20 years later: 5 reasons why some believe the Montreal Screwjob was a work

#4 Wrestling is all about working the fans

We're all a bunch of marks.

When you take into account the fact that the entire business of professional wrestling is about openly displaying a pre-ordained product as if it was real, why is it such a difficult thing to believe that the Montreal Screwjob was also a work?

No matter how much fans might like the idea of reality and fiction becoming blurred when it comes to the wrestling business, in the vast majority of cases somebody like Vince McMahon will be in complete control of the situation. The man has been around too long to allow genuine unpredictability to dictate what happens to his company.

For example, the 'Summer of Punk' storyline from 2011 might have been done in a way that elements of it felt real and organic, but most would admit that nothing would have happened there without Vince being 100% in agreement.

While the current WWE product might be accused of being a little shortsighted with its planning, the WWF of 1997 was a very difficult animal. Vince was making decisions with expert foresight, with storylines and character developments being planned way in advance.

Again, why is it so difficult to believe that the screwjob wasn't just another example of McMahon carefully planning how to wrestle back control of WCW and to get fans talking about the WWF once again? After all, this is what he was best at.