Earl Hebner Says He Wasn’t The First Choice for Montreal Screwjob Referee, How Nervous He Was

Earl Hebner was involved in the infamous Montreal Screwjob, but the referee revealed he wasn’t Vince McMahon’s first choice to referee the match. Hebner was the man who oversaw the match and called for the bell despite Bret Hart not tapping out, and he discussed the incident during a recent K&S WrestleFest virtual signing. Some highlights are below, per Wrestling Inc.:

On how nervous he was before the match: “Well, from 1-10, I’m going to double it; 20. When I was walking to the ring, and if it was 100 feet, it felt like 10 miles walking to that ring for that match. Never been so tensed and stressed in my whole life. In all the matches I’ve been in, that was the toughest one of my life.”

Earl Hebner on not being Vince McMahon’s first choice as referee: “There was no other referee that would really stand up to do it. Tim White was asked to do it and he wouldn’t do it, and I don’t think the rest of them would’ve done it.”

On calling for the bell early against McMahon’s instructions to wait 10 seconds: “That’s how nervous I was.”