Hebner Doesn't Regret 'Montreal Screwjob', Legendary Announcer Suffers Heart Attacks
Submitted by Errol Leigh Farrell on Sunday, June 24, 2007 at 1:49 PM EST







• Hebner Doesn't Regret 'Montreal Screwjob'
  
  (Credit: charleston.net)
  
  Earl Hebner will never forget Montreal. Neither will millions of fans who viewed what would become the highest-profile double-cross in pro wrestling history. And although it's been nearly 10 years, the event remains fresh in the minds of fans and those who participated in what has become known as the "Montreal Screwjob," the real-life double-crossing of defending WWF champion Bret Hart by WWF (now WWE) owner Vince McMahon. The controversial match, which was the main event of the Survivor Series pay-per-view Nov. 9, 1997, at the Molson Centre in Montreal, has had a big impact on the veteran referee's life and has literally defined his professional career for the past decade.
  
  "That will live forever," says Hebner, who now works as a senior official with Total Nonstop Action and the United Wrestling Federation, which will hold a show July 19 at Rick Hendrick Jeep Chrysler in North Charleston. Hebner fully expects a throng of fans to jeer him at the North Charleston show. "The fans are going to hate me regardless. But I love it."Hebner claims he did what he thought was the right thing at the time, but now says he would have refused had he known then what he knows now. "I wouldn't have trusted anybody," he said in a recent interview. Hebner says he was informed of the swerve by WWE road agent Jerry Brisco — not McMahon — just 10 minutes before the infamous match. "Why in the hell didn't someone talk to me during the day?" he asked. Brisco, he says, told him it was because "everyone was bugged." Hebner recalls slowly walking to the ring that night and remembering a conversation he had with Hart less than 24 hours earlier. The referee had gone to dinner the evening before with Hart who, sensing something might be up, asked Hebner if he knew of any plan to take his title away the following night.
  
  "I never said I wouldn't double-cross him," says Hebner. "I told him I wouldn't count him out as long as his shoulders were up. And that's a true story so help me God." But a secretive change of the match's finish, known as a "screwjob" in pro wrestling parlance, already had been concocted by McMahon and Michaels. The plan called for Hebner to signal for the bell and end the match as Michaels held Hart in the sharpshooter hold. Michaels was declared the victor by submission and the new WWF champion. Hart, however, never really submitted, and he, along with the audience, was outraged. Hebner immediately exited the ring, was whisked away to his hotel room and took the first flight out of Canada. Click Here to read the full interview.
  
  
• Legendary Wrestling Announcer Suffers Several Heart Attacks
  
  Legendary wrestling announcer Bob Caudle, who worked in Mid-Atlantic Wrestling and Jim Crockett Promotions, suffered several heart attacks this past Thursday. The first was at his home, the second in the ambulance on the way to WakeMed Hospital in Raleigh, NC.
  
  (Credit: midatlanticgateway.com)
  
  
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