Spoiler: pro wrestling is fake!
Well, not fake, exactly. Men (and some women) are throwing one another around for real every week, and it for-real hurts. But pro wrestling is indeed predetermined, and we're not telling you anything you don't already know. Wrestling isn't about real competition, it's about spectacle and storytelling. (In other words, another spoiler: the ending of every movie you see this summer is also predetermined before you walk into the theater.) The art is in the showmanship, the performance of the story.
But what happens if we already know what's going to happen? That certainly seems to be the case over at Reddit's r/SquaredCircle forum, where a poster by the name of Dolphins1925 has been leaking the results of match after match ... and he's been right, every single time, 38 of 38 matches, including every single match of this past week's Money in the Bank Pay-Per-View.
So who is Dolphins1925? Insider? Observant worker? He's not tipping his hand: “I am just a WWE fan like everyone else, and I am getting my information from a source who has VERY credible inside information regarding the outcomes (win/losses) of the matches themselves," Dolphin1925 wrote. “Given that this information is out there, we both feel that I should continue to share this information until it garners the attention of WWE.”
Putting aside the dubious logic of drawing the attention of an organization where hitting people with chairs is an accepted method of conflict resolution, the move worked. WWE is taking a close look at exactly what's happening here, but refused to let the mask drop in a characteristic statement: "We may have a modern day Nostradamus on our hands. We might have to monitor these posts in advance of our next pay-per-view to see how good he or she really is." ("She"? That's, uh, optimistic.)
Gambling on the WWE would seem to be a ridiculous proposition, but it does happen, with bets capped at low limits precisely because something like this could occur. Deadspin points out that each of Dolphins1925's picks, and the eventual victors, were the favorites going into matches, which might suggest that bookmakers have an informational edge as well.
WWE prizes secrecy, and you've got to figure that there will be some attempt to unmask either Dolphins1925 or the leaker, if in fact they're two separate people. And it'll probably end in a cage match, which is how all disputes should be resolved.
_________________ favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."
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