Wwe/wwf Vince McMahon
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Re: Wwe/wwf Vince McMahon
How do you fix something that is already fixed??
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Hired_Goonz
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Re: Wwe/wwf Vince McMahon
The old territory system of rasslin has always seemed to me a similar system to the national LCN structure. Didn't they even have a "Commission" of sorts to decide who the world champion would be?
The only way I could see the NYC families ever getting their hooks into Vinnie Mac or his old man would have been through unions somehow, working the arenas. Hey if he went down on that steroid case, who knows what kind of connections he could have made in the can? He was looking at like 10 years or something lol seems so crazy now doesn't it.
The only way I could see the NYC families ever getting their hooks into Vinnie Mac or his old man would have been through unions somehow, working the arenas. Hey if he went down on that steroid case, who knows what kind of connections he could have made in the can? He was looking at like 10 years or something lol seems so crazy now doesn't it.
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Pogo The Clown
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Re: Wwe/wwf Vince McMahon
Hired_Goonz wrote: ↑Tue Apr 07, 2020 10:26 am The old territory system of rasslin has always seemed to me a similar system to the national LCN structure. Didn't they even have a "Commission" of sorts to decide who the world champion would be?
Yeah the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) had a governing body where the promoters would vote on who would be the world champion. They would also cooperate to squeeze out any independent upstart promotion who tried to go against any member promotion.
Pogo
It's a new morning in America... fresh, vital. The old cynicism is gone. We have faith in our leaders. We're optimistic as to what becomes of it all. It really boils down to our ability to accept. We don't need pessimism. There are no limits.
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dixiemafia
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Re: Wwe/wwf Vince McMahon
Agreed. Vince is a lowdown mf'er but I doubt the family had any ties or was being shaken down.Pogo The Clown wrote: ↑Mon Apr 06, 2020 9:24 am Actually his family had been running shows at the garden since the 1930s. Doubtful if he ever had any run ins with OC. With the way he has been covered and investigated and how much all the wrestlers from the different eras have talked something would have come to light.
Pogo
On another note one of my Aunts dated an old time wrestler. Any of you old school guys ever heard of Aldo Bogni?
If I didn't have my case coming up, I would like to come back with you gentlemen when this is over with and really lay the law down what is going on in this country.....
Re: Wwe/wwf Vince McMahon
Dino Bravo | His Shocking Death and Why He Was Murdered by the Mob. In one of the most chilling and tragic stories in wrestling, Canada’s own Dino Bravo went from the squared circle and bench pressing 715lbs* to getting involved with the mob and ultimately losing his life as a result of the mob 
Dino Bravo, before hard times
Rick Martel, in an RF Video High Spots shoot interview, recounts the story of Dino Bravo:
“Dino had kind of painted himself in a corner…
He tried to stay in the WWF, but he just couldn’t; Vince didn’t wanna have him back. I remember I called Pat Patterson and I suggested that I team up with Dino – because I liked him.
I said, ‘I’ll take the bumps and do all the moving around and he can do the strong stuff…I’m sure we can make it work, you know?’ He said, ‘No, no…we just think that Dino doesn’t fit any more in our plans…’
Dino liked the high lifestyle…he had a sports Mercedes, he had a big home, you know…and suddenly wrestling was over. Dino couldn’t be a 9 to 5 guy…he didn’t have any business experience of any kind. Wrestling was his whole life. And back then, WWF was the only game in town. So if he couldn’t do it for the WWF, what could he do?
His uncle [by marriage] was the head of the mafia in Montreal. And he was always saying, ‘Dino, come work for me…'”
The Cotroni Family was a part of the Bonanno Crime Family branch out in Montreal, one of the “Five Families” that dominate organized crime activities in New York City and beyond.
A young Ricky Steamboat, 'Whipper Billy Watson, and Dino Bravo clown around backstage at Maple Leaf Gardens in 1978.
