10 Pro Wrestling Scandals You've Probably Never Heard Of
3. The Original Screwjob
This is the one that tends to separate the serious fans from the casual fans. Some devotees of the WWE haven’t even heard of Wendi Richter, the former WWF Women’s Champion and star of the inaugural WrestleMania. Despite the fact that, at that time, many considered her as big a star as Hogan himself, her name has dropped right off the radar, and - aside from her WWE Half Of Fame induction in 2010 - very few even recall that she existed.
Part of the reason for her exclusion from the revisionist history put forward by the WWE is due to the manner of her leaving the organisation in 1985. Originally hired on a contract with a minimal downside payment, she was given co-main event status at WrestleMania in April and supported by pop sensation Cyndi Lauper, who’d brought MTV to the table with her. Richter was booked to regain the title from Leilani Kai on the night.
Despite the status of the WWF Women’s Championship bout on this huge - and hugely successful - event, Richter netted five grand for working the first WrestleMania; all four men in the tag team headlining show, including non-wrestler Mr. T, made ten times that. Not only that, but Richter never received a penny of royalties for her name and likeness being used in so many merchandise tie-ins, including a CBS Saturday morning cartoon.
Constantly attempting to assert her position with McMahon and impress upon him the unfairness of her payouts, Richter made herself unwelcome in the boss’ office: when he tried to convince her that he’d ‘made’ her, the star retorted to him that “Cyndi Lauper made me.” Not diplomatic when faced with a man as narcissistic as Vincent Kennedy McMahon.
Faced with a title match with masked wrestler The Spider at Madison Square Garden, Richter allegedly began to smell a rat when she saw her old mentor the Fabulous Moolah backstage. Moolah, a notoriously selfish star of days gone by who Richter had originally beaten for the WWF Women’s Championship the year before, never showed up at events she wasn’t working.
When her opponent came through the curtain, it was obvious to anyone paying attention that this wasn’t The Spider: the real Spider, a woman called Glendine, was a completely different shape to this hunched, potbellied masked woman. Richter claims she knew something was up, but played along with the script of the match because she wasn’t sure what was happening - and as a professional, going into business for herself on a whim was unthinkable.
The Spider’s offence was stiffer than expected, but Richter wasn’t a shrinking violet. Suddenly she was caught in a small package - and although her shoulder came up at the one-count, the referee continued counting, awarding her opponent the win and the title.
Confused and angry, Richter unmasked The Spider after the match to reveal (of course) her old enemy Moolah. Not even bothering to change her clothes, the former champion grabbed her things and walked out of the arena and out of the WWF. She wouldn’t return until her Hall Of Fame Induction, twenty-five years later.