However, Hart was allegedly the victim of the massive kayfabe controversy dubbed the Montreal Screwjob, in which he lost the belt to Michaels due to a quick three-count that was supposedly ordered by Vince McMahon.
(Check out ViceTV’s Dark Side of the Ring episode about the Montreal Screwjob for a deeper look at how fiction and reality crossed paths.)
Four years later, Bret Hart had signed his own WCW contract and was on his way out, with a plan to more or less forfeit the belt to rival Shawn Michaels at Survivor Series in Montreal, as not to be physically defeated in his home country.