Battleground Betting Covered In This Week's Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Dave Meltzer has written about the WWE Battleground betting patterns in this week's issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. There were some things missing from it that I think is worth noting.

The piece discussed the odds patterns that I had sent both he and James Caldwell from the Pro Wrestling Torch Newsletter, The information I sent them showed the odds from when they were first posted (2nd October for most of the card) all the way to the start of each respective match. The only discrepancy with the data is that I was unable to get the closing line for the Dolph Ziggler vs Damien Sandow preshow bout.

Still, it made for interesting reading with it evident that the favourites had been heavily backed before their respective matches.

In the Observer, Dave noted that the insider betting had taken place on the entire card.

I am not so sure this is the case.

The article suggests the possibility that the insiders with knowledge of finishes had bet on an Orton win despite others in the company knowing weeks before that the ending would see Big Show come out and disrupt the finish.

I had been making regular checks of the betting board at 5Dimes.com throughout Sunday. In a blog post published twenty-two minutes before the pay-per-view started, I noted how there hadn't been significant action on the match around the time when the big insider money started moving in.

To highlight my point, I've listed five favourites in a table to show how their prices changed throughout Sunday. 

The major insider betting seemed to have been placed between the hour of 6pm and 6:45pm EST because this is when the odds change rapidly. Alberto Del Rio, CM Punk, Curtis Axel and AJ Lee all saw their prices dive whilst Orton remained stationary. 

In my opinion and judging by the lack of movement, it appears the insiders knew the main event non-finish and therefore didn't wager on it.

I feel it may have been regular bettors that drove the odds down before the match took place. People may have noticed that the favourites were winning as the show was going on and therefore placed sizable bets following the trend.

Another thing covered in the article is the Reddit / Twitter user - Dolphins1925.

I'm still on the fence about him and his alleged 'genuine' source. 

Dolphins incorrectly announced a John Cena victory over Ryback at Extreme Rules, an Alberto Del Rio win last month (not noted in this week's Observer) and called for a Randy Orton win at Battleground.

All of the wrestlers given out as spoilers were favourites on the betting board therefore strengthening the argument from those who believe that Dolphins' source is not as legitimate as he makes out to be.

What ever the case, this betting and Twitter/Reddit storyline is an intriguing tale to follow. 

I'll update the blog as soon as the Hell in a Cell lines are posted.