#4 The Montreal Screwjob was Vince McMahon's only option after the Madusa/WCW incident
The Montreal Screwjob existed for one reason. Vince McMahon could not bring himself to trust Bret Hart. Did the Hitman give McMahon any reason to doubt him? Absolutely not, at least not from what we've heard over the years through countless documentaries and interviews.
Bret Hart didn't want to drop the championship to Shawn Michaels at Survivor Series. He was happy to either lose or forfeit the title at a later date, but not on that night. He'd come to an agreement with HBK and Vince, and the match would end in a disqualification before Hart would lose the title down the line.
However, with one of his championships already appearing on WCW Nitro, the WWF Women's Championship, McMahon couldn't risk it, putting the Montreal Screwjob into effect. After their title was treated like garbage and literally thrown in a trash can on live TV, they couldn't take the chance. If the same thing had happened to the WWF Championship, that would've been horrendous for the company.
Again, would Hart have actually done that? No, odds are he would've done right by Vince and the company before going to WCW in December.
#3 The Montreal Screwjob gave fans a reason to hate Shawn Michaels and D-X
At a point in time where being bad was cool, D-Generation X was one of the coolest groups in wrestling. The phrase "Suck It" definitely saw a rise in popularity as Shawn Michaels, Triple H, and Chyna continued to break every rule known to cable TV at the time.
Fans loved D-X's attitude, and couldn't get enough out of their antics. At the end of the day, though, these were bad guys. These were the villains, and at some point they had to get the fans to realize that. What better way to do so than to outright screw one of the greatest and most beloved professional wrestlers of all time?
It worked exceedingly well, and Michaels rode the heat of the Montreal Screwjob all the way into WrestleMania XIV where he'd face a man from Hart's past.