A young Ricky Steamboat, “Whipper Billy Watson, and Dino Bravo clown around backstage at Maple Leaf Gardens in 1978. [Photo: torontopubliclibrary.ca]
Dave Meltzer, in his book Tributes: Remembering Some of the World’s Greatest Wrestlers, adds a little more background to the story of Dino Bravo and his demise:
“Within wrestling, it was often rumored that Bravo’s name was linked to the Montreal underworld. Hit aunt Maria was the wife of Vic Cotroni, who had a reputation for being Montreal’s leading mob godfather. Dino Bravo often worked as a chauffeur for Paul Cotroni, a relative of Vic’s who was reportedly a member of the powerful underworld family. Rumors only got stronger when Gino Brito, his partner in several businesses including the local regional wrestling office, was arrested as part of a loan-sharking ring.”
Rick Martel continues:
“I remember we were in Europe and he confided in me. ‘Rick…I know I could go into crime and do really good money…but I don’t wanna go that route…I know myself and I know what kind of guy I am…’
Dino was the kind of guy who always wanted more and more. He knew himself and he knew his demons. But then his debts and lifestyle got too much…
I remember the breaking point for him was when he had to go and borrow from his mom. That was too much for his pride to take.
And back then in the early 90s the [illegal] cigarette trafficking* in Canada started. A lot of people were doing it. So Dino got into that…
He went to see the Indians. The Indians had the river so they could pass cigarettes across like crazy – or arms – whatever. And the Indians were big wrestling fans, you know? So when they saw Dino they were like, ‘Oh man..!’ They started dealing strictly with him. So Dino had the monopoly with the Indians.
He started doing really well.
After a while, the cigarette business was doing so great that the cocaine people started saying, ‘Hey, maybe there’s some money in there for us too…’
So the big cocaine guy apparently went to see Dino and said, ‘Look, let me in on your cigarette deals and I’ll let you in on some cocaine deals…’
So what apparently happened is they did some kind of agreement…Dino had a $400,000 shipment in some warehouse somewhere and it stayed there for like, three days…and on the third day when the cocaine guy went to pick it up, the police were there.
So they were blaming each other. Dino was saying, ‘You should have picked it up on the first day and it would never have happened – you shouldn’t have let it sit there…’
There was a lot of heat on Dino. This was a week before he died.
It was a Wednesday. His wife and his daughter went to Ballet lessons. He was watching Hockey on TV.
His wife found him that night.
She had his daughter in her arms – luckily, thank god, his daughter was sleeping so she didn’t see her dad. There was blood everywhere…on the ceiling. It was horrible.
They’d pumped ten bullets in his head.”
One of the rumors spread over the years was that the shooter tried to shoot a “happy face” into the back of his head which is absolutely terrible.
Martel continued, “There was no force of entry in his house…and it was the winter, so you could see there would [have been] footprints [in the snow outside]- but there were none.
They had somebody…an inside person. It was probably someone who was watching hockey with him and said, ‘Hey look, Dino, I’m gonna go to the bathroom…’
They shot him from behind.
The detective told us that the remote control was loose in his hand…they say that if they shoot you from the front you [see it coming and] tense your muscles and [he would have gripped] that remote control [tightly at the point of death].
So they shot him from behind. He didn’t see it coming…”
The homicide of Dino Bravo, real name Adolfo Bresciano, is still unsolved. Bresciano’s remains are in a mausoleum at Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery in Montreal, Quebec.
NOTE: Cigarette smuggling is the illicit transportation of cigarettes from an administrative division with low taxation to a division with high taxation for sale and consumption. The practice, commonly used by Organized crime syndicates and rebel groups, is a form of tax evasion. In Canada, between 63 and 79 percent of the price of a package of cigarettes is tax. As of 2009, illegal cigarettes were believed to be a $1.5 billion industry in Canada.
Watch Dino Bravo bench press 715 pounds* at the 1988 Royal Rumble
*While the 715 lbs bench press claim was fabricated for kayfabe storyline purposes, Dino Bravo was legitimately strong and was said to be able to press more than 500 lbs.
If you enjoyed this piece, be sure not to miss these following articles which delve further into the “underside of the
Dino Bravo, before hard times
Rick Martel, in an RF Video High Spots shoot interview, recounts the story of Dino Bravo:
“Dino had kind of painted himself in a corner…
He tried to stay in the WWF, but he just couldn’t; Vince didn’t wanna have him back. I remember I called Pat Patterson and I suggested that I team up with Dino – because I liked him.
