On Deck: Wrestlemania 31 underdogs win as WWE pulls out betting surprises again

For the second straight year, the WWE proved that betting on Wrestlemania odds is harder than it looks. In the run-up to the event, numerous sportsbooks released odds on the matches scheduled for Wrestlemania 31. But as the saying goes in the world of professional wrestling, “results are subject to change at the last minute” and yes, the dramatic swing in odds from some of those matches late in the weekend proved as much.

The most significant swing happened in the match between Triple H and Sting. For the better part of last week, sportsbooks had Sting as the overwhelming favorite at 1/7 odds with Triple H the heavy underdog at 4/1 odds. But once the smart money arrived the days leading up to Wrestlemania 31, the odds on the two wrestlers flipped with the WWE COO the heavy favorite at 2/25 odds compared to Sting who was now on the receiving end of 4/1 odds. The lesson: if you had bet on Triple H to win when he was still the prohibitive underdog, you would’ve cashed out on some pretty sweet odds.

Another example of a 360-degree flip in odds was the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match between champion Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns. From the onset, it appeared that WWE was ready to coronate Reigns as the next face of the company. The odds certainly reflected as much since the young Samoan was the 2/7 favorite compared to Lesnar who was a 9/4 underdog. Part of the rationale behind those odds was the belief that Lesnar wouldn’t renew his contract with WWE, which was supposed to expire the day after Wrestlemania 31, to make a return to the UFC. But Lesnar went on ESPN early last week and announced his contract extension with the WWE. That was more than enough for sportsbooks to drop his odds to even money compared to Reigns, who saw his own odds rise to 10/11.

Turns out, the unstable line movements in the match amounted to nothing as neither Lesnar nor Reigns came out of Wrestlemania 31 as the champion. Seth Rollins, who cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase, is the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion. Who saw that coming?