret screwed Bret" speech laid the groundwork for Vince's storyline "Mr. McMahon" character, the evil boss of the WWF who would "screw" faces in order to ensure the dominance of his hand-picked heel champions, whose feud with the anti-authority face Stone Cold Steve Austin would be the central storyline for the WWF for the next several years.

Infamy in Canada and other parallels

At wrestling shows in Canada, chants of "You screwed Bret!" spontaneously arise when key players in the screwjob make their appearances, particularly McMahon and Michaels (Hebner is no longer with the company). To this day, fans (especially Canadian fans) continue to blast the WWE for the screwjob. It is not uncommon for many Canadian fans to carry Bret Hart signs to WWE shows. Shawn Michaels, in particular is incredibly unpopular with Canadian wrestling fans, due to the incident. On the other hand, Canadian wrestlers (even those who are heels, as was proven most recently by the Shawn Michaels vs. Christian match on the January 17, 2005 RAW) are wildly cheered by the Canadian fans. The main characters who gain a heel status in Canada are Vince McMahon and Shawn Michaels. Referee Earl Hebner used to get similar chants before he was released. He now works for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.

Whenever a wrestler is trapped in the Sharpshooter during a show in Canada, there are typically references to not only Bret Hart but also the Montreal incident. Major controversy erupted when at Backlash 2004, Shawn Michaels trapped Chris Benoit in the sharpshooter as Earl Hebner ran to the ring to replace the bumped referee who was officiating the match. The fans booed wildly, and Jerry Lawler constantly screamed, "Ring the bell, Hebner; you've done it before!", a reference to the screwjob. A similar remark by an announcer was made at Survivor Series 2001 during the Survivor Series match that culminated the invasion storyline. The Rock was the only member of Team WWF remaining while Stone Cold Steve Austin was the only Alliance wrestler remaining. When Stone Cold put the Rock in the sharpshooter, Alliance commentator Paul Heyman yelled in his microphone "Why doesn't Hebner call for the bell 'cause he likes to?" Jim Ross replied that "Because The Rock hasn't tapped", prompting Heyman to respond, "That never stopped him before at Survivor Series!"

Resolution and revelations

Early in the fall of 2005, WWE.com announced that McMahon and Hart had buried the hatchet to collaborate on the production of a DVD chronicling Hart's career.

Hart was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame on April 1, 2006, and although Vince McMahon was not visibly present, Shawn Michaels was in attendance. Hart had said in interviews prior to his induction that he would walk out on the ceremony if he saw Michaels in the audience, to which Michaels replied by saying that he would agree to not appear at the ceremony under those terms. However, Michaels was contractually obligated to appear at the ceremony but left the ceremony early with his wife to avoid a confrontation with Hart. Nonetheless, Hart did appear at the ceremony to receive his induction although it should be noted that Hart was not present the next night at WrestleMania 22 with the other inductees who all were on stage at the event in between matches. Howard Finkel, the one in charge of announcing the inductees to the crowd in the mini-ceremony at WrestleMania, said that this was because Hart had not felt comfortable appearing on the show.

During an interview immediately following WrestleMania 22, Michaels was asked what he thought about Hart's induction into the Hall of Fame. Michaels remarked that he was "excited for the Hart family" and added that Hart's induction had been a "long time coming for the Hitman."

There has been a comment made on the Wrestling Classics forum by Dave Meltzer which states that the full Montreal story still hasn't been revealed and won't be until a certain person responsible for the "sharpshooter spot" in the match passes away. The person was originally thought to be Pat Patterson, despite popular belief. However, it was Patterson who told Hart about it. According to WWE Confidential, it was Gerald Brisco, Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Vince McMahon and Earl Hebner who knew about the screwjob and kept it within themselves.

Michaels and his friend Triple H claimed total innocence over the incident but later admitted that Michaels was in on the fix. Triple H had much to do with this whole affair. This is backed up in Michaels' autobiography, in which he claims that it was actually originally Triple H's idea.