I said, ‘I’ll take the bumps and do all the moving around and he can do the strong stuff…I’m sure we can make it work, you know?’ He said, ‘No, no…we just think that Dino doesn’t fit any more in our plans…’
Dino liked the high lifestyle…he had a sports Mercedes, he had a big home, you know…and suddenly wrestling was over. Dino couldn’t be a 9 to 5 guy…he didn’t have any business experience of any kind. Wrestling was his whole life. And back then, WWF was the only game in town. So if he couldn’t do it for the WWF, what could he do?
His uncle [by marriage] was the head of the mafia in Montreal. And he was always saying, ‘Dino, come work for me…'”
The Cotroni Family was a part of the Bonanno Crime Family branch out in Montreal, one of the “Five Families” that dominate organized crime activities in New York City and beyond.
A young Ricky Steamboat, 'Whipper Billy Watson, and Dino Bravo clown around backstage at Maple Leaf Gardens in 1978.
A young Ricky Steamboat, “Whipper Billy Watson, and Dino Bravo clown around backstage at Maple Leaf Gardens in 1978. [Photo: torontopubliclibrary.ca]
Dave Meltzer, in his book Tributes: Remembering Some of the World’s Greatest Wrestlers, adds a little more background to the story of Dino Bravo and his demise:
“Within wrestling, it was often rumored that Bravo’s name was linked to the Montreal underworld. Hit aunt Maria was the wife of Vic Cotroni, who had a reputation for being Montreal’s leading mob godfather. Dino Bravo often worked as a chauffeur for Paul Cotroni, a relative of Vic’s who was reportedly a member of the powerful underworld family. Rumors only got stronger when Gino Brito, his partner in several businesses including the local regional wrestling office, was arrested as part of a loan-sharking ring.”
Rick Martel continues:
“I remember we were in Europe and he confided in me. ‘Rick…I know I could go into crime and do really good money…but I don’t wanna go that route…I know myself and I know what kind of guy I am…’
Dino was the kind of guy who always wanted more and more. He knew himself and he knew his demons. But then his debts and lifestyle got too much…
I remember the breaking point for him was when he had to go and borrow from his mom. That was too much for his pride to take.
And back then in the early 90s the [illegal] cigarette trafficking* in Canada started. A lot of people were doing it. So Dino got into that…
He went to see the Indians. The Indians had the river so they could pass cigarettes across like crazy – or arms – whatever. And the Indians were big wrestling fans, you know? So when they saw Dino they were like, ‘Oh man..!’ They started dealing strictly with him. So Dino had the monopoly with the Indians.
He started doing really well.
After a while, the cigarette business was doing so great that the cocaine people started saying, ‘Hey, maybe there’s some money in there for us too…’
So the big cocaine guy apparently went to see Dino and said, ‘Look, let me in on your cigarette deals and I’ll let you in on some cocaine deals…’
So what apparently happened is they did some kind of agreement…Dino had a $400,000 shipment in some warehouse somewhere and it stayed there for like, three days…and on the third day when the cocaine guy went to pick it up, the police were there.
So they were blaming each other. Dino was saying, ‘You should have picked it up on the first day and it would never have happened – you shouldn’t have let it sit there…’
There was a lot of heat on Dino. This was a week before he died.
It was a Wednesday. His wife and his daughter went to Ballet lessons. He was watching Hockey on TV.
His wife found him that night.
She had his daughter in her arms – luckily, thank god, his daughter was sleeping so she didn’t see her dad. There was blood everywhere…on the ceiling. It was horrible.
They’d pumped ten bullets in his head.”
One of the rumors spread over the years was that the shooter tried to shoot a “happy face” into the back of his head which is absolutely terrible.
Martel continued, “There was no force of entry in his house…and it was the winter, so you could see there would [have been] footprints [in the snow outside]- but there were none.
They had somebody…an inside person. It was probably someone who was watching hockey with him and said, ‘Hey look, Dino, I’m gonna go to the bathroom…’
They shot him from behind.
