Earl Hebner and Bret Hart are on good terms again.
The Montreal Screwjob is one of the most infamous moments in wrestling history with Vince McMahon ensuring Bret Hart did not leave WWE Survivor Series 1997 with the WWE Championship, asking for the bell to be rung as Shawn Michaels had Hart in a sharpshooter.
Very few were in on the screwjob, but referee Earl Hebner was one of them, calling for the bell and then running out of the ring as it rang.
Speaking to Steve Fall of WrestlingNewsCo, Hebner was asked if he thought something could go wrong before the match.
"Not really. Truthfully, I thought everything had been worked out and settled and was okay. Time to go to the ring," he replied.
Hart would leave WWE for WCW, and the Montreal Screwjob would be referenced for years with Michaels and Hebner getting massive boos and "You screwed Bret" chants in Canada. Hart, Michaels, and McMahon all made up in 2004.
Hebner says that he and Bret made up after the passing of Earl's brother Dave Hebner in 2022.
"I have a merch shirt that says 'Damn right I did.' And a lot of people want me to say, Can you write on it 'I screwed Bret?' I go, 'No. I can't do that.' A while back, maybe three or four years ago, I would do it but Bret and I made up. And before my brother passed, we were at a house show, or indie show and he was there and he called us into the ring and he put us over like big time. So now Bret calls me now and then and I'll call him and we got a good relationship back and I'm not gonna screw it up by writing something over a dumb ass shirt. It's gonna destroy our friendship.
"For a long time it honestly it bothered me. It was bad for me, you know, cuz I carried it with me for a lot of years. We met one time an airport, and I wanted to talk to him and he said, 'I don't want to talk to you.' ... I said, 'can I talk to you for a minute?'' He goes, 'I don't want to talk.' I said okay, so I let it go and that was it. And as time went on, you know, it finally worked out well. We got to see each other [and] communicate..."
Hebner has a new book coming out titled "Earl Hebner: The Official Story."
Fans can learn more about the book by clicking here.
