Bret Hart Returns to Montreal for WWE's Saturday Night

Bret Hart is rumored to return to Montreal for WWE's Saturday Night's Main Event on January 24, 2026. The event will take place at the Bell Centre, a venue that has hosted numerous WWE moments, including The Rock and Hulk Hogan's rematch at No Way Out 2003.

Bret Hart's history in Montreal is complex, marked by the infamous Montreal Screwjob at Survivor Series 1997. On that day, Vince McMahon instructed referee Earl Hebner to call for the bell while Shawn Michaels had Bret locked in the Sharpshooter, despite Hart never submitting.

The fallout from the Montreal Screwjob still lingers nearly three decades later. Bret's eventual return to WWE in 2010 seemed impossible at the time, but he remained with the company throughout 2010 and 2011, even wrestling a handful of matches.

In recent years, Hart has publicly criticized WWE again, most notably calling Triple H a “phony.” This tension exists alongside the unresolved pain surrounding his brother Owen's death and the permanently strained relationship between the company and Owen's widow, Martha Hart.

Saturday Night’s Main Event is positioned as a nostalgia-driven special, and recent editions have leaned into legend appearances. Seeing Kurt Angle, Rob Van Dam, Mark Henry, and Trish Stratus were highlights of John Cena’s final match.

The event will take place on January 24, 2026, at 7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT. If Bret Hart is invited to Saturday Night’s Main Event, the safest approach is also the simplest one: no microphone, no angle, no storyline. Seat him in the front row and let the Montreal crowd do the rest.

The Bell Centre has hosted countless WWE moments over the years, and Canadian fans are among the loudest and most passionate anywhere. Montreal will get a double dose of WWE, with SmackDown airing from the Bell Centre the night before Saturday Night’s Main Event.

At the end of the day, Triple H is a businessman, and he demonstrated that last year by inducting Hart into the Hall of Fame once again for his iconic WrestleMania 13 match with Steve Austin. This move could be a sign that the door is open for Bret Hart's return to WWE, at least for one night in Montreal.