WWE's Original Screwjob With Fabulous Moolah In 1985, Explained

WWE's first burst into mainstream success was with its connection to Cyndi Lauper in 1984, this began the Rock 'n' Wrestling connection which would ultimately morph into Hulkamania running wild in the late 1980s. Before Hogan became the de facto leader of professional wrestling, there was another who was lighting up the WWE - Wendi Richter. Richter was a vital part of the earliest years of Vince McMahon's plans for national expansion and was seemingly set to be the female Hulk Hogan in terms of marketing and merchandising, but her career within the WWE was cut short in a remarkable turn of events dubbed 'The Original Screwjob'. While Montreal is seen as a defining moment within the history of the professional wrestling business, Richter's screwjob has seemingly been consigned to memory, likely because of those who were involved and the way it reflects on Vince McMahon so early in his national expansion.

The Fabulous Moolah And The Longest Reign In Professional Wrestling

Moolah is a wrestling legend with a particularly dubious legacy, one of the great assets that Moolah brought to a company was her ability to provide female talent for the promoters, Moolah was in charge of the American female professional wrestling world, both in the ring and out of it. That extends to the claim she was a world champion for twenty-eight uninterrupted years from 1956 to 1984. Mostly true, but her title reigns were broken up by several month-long reigns. When Moolah sold the rights to the Women's World Championship to Vince McMahon, McMahon not only gained a prospective new division to market but also the sixty-year-old Moolah who was not ready to step away from the ring yet.

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Surrounding all of the allegations of Moolah's personal dealings with her trainees, there was one thing that was certainly true. Moolah had no intent to let others get over while she was still there, and if they were to get over, they would do it under Moolah and promptly pay her for it. A lot of the tension between Richter and Moolah came from Richter's refusal to give Moolah a percentage of her pay. This supposed slight by Richter would lead to the screwjob in 1985.

Wendi Richter Was Supposed To Be The Female Hulk Hogan

Wendi Richter would defeat Moolah at MTV's The Brawl to End it All for the Women's Championship with Cyndi Lauper in her corner, it was MTV's largest rating in history up to that point in time and Richter looked set for superstardom. Richter was everywhere in the WWE's early attempts to capitalize on their new mainstream exposure, and her role was to draw young girls into watching wrestling, much the same way as Hogan was to draw young boys and create fans for life for the WWE. Wendi Richter was the perfect choice for the role; young, attractive, and glamorous, she epitomized the 1980s in American society but her time at the top was cut incredibly short.

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In 1985 at Madison Square Garden, Richter defended her title against The Spider Lady, a female wrestler in a mask. The Spider Lady would trap Richter in a small package and despite Richter kicking out at one, the referee counted the three count and declared a new Women's Champion. After the bell has rung Richter, who is seemingly still trying to work a match, unmasks the Spider to find The Fabulous Moolah. Richter then begins to really lay into Moolah with some clear shots that were not working shots while Moolah, with arms raised, celebrates her victory. The match is an utterly strange spectacle and Richter has claimed she did not know it was Moolah under the mask. What is certain is that Moolah was working incredibly stiff before the screwjob and Richter looked agitated at what was happening. If Richter truly did not know, she must have known something was going on.

The match ended, Richter left the arena and her run was over until a WWE Hall of Fame spot. The reason behind the screwjob? Either Richter refused to sign a new contract with the WWE or Richter asked for a better contract and had regular disagreements with Vince McMahon. Either way, it goes to show from the very beginning of McMahon's national expansion he was absolutely brutal on cracking down on any kind of roadblock that threatened his ambition. As for Moolah, she managed to cling on to her title until 1987, by which point women's wrestling in the WWE was practically dead, and would not receive the same kind of attention until decades later.