It’s fitting that the head honcho of WWE, Chairman Vince Mcmahon, refers to this company as the “WWE universe”. I’ve looked across the bridge towards many different betting galaxies, and have rarely encountered something as unique as WWE betting.
And, when it comes to betting on WWE, there’s no bigger bang than Wrestlemania prop bets and To Win markets. How exactly do you go about tackling something so distinctive in the grand cosmo of cyberspace? Well, you’re going to need an explorer to wrap your head around those Wrestlemania odds. Hi there, I’m your captain, welcome to my crew.
Briefing Room: Betting on Wrestling
If you’ve never bet on wrestling before, there’s a good chance you’re surprised this is even a possibility. It’s not quite on the level of surprise as when you get abducted by aliens and flown around the Milky Way for a few hours, but it’s still something I often find people don’t expect. I’m not entirely sure why, as you can – and have for years – been able to bet on scripted events.
Ok, wait, no, please everyone calm down. If this is a surprise to some of you, please go into the sick bay to deal with the shock. We have the finest nurses from Mars there who are trained to deal with this kind of thing.
For those of you who have managed to maintain your composure, you have earned my respect. Yes, it’s true, wrestling is written by TV writers who decide who wins the different matches. Unlike aliens, wrestling is not real in the sense of it being a real test of sporting skill. Frankly, the undead wizard was a bit of a giveaway.
So, what does this mean for our mission? Well, it fundamentally changes the direction of this ship. We’re not betting on the outcome of an athletic contest: we’re betting on the decisions made in the writing room. Understanding that, cadets, is fundamental to understanding WWE betting generally.
Blasting Off: Wrestlemania Betting Strategy
As this type of betting is so different to the overwhelming majority of other kinds of bets – especially those which are presented as sport – it seems only fitting that our next pre-flight lesson should be concerned with how we tactically approach such a unique endeavour. I’ve come up with five key considerations for a battle plan that can give your WWE bets a rocket boost.
1. Try to think like a writer
Ok, so I’ve established the fundamental difference between a sport and sports entertainment. If you were watching a boxing match, the bet market would be settled in that ring based on who wins that fight. Simple, right? And we know that when it comes to sports entertainment, the market is settled before the athletes even enter the ring. It’s settled by a team of writers.
Now, there are markets similar to this. It’s not especially uncommon to be able to bet on the outcome of a popular TV show, for instance. But people struggle a bit more with wrestling because they’re invested in its presentation as a sporting event. Successful betting on it though, requires you to put that to one side and recognise the reality of the process behind the presentation.
Ask yourself if you were a writer, what would you view as being the most interesting narrative moving forward. Remember too that they have the following night’s Raw to think about, as well as the storylines going forward for the next year. Wrestlemania in particular is their big show, and they use it to both end storylines and begin new ones, to craft satisfying conclusions and compelling narratives to keep you watching.
Try to think if you were a writer, what do you think would be the best way of achieving those goals. If you can do that – and really get into the head of a WWE writer – your chances of predicting their decisions must, by all the moons of Jupiter, make for smarter bets.
2. Watch the shows!
Of course, when it comes to “thinking like a writer”, that’s not just a blanket statement. Like all creatures of the galaxy, writers – even a team of writers with big Vinny Mac giving that final stamp of approval – is unique in its process. The best way of understanding them is simple: watch the shows.
If you’re a big wrestling fan then this won’t be a problem for you. However, if you’re a bit more casual then the three hours of Raw, two hours of Smackdown and hour for Superstars and 205 live will seem like quite a lot. Actually, I don’t care if time is relative, that’s an awful lot of wrestling. And that’s without the PPVs.
Perhaps my advice should be to watch as many shows as you have time for. The latter two mentioned, despite being the shortest, will have the most minimal impact on Wrestlemania 37 betting odds for big matches, and will likely only be useful for lower card predictions. Smackdown and Raw, along with previous PPVs, is where most of your knowledge about the product will lie. If you’ve missed some shows, I recommend looking up reviews to get as good an understanding as you can, even if nothing can quite give you the insight of watching for those hours.
Remember too, that although plans are always in motion, WWE are notorious for changing their minds within weeks or even hours before their big show. This means it really is a good idea to watch right until the final TV tapings before making your mind up. Not only have all the clues not been presented then but there’s a solid chance the company themselves haven’t even decided until that point.
3. Be ruled by your head, not your heart
The only problem with watching all those hours of wrestling is that you’re bound to get emotionally invested. Of course, that’s the whole point. Otherwise, we’re just watching television like a couple of robots from the mechanoid dimension going “this is information I have now processed”. And who wants that?
You’re supposed to get invested, you’re supposed to root for characters, you’re supposed to admire the chiseled features of Drew McIntyre as if each of his abs were a shooting star in the night sky. It’s all part of the experience. However, it doesn’t necessarily make for the smartest bets on WWE.
When making your choices, try and think as objectively as you can. If you find you can’t quite manage it, remember there’s always other matches than the main event to bet on. Plus, you may not want to if there’s a difference between what you want to happen and what you think will happen because it means betting against your favourites. That’s fine too, there’s always other matches and other markets.
4. Consider the need for “big moments”
One really important consideration for Wrestlemania odds is that this is different to any other show WWE does. This is the big one, the granddaddy of them all, and they want it to be special. Something which may not be reflected in Wrestlemania 37 odds is that they want the show to be filled with “moments”.
You’ll hear, in commentary, them talk about these Wrestlemania moments – how this was a moment, that was a moment. Not all of them really stand the test of history but it’s important to understand that when it comes to the writing and booking of this show, every year there’s an unusual amount of focus and attention on making the show memorable, and that means surprises.
5. Predict the whole show – even if you’re just betting on one match
That brings me to my final point. Much like gravity’s pull keeps things in perfect balance, a Wreslemania’s booking must keep things in perfect balance too. The show exists as a whole and matches are not in a vacuum. What do I mean? Put it this way, you may think that in 90% of the matches, it makes sense for the heel (that’s the baddie for any non- wrestling nerds) to win. However, that would make for an overall very unbalanced show because it would be very repetitive, and kind of a downer.
The same thing could be said about how matches end. If you think that, say, Edge will win because of some kind of against the rules shenanigans, but you also think something similar will happen in the previous match, then it’s likely that won’t happen because it would create a bad structure for the show.
These are just examples, but the point I’m making is that a great way of testing your logic against the Wrestlemania odds – even if you’re betting on one match – is to go through the show and see if it makes sense as a whole.
Engines Down for the Three Count: The Captain’s Final Thoughts
Well cadets, this spaceship has taken you as far as it can go. My final captain’s log before you leave is two-fold. The first is that the reason any of us watches wrestling is to enjoy ourselves. When betting on WWE, you should always have that at the forefront of your mind. The best
betting strategy
is always to make sure you’re betting in a way that improves your enjoyment of your favourite sports – or in this case, sports entertainment.
The second part is to never underestimate the variety of WWE betting on Wrestlemania. You may think you’re simply betting on who will win in wrestling matches. But with so many different kinds of matches, so many different stories, dynamics, athletes and even Wrestlemania prop bets letting you bet on all kinds of rumours and possibilities, the betting opportunities are massive. The WWE universe not only expands the betting universe as a whole, but includes plenty of its own betting galaxies.
