I'm surprised no company's ever tried a gambling storyline

[FunkDoc1112]

Seems like an easy ass layup, even poke fun at the "wrestling is fixed" stuff lmao. Like, you can go a few directions: have a manager start siccing his goons to interfere in matches seemingly at random, screwing over both heels and faces. Then a wrestler uncovers the mystery and finds out homeboy's been betting on matches and has been having guys interfere to get the results he wants right down to the match length. So now he's gotta deal with the goons.

Or, you have a wrestler do the losing streak storyline but eventually confesses that he owes money to shady guys and has been betting on and throwing matches. Authority figure gotta fire him, but then the dudes he's been dealing with debut and attack him either at his house or when he's with his family, threatening his loved ones and the homies until the authority figure reinstates him. DO a big blowoff where breh gets all his money back

Or...a Tim Donaghy-style ref

 

[Him]

Isn’t this kinda what Corbin’s character was minus the goons and fukkery

 

[El Guapo]

This is definitely on my wish list of storylines I think would be interesting in wrestling. I thought the perfect time to do it was when the APA were sorta betting on matches, but they never went full on in it. I'm thinking in the current WWE, they could have Happy Corbin being the one running the gambling operation and it's how he stays rich lol

Maybe have him take all the money he gets from bettors and he decides to make a bet too and on a "sure thing" like Sheamus vs. Drew Gulak only for Gulak pulling the upset and having all the faces in the lockerroom chasing Corbin around wanting their money since they bet on Gulak lol

 

[Paper Boi]

 

[Norrin Radd]

 

[FooFighters]

Seems

Or...a Tim Donaghy-style ref

Wasn't that Nick Patrick?

 

[ALTRUISM]

Adding to this, I'm more surprised there hasn't been a mafia/mob centric storyline. Imagine something like the Bloodline starting as some small merger group, but the build is them slowly and discreetly expanding their enterprise with other family members on some American Gangster steeze. Things like gambling, fixing matches, and placing hits start becoming more rampant with certain wrestlers disappearing at an alarming rate while their key members are conveniently in higher, more influential political positions within the company. The payoff is revealed when the McMahon's have been bamboozled and are only the owners in appearances only, with Roman acting as the elusive, but seemingly non-threatening leader like Noah Cross from Chinatown.

 

[boriquaking]

fakkit ass hbk did that

 

[concise]

HBK and JBL did the debt storyline shortly before WM 25.

Lou Albano and Tony Altamore had a thing where they were claiming to be down with the mob when they were in a tag team together then they got approached by real mobsters who told them to cut it out. Industry hasn't gone near that ever since.

 

[FunkDoc1112]

Wasn't that Nick Patrick?

He was the NWO's ref, but I'm talking a guy who just rigs matches because he put money on them. Some wrestler who's been getting screwed can uncover the mystery and the ref gets fired, but then he comes back the next week with some heel backing him up and becomes a manager like Bill Alphonso

 

[MightyHealthy]

Swinger's Palace was amazing for doing this in Impact.

They didn't do a ref-specific gambling storyline, though, but that's a terrific manager setup plot.

 

[Toe Jay Simpson]

Adding to this, I'm more surprised there hasn't been a mafia/mob centric storyline. Imagine something like the Bloodline starting as some small merger group, but the build is them slowly and discreetly expanding their enterprise with other family members on some American Gangster steeze. Things like gambling, fixing matches, and placing hits start becoming more rampant with certain wrestlers disappearing at an alarming rate while their key members are conveniently in higher, more influential political positions within the company. The payoff is revealed when the McMahon's have been bamboozled and are only the owners in appearances only, with Roman acting as the elusive, but seemingly non-threatening leader like Noah Cross from Chinatown.

Like a version of Contra from MLW but this instead of the guerrilla vibes. Could be ill

 

[Kidd Dibiase]

Adding to this, I'm more surprised there hasn't been a mafia/mob centric storyline. Imagine something like the Bloodline starting as some small merger group, but the build is them slowly and discreetly expanding their enterprise with other family members on some American Gangster steeze. Things like gambling, fixing matches, and placing hits start becoming more rampant with certain wrestlers disappearing at an alarming rate while their key members are conveniently in higher, more influential political positions within the company. The payoff is revealed when the McMahon's have been bamboozled and are only the owners in appearances only, with Roman acting as the elusive, but seemingly non-threatening leader like Noah Cross from Chinatown.

Disco Inferno owed money to the mob when the italian faction came to WCW

 

[Notorious 1 E.Y.E.]

He was the NWO's ref, but I'm talking a guy who just rigs matches because he put money on them. Some wrestler who's been getting screwed can uncover the mystery and the ref gets fired, but then he comes back the next week with some heel backing him up and becomes a manager like Bill Alphonso

this could work
youd have to get a new wrestler who and have him be a new ref and start from there
it would be long term booking but the payoff if done right would be great

 

[Bryan Danielson]

I’m surprised no one made a thousand threads about this