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The Montreal Screwjob occurred 25 years ago and continues to be one of the most fascinating situations in WWE history. Depending on which side of the story you believe, Vince McMahon decided to get the championship off The Hitman by hook or crook that fateful night in Canada. While Shawn Michaels had Hart locked in the sharpshooter, McMahon and referee Earl Hebner emphatically called for the bell, even though Bret never tapped. What has unfolded since then has been covered ad nauseam. Books have been written on the subject. Multiple television series and YouTube deep dives exist as well.

At the center of it all, though, was Hart and Michaels. Just two men who were scratching and clawing to stay at the top of the world of professional wrestling. Jonathan Snowden of The Ringer did a fantastic writeup on the Montreal Screwjob last week, and Bret opened up about when he...

Welcome to this week’s Impact Wrestling review, right here on Nerdly. I’m Nathan Favel and we have…my Nana just died. She had cancer and just died this afternoon of it. She was a tough ol broad. She could be real rough around the edges and soft to the touch at the same time. Nana had a hard life and had to raise six kids in the middle of the 20th century. She wasn’t perfect and she wasn’t always nice, but she cared deep down and showed it when it mattered most. She lost her first born (my uncle) a decade or so ago and her fifth born (my Mom) within the past several years. I’m gonna miss her. Nana, I love you. Okay, we’ve got a big main event with Sami Callihan fighting Trey Miguel, so don’t touch my tush.

Before The...

WWE.com

Winning the coveted WWE Championship is often the ultimate goal for any professional wrestler. Despite the existence of numerous other World Championships in the global grappling network that is sports entertainment, the WWE’s version of the strap is the definitive title belt and proves, without doubt, that the man wearing the gold belongs among the elite of the sport.

Even in the post-kayfabe era of the “smart mark”, the title of WWE Champion is still regarded as the “Holy Grail” of the wrestling business. The list of former WWE Champions is a veritable who’s who of wrestling and the victories that line that list have become almost mythical over time.

…At least for the most part, that is.

With over five decades of history literally under its belt, the storied canvas of the WWE ring has seen a myriad of title changes over the years; so many,...

WWE.com

The WWE Network is a beautiful invention. It’s a living museum at your very fingertips. If you’re a wrestling enthusiast and you don’t have it, do yourself a favor and subscribe for, wait for it… only $9.99.

With the 2015 Royal Rumble just around the corner, my time-warp through the network brought me to the 2000 Royal Rumble at Madison Square Garden, which is memorable for many things and is a year WWE undoubtedly continued to flourish. This pay-per-view featured the debut of Tazz, a stellar tag-team tables match between the Dudley’s and the Hardy’s, a Royal Rumble match in which The Rock guaranteed a victory and won, and one of the best undercard matches in history: Cactus Jack versus Triple H in a street fight for the WWF Championship.

Mick Foley had fallen victim to the power stroke of the less-than-a-year-old McMahon-Helmsley faction. He had...

WWE.com

The TLC go home show. How quickly are WWE pay per views coming round these days?

This week’s episode looked set to be a bumper edition after a couple of new factions were established last week. Sheamus ‘recruited’ King Barrett, Rusev and Alberto Del Rio to form the League of Nations, while Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose joined forces with The Usos to form a family, of sorts. The powers that be have a lot of explaining to do as to why the factions are together now which would be sure to take up a very boring opening 20 minutes of the show.

The other main talking point heading into this week’s Raw was who would be the fourth man? Last week’s episode saw the shock return of Tommy Dreamer to a WWE ring, as the Ecw Original assisted The Dudley Boyz against the Wyatt Family.

WWE.com

Tna Wrestling will induct referee Earl Hebner into their Hall of Fame on October 3 in his home state of Virginia.

The 66-year-old will join the likes of Sting, Kurt Angle, Team 3D (Bully Ray & Brother Devon) and Jeff Jarrett in the elite talent of wrestling so far picked for Tna’s Hall. There’s little doubting that Earl is up there with the most famous referees of the ‘modern era’ in wrestling thanks to his work in both WWE and Tna, so much so that fans are asking the question as to whether he deserves a spot in Vince McMahon’s version…

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

As well as being one of the most recognisable faces to don the black and white shirt, Earl is one of the most controversial thanks to his role in the Montreal Screwjob.

ImpactWrestling.com

Tna Wrestling will induct referee Earl Hebner into their Hall of Fame on Saturday, October 3 in Salem, Virginia. It’s a show that won’t be televised, but Hebner is a Virginia native, so it’s a way to honour him in his home state.

The following night is Tna’s Bound For Glory PPV, so there’s a chance they may film some of it and show it during the broadcast.

Hebner commented on the honour in a press release issued by Tna:

““When I received the call from John Gaburick (Tna’s Executive Vice President of Television and Talent Relations) and he told me I am being inducted into the Tna Hall of Fame, I was stunned and my eyes welled up with tears. I’ve been working for 37 years for this incredible honor. It is rare for a referee in any sport to be recognized in this way,...

The 2001 WWE Invasion PPV was held on July 22, 2001 in Cleveland, Ohio. It was the only time that WWE used the Invasion title for a PPV because it was the only occasion where it would have fit. That’s because the main story at the time was about the WCW brand led by Shane McMahon and the Ecw brand led by Stephanie McMahon & Paul Heyman were trying to take over Vince McMahon’s WWE. It was a dream storyline that fans had wanted to see for years.