Use in wrestling storylines

Several parodies of the event have also been booked into subsequent matches in WWE and other promotions. The next night on RAW, McMahon and Michaels did what they could to kill the Bret Hart mystique. When the show opened, Michaels gave an interview in the ring where he mocked Hart by saying, "I ran Bret down south with all the other dinosaurs, and Hitman, the gentlemen down there that aren't dinosaurs are my friends, and they can't wait to kick your butt either." Hart was watching back at his home in Calgary and wasn't surprised at what they were doing.

Later that night, McMahon gave an interview with Jim Ross stating his side of the story. He then concluded, saying that he himself didn't screw Bret but that "Bret screwed Bret."

A week before Hart was set to debut on WCW Monday Nitro, Michaels further disgraced the Hitman name by claiming that he had secretly negotiated a deal to "set the record straight" with Hart before he was going to leave. Hart's signature music played, and out came a midget dressed up like Hart. Michaels and the other members of D-Generation X pretended to torture him before attaching a WCW bumper sticker on his butt, kicking him out of the ring and saying, "There you go, Hitman. Head down south with all the other has-beens."

When Hart made his debut on WCW Monday Nitro on December 1, 1997, he had an in-ring interview with Gene Okerlund. During this interview, Hart said, "There is nobody who knows better than I do what it's like to be screwed over by a referee", making a reference to the Survivor Series a month earlier that year.

At StarrCade 1997, Hart prevented Hollywood Hogan from leaving with the WCW Championship. He claimed that the referee (Nick Patrick) gave a fast count and that he wouldn't allow another wrestler (Sting) to be screwed.

At the end of 1998's Survivor Series main event between the Rock and Mick Foley, where the Rock put Foley in a Sharpshooter and McMahon ordered the referee to "ring the bell," despite the fact that Foley, like Hart, never actually submitted.

Another notable play on the infamous event took place on the May 28, 2001 episode of RAW in Calgary, Alberta, featuring Chris Benoit being cheated out of a WWF Title win when Stone Cold Steve Austin applied the Crippler Crossface finisher on Benoit and McMahon yelled at Hebner to ring the bell. However, Benoit and his ally Chris Jericho applied their finishers on McMahon and Austin at the end of the show.

During No Way Out 2003 in Montreal, The Rock defeated Hulk Hogan after the lights went out in the entire arena for a brief moment only to come on again and find the referee knocked out in the middle of the ring as well as Vince McMahon at ringside. A second referee (Sylvain Grenier, who eventually came back to WWE programming as a French wrestler) ran into the ring and counted a very fast 3-count in the Rock's favor granting him the victory. The event was labelled on WWE.com the next day as the "Montreal Screwjob II."

The weeks prior to SummerSlam 2005 had recurring references to the Montreal Screwjob as Michaels would often try to finish his matches with the sharpshooter. Michaels would also humiliate the Canadian fans during an episode of RAW filmed in Montreal, where he led them to believe that Bret Hart would appear by having the Hitman's entrance music played. Michaels would appear later that same evening and place his SummerSlam 2005 opponent Hulk Hogan in the sharpshooter to end the show. This was also done because it had been publicized on the WWE.com that Bret Hart was working with WWE on his DVD set at that time.

It was also used against Shawn Michaels at Saturday Night's Main Event when Vince knocked out referee Mike Chioda as Shane McMahon trapped Michaels in the sharpshooter. McMahon screamed at the timekeeper to ring the bell and awarded the match "by submission" to Shane.

A slightly varied version of the Montreal Screwjob was introduced on the October 24, 2005 episode of RAW, during the John Cena WWE Championship feud versus Kurt Angle and General Manager Eric Bischoff. Angle and Cena wrestled in a non title match with Mick Foley as the referee, until Foley abandoned the match to brawl with Carlito, so Bischoff ran down to assume officiating duties. As Angle put the anklelock on John Cena, Bischoff lifted Cena's arm and dropped it, literally forcing his hand into tapping out, declaring Kurt the winner.

In WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2006 during the "Legends" season mode, Jimmy Hart (who is the "on-tour" General Manager) makes a match between the player's character and Bret Hart in a submission match (the show is being broadcast in Montreal). Jimmy Hart says, "Bret says something about putting the past behind him", The player's character responds with "well, this won't be the first time Bret tapped out in Montreal to a legend in the making", making a mockery of the Montreal incident (Bret's voice is never heard in the game, as he had no involvement in its production).

