5 Timeless Shawn Michaels Matches Everyone Should Remember

#4 Bret Hart (Survivor Series - 1997)

Shawn and Bret stared on as the referee rang the bell

On the opposite side of the WrestleMania X match, which was and still is famous, this match against Bret Hart at the Survivor Series is one that lives in infamy.

The feud between Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart was one of the hottest things in WWE at that point, and the audience was eating it up. One of the reasons it was so convincing was that Bret actually did hate Shawn Michaels in real life.

While the two shared several significant matches together, including the one where Shawn won the WWE (then known as WWF) Championship for the first time.

However, this match is one, the importance of which cannot be understated, as it is one which is still talked about to this day. Bret Hart was leaving the company to join WCW. WCW and WWE were at war back then, trying to be the promotion that got the higher ratings. WCW was winning around this time, and several other high profile wrestlers had already made the jump to the rival promotion for the high pay they were offering, including Kevin Nash, and the aforementioned Razor Ramon.

Bret Hart was one of WWE's top wrestlers and was extremely popular with the fans. His leaving the company would have been something Vince McMahon frowned on under normal circumstances, but on top of that to put the cherry on the metaphorical cake, he was also the WWF Champion at the time.

When Vince asked him to drop the title to Shawn Michaels at Survivor Series, the day before his contract ran out, he refused. His hatred for Shawn would not allow him to do that, but at the same time, he was willing to vacate the title on the following night.

Vince had already had a bad experience with a champion leaving WWE, when Alundra Blayze, left the company to join WCW, and once there, threw their Championship in a trash can, insulting her previous company.

To prevent just such an incident, Vince instead made sure that Bret would be dropping the belt to Shawn at Survivor Series, whether he wanted to or not. During the match, when Shawn put the Sharpshooter on Bret, Vince ordered the referee to ring the bell, despite the fact that he had not tapped. Just like that, Shawn was awarded the Championship.

The audience in Montreal was incensed to see Bret treated like this, and while Shawn beat a hasty exit the audience pelted the ring with trash, showing their displeasure at such an underhanded tactic. Bret demolished the side of the ring, and later reportedly punched Mr McMahon, before going off to join WCW.

Shawn and Bret made up on Raw years after the incident in the late-2000's, but the Montreal Screwjob is an unforgettable, and indelible part of wrestling history.