One of the most iconic moments throughout WWE history is the Montreal Screwjob which involved Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, and Vince McMahon.
Hart defended the WWF title against Michaels at Survivor Series in November 1997, just a few weeks before he left the company for their rivals WCW. Plans were in place for Hart to lose or forfeit the title at a later date before departing.
However, McMahon decided without Hart's knowledge that Michaels would win the title at Survivor Series and, as Michaels held Hart in the Sharpshooter submission hold, Vince forced the referee to call for the match to end despite the fact Hart hadn't submitted.
Punch
As a result, Hart was outraged by the decision and punched Vince in the face when he tried to explain himself to him about it, resulting in the WWE boss getting a black eye.
During an appearance on the CBS Sports’ In This Corner podcast this week, Hart stated that the Montreal Screwjob was the single defining moment of his lifetime, and he also explained why he was right to punch Vince.
He said, via Rajah: "In some ways, I'm not so proud of that moment but in a lot of ways, I think it was the single defining moment of my lifetime.
"You know I often second guess a lot of what I did that day punching Vince and you know I think it made me feel good a few months ago when Chris Jericho was on a podcast and he was talking about Bret Hart should have done this or Bret Hart should have done that, but all these people who are talking about me they don't know my circumstance.
"They don't know what rights I had in my contract that gave me legal precedent. I had creative control for my last sixty days right there I was legally in the right to do the things I stood up for.
"It kinda stings when I think of how much I gave to WWF and how they just wanted to stab me in the back that day and sweep me out the back door and have nobody ever hear from me again.
"All that I did meant nothing, all those years taping up injuries and working sick and I'd worked for WWF for at least three hundred days a year for at least sixteen years and it meant nothing to them in the end."
No regrets
Bret went on to say that so much has happened in his life since the Montreal Screwjob, from his brother Owen Hart dying, to him having a stroke as well as cancer, that he doesn't have time to worry about what happened over 20 years ago.
He did say though that he would do the same thing again because he was standing up for himself in that very moment.
He said: "If I had to do it again I would have probably done the exact same thing again. I have no regrets on my behavior.
"I look at it myself in some ways as my crowning moment. My moment to stand up and say I'm a businessman and I'm gonna protect myself and you don't have the right to destroy me.
"You might have a contract that employes me as a wrestler but you don't have the right to destroy me, rape me. When I look at what I did, what I stood up for I believe I stood up for all the boys in wrestling."