WWE Rewind: Rick Rude Pulls Double Duty And 'Bret Hart Screwed Bret Hart'

November 17, 1997 - Rick Rude appeared on both WWE Raw and WCW Nitro in the same night.

Eric Bischoff and Rick Rude / WWE

Survivor Series is one of WWE's longest running Premium Live Events and the host to some of the most consequential moments in the company's history, but most people can agree that there's one incident that stands above the rest.

Whether it's the first Elimination Chamber Match, Sting's long-awaited WWE debut, The Shield arriving on the scene to save CM Punk's WWE Champion reign or even the Undertaker's first match back in 1990, none of these Survivor Series memories are more prominent than the 'Montreal Screwjob.'

The immediate fallout of Vince McMahon stealing the WWF (WWE) Championship from Bret Hart, who was preparing to leave the company for rival WCW, would spread well into the next few weeks and stretch across both promotions.

WWE Hall of Famer Rick Rude was working on short-term contract with the WWE when the infamous title swap transpired. Jim Ross, who was the lead commentator for WWE and a member of the Talent Relations team, was under the impression that Rude had agreed to terms on an extension.

Needless to say company reps were surprised, and more than a bit miffed, when Rude kicked off the November 17 episode of WCW Monday Night Nitro in Cincinnati, OH and aligned himself with the NWO.

Rude was sporting a clean shaven look, save for his trademark ravishing mustache. About an hour after that segment aired, through the power of TV magic, a fully bearded Rick Rude was transported over 800 miles away to Ontario, Canada for an appearance with D-Generation X on Raw.

That episode of Raw had been pre-taped the week before, allowing Rude to pull off the miraculous feat of becoming the first man to appear on both WWE and WCW programming in the same night. His decision to switch promotions was largely credited to the treatment of Bret Hart at Survivor Series.

It's was also on that same episode of Raw that Vince McMahon gave his famous 'Bret Hart screwed Bret Hart' speech in a sit down interview with Jim Ross:

"The referee didn’t screw Bret Hart. Shawn Michaels certainly didn’t screw Bret Hart. Nor did Vince McMahon screw Bret Hart. I truly believed that Bret Hart screwed Bret Hart. And he can look in the mirror, and know that... and as far as screwing Bret Hart is concerned, there’s a time honored tradition in the wrestling business that when someone is leaving, that they show the right amount of respect to the WWF superstars –in this case– who helped make you that superstar. That you show the proper respect to the organization that helped you become who you are today. It’s a time honored tradition, and Bret Hart did not want to honor that tradition. - h/t TJR Wrestling"

Survivor Series is heading back to Canada this year with WarGames once again headlining the show on Saturday November, 30. Get all the details here.

—Your one-stop shop for all things professional wrestling—

Bret Hart Reveals Truth About Vince McMahon Punch After 'Montreal Screwjob'

WWE Superstar Logan Paul Responds To Mike Tyson's Challenge With Insult To His Face

Braun Strowman Makes Surprise WWE Return During Smackdown Dark Match