The detective told us that the remote control was loose in his hand…they say that if they shoot you from the front you [see it coming and] tense your muscles and [he would have gripped] that remote control [tightly at the point of death].
So they shot him from behind. He didn’t see it coming…”
The homicide of Dino Bravo, real name Adolfo Bresciano, is still unsolved. Bresciano’s remains are in a mausoleum at Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery in Montreal, Quebec.
NOTE: Cigarette smuggling is the illicit transportation of cigarettes from an administrative division with low taxation to a division with high taxation for sale and consumption. The practice, commonly used by Organized crime syndicates and rebel groups, is a form of tax evasion. In Canada, between 63 and 79 percent of the price of a package of cigarettes is tax. As of 2009, illegal cigarettes were believed to be a $1.5 billion industry in Canada.
Watch Dino Bravo bench press 715 pounds* at the 1988 Royal Rumble
*While the 715 lbs bench press claim was fabricated for kayfabe storyline purposes, Dino Bravo was legitimately strong and was said to be able to press more than 500 lbs.
If you enjoyed this piece, be sure not to miss these following articles which delve further into the “underside of the
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Hired_Goonz
- Straightened out
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- Joined: Mon Sep 02, 2019 8:16 am
Re: Wwe/wwf Vince McMahon
Well it's interesting how these two American cultural institutions have histories that mirror each other in so many ways. You used to have regional powerhouses enforcing a strict territorial system and coming together for major decisions. Now you have a couple of viable enterprises, with the smaller families essentially being reduced to a state not unlike an independent promotion. Hell the Philly family of the 90s could be considered the ECW of Cosa Nostra. And now in 2020 you have mob rats breaking omerta on the podcast circuit just like the old wrestlers breaking kayfabe.Pogo The Clown wrote: ↑Tue Apr 07, 2020 10:58 amHired_Goonz wrote: ↑Tue Apr 07, 2020 10:26 am The old territory system of rasslin has always seemed to me a similar system to the national LCN structure. Didn't they even have a "Commission" of sorts to decide who the world champion would be?
Yeah the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) had a governing body where the promoters would vote on who would be the world champion. They would also cooperate to squeeze out any independent upstart promotion who tried to go against any member promotion.
Pogo
Re: Wwe/wwf Vince McMahon
Growing up, NWA was my favorite. Big fan of Ric Flair, the Four Horseman, Dusty Rhodes, Sting etc.Pogo The Clown wrote: ↑Tue Apr 07, 2020 10:58 amHired_Goonz wrote: ↑Tue Apr 07, 2020 10:26 am The old territory system of rasslin has always seemed to me a similar system to the national LCN structure. Didn't they even have a "Commission" of sorts to decide who the world champion would be?
Yeah the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) had a governing body where the promoters would vote on who would be the world champion. They would also cooperate to squeeze out any independent upstart promotion who tried to go against any member promotion.
Pogo
"I figure I’m gonna have to do about 6000 years before I get accepted into heaven. And 6000 years is nothing in eternity terms. I can do that standing on my head. It’s like a couple of days here."
-Pauly Walnuts, RIP
-Pauly Walnuts, RIP
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Grouchy Sinatra
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Re: Wwe/wwf Vince McMahon
Maybe unions, arena concessions? No different than any entertainment industry, as the 80s were pretty much the mob's final run in these rackets. Even in this case, the corruption wouldnt lead to McMahon. They didn't need to go that high. Just corruption among the concession managers, etc.
The smaller wrestling leagues, sure. Especially in the Northeast. The WWE (WWF) however had huge corporate interests when it began to blow up in the 80s. Too many prying eyes from fed banking authorities for the mob to get near it.
And of course the mob could have invested in individual wrestlers. The Dino Bravo story posted above is an interesting read.
The smaller wrestling leagues, sure. Especially in the Northeast. The WWE (WWF) however had huge corporate interests when it began to blow up in the 80s. Too many prying eyes from fed banking authorities for the mob to get near it.
And of course the mob could have invested in individual wrestlers. The Dino Bravo story posted above is an interesting read.
