The WWE's "Montreal Screwjob" that left Bret Hart without a title and on his way out of the company had massive rippling effects in the professional wrestling industry. 

For those who are unfamiliar with it, the short version of it is Vince McMahon went behind Hart's back, changed the agreed-upon outcome of his title match against Shawn Michaels at Survivor Series 97, and absolute chaos broke out.

Hart had signed a contract with WCW and was on his way out of the WWE, but the way it went down left McMahon's locker room divided and without the noble leader that Hart was behind the scenes. Bret wrote a letter to one man about that detail: The Undertaker. 

Hart, like many involved with professional wrestling, was asked about his thoughts on The Undertaker

“I wrote ’Taker a letter when I left. I said, ‘You have to be the voice of the dressing room and the leader now that I’m gone," Hart told Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated.

“I always felt that I was the leader of the dressing room and looked after everything. If guys had a problem, they could come to me and I’d go to Vince and say, ‘This guy has a problem, maybe you can help him.’

“Then ’Taker stepped in and became that guy. A lot of times he had to straighten out guys like Shawn Michaels and stand up for the other wrestlers. Undertaker was always a force in the dressing room.”

One of the reasons Hart wanted The Undertaker to be the pillar for the locker room going forward was because of how he handled things following the controversial "screwjob." 

Hart has said several times that it was The Undertaker who was the one who essentially demanded Vince enter the locker room and explain to everyone there - Bret included - what had just happened and why. It also led to Hart getting a chance to deck McMahon on his way out.

That gesture was one of the reasons Hart wanted to pass the torch to The Undertaker as the leader of that group. It's a pretty cool gesture, and speaks highly of both men. Hart still cared about the guys despite what happened and being with another promotion.

For The Undertaker, there are few higher-and-mightier personalities than Hart. That Bret believed in him to be the moral compass and voice of reason is about all of the verification needed for The Deadman being an upstanding person and respected colleague.

That's just one of many reasons that The Undertaker's believed-retirement is such a huge blow to the WWE, even if it was the right time for the 52-year-old legend to hang up his gloves.