While it wasn’t perfect for a lot of reasons, they did a fantastic job of building up the event, which did great business for WWE with a reported 775,000 PPV buys. From a financial standpoint it was one of the most successful WWE PPVs ever.

This show was unique because there wasn’t a WWE Title match in the main event slot. That’s...

The Montreal Screwjob, the most infamous pro wrestling incident of all time. It was a defining moment in wrestling history, launching the Attitude Era and giving birth to a generation of ‘smart mark’ fans who flocked to the internet to talk about what happens ‘backstage’. It is widely accepted that what happened on the night of November 9th 1997 in Montreal was a legitimate action which was not in the script.

Bret Hart was the reigning WWF Champion, and was defending the belt in Montreal, Canada as a national hero of sorts. Hart was a very close friend of WWF owner Vince McMahon, but after 14 years of working together, both sides had agreed that Bret should sign with mega rich rival WCW. This suited both men. Vince was looking to cut costs and rearrange his main event line up, Bret meanwhile was looking for one last big payday as he approached the end of his career.

Though they used to be once in a blue moon occasions, movies like Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler have managed to help shift the perception of professional wrestling in the mainstream sphere, even if that only relates to evoking more sympathy for these modern-day gladiators than simply mocking them.

This trend continues with the production of Crossface, a biopic of late WWE star Chris Benoit, and more prominently, Bennett Miller’s upcoming Foxcatcher, based on Olympic Wrestling Champion Mark Schultz’s autobiography and starring Channing Tatum, Steve Carell and Mark Ruffalo.

As a wrestling fan, this got me thinking – what other shocking scandals and must-see wrestling stories haven’t made it to the big screen yet? Some of these may have limited audiences, while others have a broader-reaching appeal, but each certainly has an inherently cinematic quality that certainly warrants the big-screen treatment…

10. The Montreal Screwjob

The most infamous “storyline...

He was known in his era as “the best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be” but for many wrestling fans Bret Hart’s legacy will forever be tarnished by the events of the 1997 Survivor Series which took place in his home country of Canada. Well according to a new documentary titled The Montreal Theory, Bret Hart not only knew about what was going to happen that night, but agreed and cooperated with Vince McMahon from start to finish.

For those fans who don’t actually know what The Montreal Screwjob is/was (shame on you) it is the name given to the final moments of Bret’s WWF Championship match against “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels at 1997′s Survivor Series PPV. The original plan – according to Bret – was for Michaels to get the upper hand only for Hart’s fellow Hart Foundation members...

Tna Against All Odds Recap

12th February 2012

Live From The Impact! Zone

Backstage the annoying cameraman tries to talk to Jeff Hardy but he just smirks and walks on. Rude. Following that, the opening video packages focuses on the World Title match and how important Hogan thinks the company is. It is a Vegas themed logo but that’s about as far as the theme gets. No Tazz tonight as he is dealing with a family death, so we have Tenay and Borash on the headsets.

#1 Contender’s Match to the X Division Title

Zema Ion vs. Jesse Sorensen

All that hairspray is bad for the environment Zema. Matt Morgan is not the only one with a “Carbon Footprint.” Jesse carries his football as always in this battle of the entrance props. He give his to a kid at ringside cause he’s that kind of guy. Zema gets in...

Tna Impact Wrestling! 22nd January 2012

Last week, Bully Ray helped Bobby Roode retain again against Jeffrey Hardy. And this week, out first is James Storm with his Mickie James like entrance music/video. He’s number one contender now. He tells Kurt hes the greatest wrestler but he was better then threatens to whoop Roode’s ass. “Sorry about your damn…” He’s cut off by Jeff Hardy’s music and the Rainbow Emo himself comes to the ring. “I got screwed at the PPV, I got screwed last week.” He tells Storm nobody gets a shot until he gets his final encounter. Storm says a few months ago He got screwed. “You’d think with all this screwing he’d have a lot of child support to pay.” Before we can digest that thought, Roode comes out with a mic. He’s flattered at the attention but reminds Storm...

Impact Wrestling September 22nd

Recap Sting and Ric Flair having the worst match ever, then Hogan beating down Sting unconvincingly. This is what you would call a “hype” video. But no amount of hype can save where this storyline is going. In the arena here comes the “Insane Icon” Sting in a Hogan t-shirt carrying a clipboard. Which in wrestling either means contract or petition. This time it seems to be a contract as he wants Hogan to the ring. Hogan obliges. Hogan/Flair/Sting. Its like watching WCW in the mid 90s. Hogan says hes not clear to wrestle. Sting shows footage of Hogan beating him down which contradicts that statement. Sting wants to get it on right now but Hogan doesn’t. Instead bring out another mid 90s staple in Eric Bischoff. Sting ignores him completely then decks him.

Backstage, Karen Jarrett is telling a selection of Knockouts about their match tonight.

As expected, No Surrender kicked off with the entire roster taking part in a 9/11 tribute. Tna Knockout Rosita, whose father died in the attacks, was shown. Jesse Neal was shown in full sailor attire. We get a rendition of America the Beautiful and a big USA chant. Now finally its time for the show to begin proper. Mike Tenay and Tazz are the announcers and first it’s…

#1 Contenders Match for the X Division Title

Jesse Sorensen vs. Kid Kash

Anyone else think it’s about time he dropped the Kid in his name? I know Man Kash doesn’t have the same ring to it, but he’s definitely not a kid anymore. In saying that as long as he never brings back the Pit-bull gimmick, I’m happy. Match starts off with an exchange of quick pin falls and reversals that the fans are well behind from the bell.