Why WWE HOFer Wendi Richter Says Vince McMahon Did Her A Favor With Original Screwjob

The 1997 Montreal Screwjob is one of the most audacious double-crosses in the history of pro wrestling, orchestrated by then-WWE Chairman Vince McMahon. However, the controversial pro wrestling promoter had executed a similar Screwjob over a decade earlier when he betrayed Wendi Richter.

Richter, who was screwed over by McMahon when she was pinned by The Fabulous Moolah in the Screwjob, believes that McMahon ultimately did her a favor with it.

"You know, it just never has gone away [the interest in learning about the original Screwjob] that people still bring that up," she began when talking to "Ring The Belle." "I'm over it. After that happened, I got saved — I'm a born-again Christian, and I started going to college. So, Vince actually did me a favor because I have a master's degree now. No one can take that away from me. But life isn't fair, and you've got to move on."

Richter revealed that walking out of WWE meant that she could get a master's degree in occupational therapy. She recalled her anger after being on the wrong end of the Screwjob as she walked out of Madison Square Garden in her ring gear, despite the freezing weather. Despite her displeasure with how things ended with WWE, she sees a silver lining in the whole sequence of events as she thinks that she would've been a part of WWE for a long time if not for the Screwjob.

"I was so personally hurt by that because my shoulders weren't pinned, I kicked out, and they just [counted to three] with my shoulders off the mat, and that was that," Richter said. "If that hadn't happened, I'd probably still be with WWE, like Moolah did, you know, for decades."

Richter, who has in the past been vocal about her dislike of Moolah, believes that her late rival was the only one highlighted on WWE television during her time with the company, as WWE refused to shine a light on other women stars.