10 reasons the 'Montreal Screwjob' may have been a work

9. If the Montreal incident were real, it would have been too risky for live TV

Wendi Richter lost her title to a masked Fabulous Moolah in a taped segment.

Despite many believing that the Montreal Screwjob was a work, all wrestling critics and fans agree that the WWE did actually take the belt off a performer without that performer's prior knowledge.

Wendi Richter was the WWE women's champion at the time and was immensely popular. However, Richter had become disgruntled with her salary, which was much lower than that of her male counterparts. With her contract about to expire, Richter was refusing to drop the championship or sign a new contract unless her demands were met.

Vince entered into a conspiracy with the Fabulous Moolah, one of wrestling's most controversial figures, to get the belt off of Richter without the latter's knowledge.

On November 25th, 1985, Richter was scheduled to successfully defend her title against The Spider Lady, an enhancement talent she'd previously wrestled. However, it was really Moolah under the mask.

The match was awkward and short, ending when Richter was rolled up into a pin by the Spider Lady. Despite Richter kicking out at one, the ref continued to count until three and awarded the match and title to Moolah.

Richter stormed out and never performed for the WWE in a wrestling capacity again. The incident was shown on WWE but was heavily edited, and still, it came across as quite awkward and poorly done.

The WWE, so the theory goes, learned their lesson on this night and would be very unlikely to attempt the same thing with a live Pay Per View feed and millions watching. Too many things could have gone wrong.