Credit: Chris Smith of Forbes.com
This year’s WrestleMania is fast approaching and WWE’s biggest night of the year, like any other major sports-entertainment event, has fans looking to bet on the action. To that end, online sportsbook Bovada has released its betting lines for Sunday’s marquee event and, much to the likely dismay of many fans, the good guy is expected to win.
That’s an odd sentence to write, but this has been an odd build to WrestleMania. Underdog Roman Reigns will take on WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar in WrestleMania 31′s main event. But unlike last year’s WrestleMania, which ended with a sold-out arena roaring in celebration of underdog Daniel Bryan’s long-awaited championship victory, this year’s event instead has many fans rooting against the good guy.
That sentiment bloomed when Reigns won January’s Royal Rumble, defeating fan favorites like Bryan, Dolph Ziggler and Dean Ambrose en route to earning a guaranteed title shot at WrestleMania. The outcome led to an immediate hostile reaction from fans who seemed to believe that Reigns was unfairly put over more talented and harder working talent. In-arena fans showered a celebrating Reigns with boos while the #CancelWWENetwork hashtag quickly became a top trend on Twitter TWTR +6.21%.
Things haven’t gotten much better in the weeks since. Reigns is still getting booed, and many of those boos turned to outright laughter when Monday night’s go-home episode of RAW ended with Reigns and Lesnar having a literal tug-of-war with the title belt like two petulant children fighting over a favorite toy. It’s the latest in WWE’s recent string of terrible content that has left many fans dreading that Reigns’ steady rise to the top isn’t getting cut short anytime soon.
And at least one sportsbook appears to feel the same way. Bovada currently has Reigns favored to win the main event, with his odds at -170 to +130 for champion Brock Lesnar. It’s worth noting, however, that though Reigns is favored, his odds of victory are hardly overwhelming. In fact, betting odds for the title fight are some of the closest on the card. Whether that ought to be a sign of hope for those pulling for Lesnar remains to be seen.
The biggest favorite of the night is Sting, who will be appearing in a WWE ring for the first time in his long and storied career. The former WCW star has odds of -700 to defeat in-story king heel Triple H. In other words, you’d need to bet $700 on Sting just to win $100. Another heavy favorite is John Cena, with -450 odds to defeat current United States Champion Rusev.
Though you can bet on wrestling, it’s something we don’t recommend. The matches are predetermined, so putting money on them is like betting on how a movie will end. And given how unpredictable WWE can be, it’s an especially risky move. Last year’s “sure thing” was an Undertaker win over Brock Lesnar. But that expected outcome got flipped on its head in one of WWE’s most surprising twists ever – and that twist also revealed that some gamblers seemed to know the outcome in advance.
Below are Bovada’s odds, as of Tuesday afternoon, for every announced match at this year’s WrestleMania.
A quick note on money lines for those who aren’t already familiar. A negative number denotes the match’s favorite, while a positive number is for an underdog. The money line for the favored competitor represents how much money you need to wager in order to win $100; the line for an underdog is how much money you’d win on a successful $100 bet.
WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match: Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Roman Reigns
Roman Reigns -170, Brock Lesnar +130
Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match
Daniel Bryan 3/2, Dean Ambrose 9/4, Dolph Ziggler 8/1, Bad News Barrett (c) 9/1, Luke Harper 20/1, Stardust 25/1, R-Truth 35/1
United States Championship Match: Rusev (c) vs. John Cena
John Cena -450, Rusev +275
Sting vs. Triple H
Sting -700, Triple H +400
The Undertaker vs. Bray Wyatt
The Undertaker -350, Bray Wyatt +225
Seth Rollins vs. Randy Orton
Seth Rollins -135, Randy Orton -105
Divas Tag Team TISI +0.03% Match
A.J. Lee & Paige -350, The Bella Twins +225
Annual Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal
Damien Mizdow 5/4
Sheamus 7/4
Ryback 6/1
Mark Henry 8/1
Big Show 12/1
Curtis Axel, Erick Rowan, Kane and The Miz 18/1
Fandango and Titus O’Neil 25/1
Goldust, Heath Slater, Jack Swagger and Sin Cara 40/1
Adam Rose, Darren Young, Konnor and Zack Ryder 50/1
As of publish, there were no odds posted for The Field, which would include any participants not listed above. That pick won last year’s event thanks to Cesaro’s victory.
Pre-Show Fatal Four-way Tag Team Championship Match
Tyson Kidd & Cesaro (c) +175
The New Day +275
Los Matadores +500
The Usos +600
