Vince McMahon is the CEO of WWE and has the final say in everything that goes on in the company, whether it be related to production, storylines or matches in general. Vince McMahon also reportedly offered WWE Superstar Alexa Bliss ‘a huge amount’ of money.
At Survivor Series 1997, Bret Hart was set to leave WWE for WCW and thought he was going to retain the WWE Championship in the main event against Shawn Michaels. McMahon feared that Hart could appear in WCW with the WWE Championship and due to that, McMahon booked Michaels as the winner of the match without the knowledge of Bret Hart.
The Godfather, who worked for WWE at the time, spoke to James Romero of WSI – Wrestling Shoot Interviews regarding the Montreal Screwjob. McMahon offered released to the entire roster, including champions and main eventers.
“They [other WWE Superstars] were threatening to quit but none of them did [laughs],” The Godfather said. “I remember Vince coming in and basically saying, ‘Hey, this is my company. I’m gonna protect my company. If anybody don’t like it, we’ll give you your release.’ That’s basically how it went down. ‘If you guys can’t live with this, I will always protect my company.’ That type of thing. ‘If you don’t like it, I’ll give you your release.’ I don’t think nobody asked for their release.”
