World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) has completed a decades-long review of footage from the so-called Montreal Screwjob and reversed the controversial decision made by referee Earl Hebner that night. 

“After reviewing the reply footage frame-by-frame, a team of experts has determined that Bret Hart did not tap-out Shawn Michaels on Nov. 9, 1997,” said WWE attorney Leo Kirschenbaum. 

The lawyer concluded: “WWE regrets any confusion caused by the matter, and the company now this case now resolved.”

Although most fans believed Hart had tapped out to his own Sharpshooter maneuver, the referee mistakenly called for the final bell after getting temporarily distracted by WWE boss, Vince McMahon, at ringside. 

Hart, now declared the victor, is glad he eventually won in front of his fellow Canadians, and is “sorry” he “accidentally sneezed on McMahon’s face from the ring that night.”