Earl Hebner was scared he’d be killed when he was asked to referee in Montreal at TNA Slammiversary 2024.
The Hall of Fame referee is infamous in wrestling for his role in the Montreal Screwjob. Earl Hebner was in charge of the match at Survivor Series 1997 that saw Shawn Michaels and Vince McMahon screw Bret Hart out of the WWE Championship.
Since then, he has been wary of returning to Canada through fear of what irate fans could do to him. However, he refused to help Mustafa Ali “screw” ‘Speedball’ Mike Bailey at the event, making up for his transgressions nearly three decades earlier.
Speaking on the Refin It Up with Brian Hebner, Jimmy Korderas, and Daniel Spencer podcast, Earl Hebner discussed how that appearance came to be.
Earl Hebner On TNA Slammiversary Appearance
“When they [TNA] called me and asked me, I wouldn’t give them an answer. I said, ‘I don’t know. I could get killed over there going back,'” Earl Hebner said (H/T Fightful). “It had been so long since I had been there. They called me back again and said, ‘What’s the deal?’ I said, ‘I don’t know Tommy [Dreamer].’ He said, ‘Do it for me. I need you to do it for me.’ I said, ‘I need security. I could get killed quickly. It’s been a long time since I’ve been there. Those people aren’t going to be happy to see me.'”
“I’m thinking someone is going to stooge the shit off. Some people who knew I was going to do it were there, and some didn’t know. When I came out, I got the biggest boos in my life. Bigger than [Hulk] Hogan (at Netflix premiere). I was walking to the ring and people were going nuts. I said, ‘I’m going to milk them..’ And I started giving them shit and when we got down to the finish. After the finish, 80% of them loved me. I walked back and I got a lot of cheers. It made me feel good,” Earl Hebner added.
Despite his reservations about being in Montreal, Hebner recently said that he made up with Bret Hart for his role in the Montreal Screwjob. Bailey also told WrestleZone that he viewed the match as Hebner’s redemption story.
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