10 Pro Wrestling Scandals You've Probably Never Heard Of

Over the century or so of professional wrestling’s existence as a worked spectacle, many men and women have taken it upon themselves to change the script: to attack their opponent for real in the ring, and, in some extreme cases, to unilaterally change the outcome of the match. Of all the performers who chose to go into business for themselves, the greatest entrepreneur of all time has to be the legendary Stanislaus Zbyszko.

One of the premier legitimate fighters of the early pro wrestling era, Zbyszko was a feared man on three continents when he was enticed back to the USA by the Gold Dust Trio - Toots Mondt, Ed ‘Strangler’ Lewis, and Billy Sandow. He was booked to defeat Lewis for the world heavyweight title in May 1921, but his reign as a champion didn’t draw as much as expected. The new, gimmicked version of pro wrestling was no place for a master of Greco-Roman grappling.

Dropping the title back to Lewis in March 1922, Zbyszko was embroiled in the dispute between the Trio and their erstwhile ally, megastar wrestler Joe Stecher, aka ‘the Scissors King’. Lacking in fresh faces to take on Lewis, the Trio were intent on pushing six foot six former football star Wayne Munn, a decision that angered many behind the scenes. In a situation that would become commonplace in the decades to come, Munn had no wrestling ability to speak of and had been handpicked because of his size and his look, not his talent.

Lewis agreeably lied down for the new challenger in January 1925, and a new world heavyweight champion was declared. Munn would go on to squash everyone he faced - including Zbyszko - over the coming weeks.

On 15 April 1925, Munn was due to take on Zbyszko yet again at the Philadelphia Arena. What the hapless champion and the Gold Dust Trio didn’t realise was that Zbyszko had been bought. In the pay of Tony Stecher, Joe’s brother and manager, Zbyszko was about to change the plan.

In the two-out-of-three falls title match itself, it became instantly apparent that this was a shoot, not a work. Zbyszko ran rings around the huge man, pinning Munn with ease. During the rest period, Munn fled to the dressing room, while Zbyszko sat in the ring and ignored everyone who tried to talk to him. When Munn ventured back to the ring, Zbyszko took him out almost nonchalantly for the deciding fall.

Stanislaus Zbyszko would be paid fifty grand to drop the title to Joe Stecher on 30 May, the same day that Lewis and Munn tried to pretend that they’d never lost the strap by having their own rematch in which Lewis won the title from the big man. It wasn’t going to work. Stecher’s match was considered the true title fight by anyone that mattered, and Sandow’s loss of control of his top title was considered a serious public humiliation for the Trio. They were never the same again.