When Hart was planning to leave the WWF in 1997 after signing a contract to WCW prior to the Montreal Screwjob at the Survivor Series, it looked as though WCW was in position to permanently eclipse the WWF, if not put them out of business. WCW appeared to possess the biggest stars in the industry, such as Hogan, Savage, Sting, Flair, Hart, Hall and Nash. In addition, the company had credible midcard stars such as Chris Jericho, Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko, and Raven, as well as an exciting cruiserweight division featuring high-flying international competition from Mexico and Japan, where the high-flying style of wrestling was popularized. However, things would not unfold as WCW had planned.