A Post About That CNBC Article

The first conclusion I came to, upon reading the CNBC article which reports that World Wrestling Entertainment is looking into getting US sports betting regulators to oversee betting on professional wrestling, was that WWE's intent is to assist its business partner - Draft Kings - by allowing it to offer WWE match betting in its sportsbook.

Now, almost a day removed from reading the piece and following a discussion with somebody with a superior view of the US betting landscape to me, I still believe that is what WWE's intent is to get Colorado and Michigan to legalise pro wrestling wagering.

The CNBC article sets out an intriguing scenario in which WWE will have to adhere to transparency by having future results relayed to each regulatory body to ensure that gambling is not compromised.

To make sure everything is above board, '(WWE's) creative executives don't plan to inform wrestlers who will win until hours before the match'. The notion sounds ludicrous because it would mean the talent won't know the desired match outcome until markets have been taken off the board. If, of course, they really are going to do it by the book.

The quest for validity from sportsbook regulators brings with it questions. Many of them. 

What happens to those wrestlers who choreograph their entire matches? For example, the women's Royal Rumble match has been rehearsed in recent years. Does that mean there will be no markets for the women's Rumble because it requires people outside of the executives to be around to tell stories within the match?

As for the men's Royal Rumble - will each performer only know their entry number and the persons they have to eliminate - or be eliminated by - moments before they hit the ring? 

I've focused on the Royal Rumble matches because they're the biggest drawing bouts for sportsbooks, but - even if I were to pivot the spotlight to a one-on-one singles contest, I reach the same conclusion: the lure of the advertising Dollar seems more trouble than it's worth for WWE.

Not that this hasn't stopped the company in the past.

To put it bluntly, WWE could very well be compromising its own creative process to make it compromise-free for current, and potential, sportsbook partners.