Mick Foley recently talked about a wide range of topics on his Foley is Pod, available via AdFreeShows.
During it, the WWE Hall Of Famer talked about The Montreal Screwjob at the 1997 Survivor Series PPV event, where Vince McMahon rang the bell while Shawn Michaels had Bret Hart in the Sharpshooter. This was done to have Michaels win the WWE Title as Hart was leaving for WCW.
Foley didn’t work Raw the following night out of protest, but returned to work shortly after. He was asked what he learned after the situation.
“Ultimately, it’s a business about forgiveness, right? Ultimately, that’s what it turned out to be. But, I mean, that was a harsh reality. It really was a harsh reality for me. When I was in my hotel room watching the TV and realized I was the only guy, I think Rick Rude. Also, Rick Rude and I were the only ones who followed through on not showing up. And then my wife read my contract to me and I realized I just breached it and legally couldn’t work anywhere in the world for five years. So the next day, I came back hat in hand and was welcomed back, no questions asked. But the Hart family appreciated that, right? The one-day walkout was one day longer than most. And Bret really appreciated it as well. But it was a business, but it was also very personal. You know, we had our backs to the wall. And I did come to understand that Vince was doing what he thought he had to save his company. It was unfortunate that it happened, but no doubt it was good for WWE business because that was really the origin of the Mr. McMahon character. And then without that, you don’t have the angle with Steve and Vince, which really strapped a rocket to WWE at that time.”