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If it's a work, it's the single greatest one in the history of the industry. In my personal opinion, I think it was just a lot of incredible coincidences that lined up matched with Vince attempting to lean into it as more of a work during the aftermath. If it were simply McMahon telling the story, I could buy it as him trying to put one over on the audience as he's never been one to shy away from that sort of thing.
The big argument I hear for it being a work is that people who know Vince say he would never sell anyone's punch like that as far as leaving the locker room limping and then coming out on TV with a black eye. I think if it were a private incident, he might not have, but the "Bret screwed Bret" interview was him milking the Bret punch for sympathy and trying to spin it. It ultimately didn't work and he instead used it to turn heel.
With Bret, this is where I would call it a "great work". He would literally be lying to the point of killing his own integrity if this were a work. He's made it too much about his own word for it to be believable and at this point, if it were fake, what would be anyone's reasoning for still keeping it secret now? Owen's death kind of made it clear to me. He still had genuine animosity toward Vince and I feel like in the very real weird where an active investigation on Owen's death and subsequent civil trial were going on, someone would have admitted under deposition that Bret and Vince staged the whole Montreal Screwjob.
Another argument for it being a work is that Bret never sued Vince for breaching the "creative control" clause in his contract but I feel like that wouldn't have been as easy a lawsuit as it seems. He had "reasonable creative control" but an argument could be made that not agreeing to lose a match might not fit that criteria and it's been argued that Bret assaulting Vince after the fact would have given WWF a little legal ammo of their own.
The big argument I hear for it being a work is that people who know Vince say he would never sell anyone's punch like that as far as leaving the locker room limping and then coming out on TV with a black eye. I think if it were a private incident, he might not have, but the "Bret screwed Bret" interview was him milking the Bret punch for sympathy and trying to spin it. It ultimately didn't work and he instead used it to turn heel.
With Bret, this is where I would call it a "great work". He would literally be lying to the point of killing his own integrity if this were a work. He's made it too much about his own word for it to be believable and at this point, if it were fake, what would be anyone's reasoning for still keeping it secret now? Owen's death kind of made it clear to me. He still had genuine animosity toward Vince and I feel like in the very real weird where an active investigation on Owen's death and subsequent civil trial were going on, someone would have admitted under deposition that Bret and Vince staged the whole Montreal Screwjob.
Another argument for it being a work is that Bret never sued Vince for breaching the "creative control" clause in his contract but I feel like that wouldn't have been as easy a lawsuit as it seems. He had "reasonable creative control" but an argument could be made that not agreeing to lose a match might not fit that criteria and it's been argued that Bret assaulting Vince after the fact would have given WWF a little legal ammo of their own.
