George "The Animal" Steele calls Montreal Screwjob "biggest joke in wrestling" history

George Steele got famous by being ugly, hairy and possibly mentally challenged.

But that's not going to stop "The Animal" from putting fellow WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart on blast.

Steele recently sat down with the Inside the Ropes podcast to discuss a number of things including his career and retirement, his involvement in WrestleMania II and many other topics.

But it's what he had to say about that fateful night in Montreal in November 1997 that grabbed my attention.

Here's what "The Animal" had to say:

"To me, that's one of the biggest jokes in wrestling of all time. Let's be honest, who did Bret Hart beat to win the belt? They give him the belt and then he can't drop the belt in his own country? Give me a frickin' break. By Vince doing the double cross Vince became the hottest thing in the business..."

My Cageside colleague Geno and I have long contested there isn't a bigger mark from themselves IN THIS BUSINESS --- cue Triple H impersonation -- than "The Hitman."

From how WWE built up his WrestleMania 12 match with Shawn Michaels to his refusal to drop the belt in his home country, Hart has put himself up on a pedestal for a long time now.

It doesn't help he was misused and wasted in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and then subsequently had his career ended by an errant mule kick from Goldberg. I'm sure that didn't help assuage the Canuck's ego.

Still, it's interesting to hear his contemporaries' opinions of the former champ.