30 years of WWE Survivor Series: Ranking each event

11. Survivor Series 1997

Speaking of the Montreal Screwjob, do you actually remember anything else from Survivor Series 1997? Whether you do or not, there were actually some other good matches on that card. The elimination matches weren’t all that great but Kane and Mankind put on a good show and Stone Cold Steve Austin took out Owen Hart to get a little bit of revenge. On that note, how great was the “Owen 3:16” T-shirt? The back said “I just broke your neck” and it was classic Owen Hart stuff.

However, that night will always and forever be remembered for what happened with Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels and Vince McMahon. Bret Hart was on his way to WCW but still held the WWE Championship. Vince didn’t want another Alundra Blayze/Madusa situation on his hands and pleaded with Bret to drop the title to Shawn Michaels in Montreal at Survivor Series. Bret, who had full creative control in his final month, obviously wasn’t on board with that idea and refused to do it.

Well, Vince was going to make sure that it was going to happen and after telling Bret the match would end in a disqualification, he devised a plan that would ensure Bret would not leave WWE on his own terms. While the end of the match gets all the press, you have to remember that the match itself was great. You could really see the intensity from both Hart and Michaels and their mutual hatred for one another really showed on the screen and I’m sure for the live audience as well.

In the end, we all know what happened. Shawn put Bret into the Sharpshooter, Earl Hebner had the bell rang and then bolted and the Mr. McMahon character was born. It remains the most controversial event in WWE history but the overall night just couldn’t quite crack the top 10.