Glick told author Nicholas Pileggi that he expected to meet a banker-type individual, but instead, he found Alvin Baron to be a gruff, tough-talking cigar-chomping Teamster who greeted him with, “What the fuck do you want?”
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Grouchy Sinatra
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Re: Wwe/wwf Vince McMahon
Luca Brasi was a rassler. There you go.
Glick told author Nicholas Pileggi that he expected to meet a banker-type individual, but instead, he found Alvin Baron to be a gruff, tough-talking cigar-chomping Teamster who greeted him with, “What the fuck do you want?”
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dixiemafia
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Re: Wwe/wwf Vince McMahon
Without a doubt the best wrestling promotion ever
If I didn't have my case coming up, I would like to come back with you gentlemen when this is over with and really lay the law down what is going on in this country.....
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Mikeymike12
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Re: Wwe/wwf Vince McMahon
Of course it’s ignored by the bookies the outcome is predeterminedNYNighthawk wrote: ↑Mon Apr 06, 2020 7:32 pm I can settle this now once and for all. With all the informants flipping from Massino/Gravano/D'Arco/Fratianno - no one , I repeat no one , has ever said wrestling had to pay a tab to the local family. Wrestling was basically ignored by the bookies. The money was on baseball, pro fights, football and basketball. case closed- FINITO!
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Joeyboy1982
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Re: Wwe/wwf Vince McMahon
Been thinking the same thing. Great observationHired_Goonz wrote: ↑Tue Apr 07, 2020 10:15 pmWell it's interesting how these two American cultural institutions have histories that mirror each other in so many ways. You used to have regional powerhouses enforcing a strict territorial system and coming together for major decisions. Now you have a couple of viable enterprises, with the smaller families essentially being reduced to a state not unlike an independent promotion. Hell the Philly family of the 90s could be considered the ECW of Cosa Nostra. And now in 2020 you have mob rats breaking omerta on the podcast circuit just like the old wrestlers breaking kayfabe.Pogo The Clown wrote: ↑Tue Apr 07, 2020 10:58 amHired_Goonz wrote: ↑Tue Apr 07, 2020 10:26 am The old territory system of rasslin has always seemed to me a similar system to the national LCN structure. Didn't they even have a "Commission" of sorts to decide who the world champion would be?
Yeah the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) had a governing body where the promoters would vote on who would be the world champion. They would also cooperate to squeeze out any independent upstart promotion who tried to go against any member promotion.
Pogo
Re: Wwe/wwf Vince McMahon
Why jump down the guy's throat for asking a question? Maybe he's younger and trying to learn a few things. We obviously know that some wrestlers were mobbed up...Personally, it is a good question since Vince M's dad operated in the 1930's, the mob owned prize fighters and venue's, why not wrestling? I think it comes down to you just being the raging prick that everybody has become accustomed to.
Last edited by JCB1977 on Sat May 09, 2020 6:49 am, edited 1 time in total.
"I figure I’m gonna have to do about 6000 years before I get accepted into heaven. And 6000 years is nothing in eternity terms. I can do that standing on my head. It’s like a couple of days here."
-Pauly Walnuts, RIP
-Pauly Walnuts, RIP
Re: Wwe/wwf Vince McMahon
Most sportsbooks take bets on big wrestling cards, presumably because they know people will bet on anything.Mikeymike12 wrote: ↑Tue May 05, 2020 10:26 pmOf course it’s ignored by the bookies the outcome is predeterminedNYNighthawk wrote: ↑Mon Apr 06, 2020 7:32 pm I can settle this now once and for all. With all the informants flipping from Massino/Gravano/D'Arco/Fratianno - no one , I repeat no one , has ever said wrestling had to pay a tab to the local family. Wrestling was basically ignored by the bookies. The money was on baseball, pro fights, football and basketball. case closed- FINITO!
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Pogo The Clown
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Re: Wwe/wwf Vince McMahon
Yeah I never understood that. What's to stop any WWE official or wrestler betting big and cleaning out those bookies.
Pogo
Pogo
It's a new morning in America... fresh, vital. The old cynicism is gone. We have faith in our leaders. We're optimistic as to what becomes of it all. It really boils down to our ability to accept. We don't need pessimism. There are no limits.