In the commercial for the 2006 Royal Rumble, the McMahons are depicted as Roman rulers at a gladitorial game. The audience chants, "You screwed Breticus!" to the McMahons, making a reference to the Montreal Screwjob. Vince McMahon (referred to as "Vince Caesar" in the commercial) replies with an angry "SHUT UP!"

On the final RAW of 2005, Vince McMahon is seen "reviewing" the new Bret Hart DVD. In a promo with Shawn Michaels, where each man talks about the Screwjob, McMahon tells Michaels, "I screwed Bret. Don't make me screw you." This led to a long feud between the two, which allowed Michaels to gain somewhat popularity in Canada, as he was now viewed as the lesser of the two evils behind the incident.

Orlando Screwjob

On December 17, 2005, Earl Hebner's twin brother Dave was seen on an episode of TNA iMPACT! He had not signed an actual deal with TNA; it was in connection with a plotline in a new independent promotion that the Hebner brothers were forming at the time (the Hebners were fired from WWE in August 2005 when Earl was connected to a shop selling unlicensed WWE merchandise). The audience, assuming at first that it was Earl, chanted "You screwed Bret!" The chant was largely censored when the taped episode was aired.
During the TNA pay-per-view event Against All Odds, former WWE referee Earl Hebner made his debut in the main event between Jeff Jarrett and Christian Cage in which Jarrett had Cage in the sharpshooter. An obvious reference to the Montreal Screwjob was made when Hebner went to ring the bell in the same fashion as done in Montreal. Cage grabbed Hebner's pantleg, pulling him to the canvas. Cage then clearly yelled at him, "I don't give up!" Announcer Mike Tenay screamed that Hebner better not do it. At TNA Lockdown 2006, Jeff Jarrett talked about Earl Hebner, saying he knows about screwjobs.
The Orlando Screwjob is the name for the event that took place at the end of Slammiversary 2006. Named similarly to the Montreal Screwjob of 1997 (in WWF) where referee Earl Hebner and authority Vince McMahon screwed Bret Hart out of the WWF Title in Montreal, this event took place in Orlando, Florida.
The event took place in the King of the Mountain Match main event when referee Earl Hebner (supposedly knocked out during the course of the match) revived and tipped over the ladder as competitors Sting and Christian Cage fought over the title belt, allowing Jeff Jarrett to retrieve the title and hang it for the victory. TNA Director of Authority Larry Zbysko rushed Hebner out of the building (much like WWF staff did with Hebner in 1997), but senior referee Rudy Charles retrieved the title and returned it to new Management director Jim Cornette.
Multiple references from prior TNA shows potentially foreshadowed this occurence, such as Jarrett mentioning that Hebner knew a thing or two about screwjobs in April at Lockdown, as well as a conversation between Zbyszko and Jarrett earlier the night of Slammiversary in which Jarrett promised to take care of Zbyszko's problems. Zbyszko presumably planned to return the favor by helping Jarrett regain the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.

South Philly Screwjob

On the July 4, 2006 edition of ECW on Sci Fi, ECW World Heavyweight Champion Rob Van Dam had a championship match against Big Show. During the match, the referee was knocked out. Shortly afterwards, Van Dam hit a Five Star Frog Splash and covered for the pin. ECW Representative Paul Heyman ran from the back to make the count for Van Dam (In the same fashion as he had at ECW One Night Stand 2006 during Van Dam's match against John Cena). However, Heyman abruptly stopped counting after two, allowing Big Show to hit Van Dam with a chair and to chokeslam him for the win. The WWE began calling the incident the South Philly Screwjob, in reference to Montreal. Shortly after, Heyman suspended RVD for 30 days. Sources have confirmed that RVD lost the championship and was suspended due to a drug bust days before. WWE writers quickly changed the storyline to adjust to WWE's new Wellness Policy.

References

External links

*Dave Meltzer's account of the incident