A Look Back At The Betting Odds From Past WrestleManias : Part I

With WrestleMania XXX now only three weeks away, I thought I'd build up anticipation for the release of the betting odds by looking at how past WrestleMania lines looked when they first became available.

In today's edition, I'll concentrate on WrestleMania XXV, which was incorrectly marketed as being the 'The 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania'.

Nit-picking aside, here's how the lines looked at 5Dimes.eu.

A WWE Tag Team Title unification bout between The Colons and The Miz & John Morrison preceded the event. Both teams were set out at odds of -115 (1.87 EU, 20/23 UK). Punters that had backed Carlito and Primo would have profited. They walked out of the preshow as champions.

The first match on the actual card was the Money in the Bank ladder match which saw CM Punk unhook the briefcase for the second WrestleMania on the trot. When the line opened on the match, Punk was available at odds of +300 (4.00 EU, 3/1 UK) possibly due to the sportsbook believing he would not win the double. Going in, Kofi Kingston was the longshot at a price of +1,200 (13.00 EU, 12/1 UK).

Santino Marella's sister, Santina, won the 25-Diva Battle Royal (wink, wink). The betting for this match looked like this:

Alicia Fox +2000 US, 21.00 EU, 20/1 UK

Brie Bella +2000 US, 21.00 EU, 20/1 UK

Eve +2000 US, 21.00 EU, 20/1 UK

Layla +2000 US, 21.00 EU, 20/1 UK

Maryse +2000 US, 21.00 EU, 20/1 UK

Tiffany +2000 US, 21.00 EU, 20/1 UK

Nikki Bella +2000 US, 21.00 EU, 20/1 UK

Michelle McCool +1500 US, 16.00 EU, 15/1 UK

Rosa Mendes +1500 US, 16.00 EU, 15/1 UK

Natalya +1200 US, 13.00 EU, 12/1 UK

Katie Lea Burchill +1000 US, 11.00 EU, 10/1 UK

Kelly Kelly +1000 US, 11.00 EU, 10/1 UK

Mickie James +1000 US, 11.00 EU, 10/1 UK

Jillian Hall +800 US, 9.00 EU, 8/1 UK

Candice Michelle +300 US, 4.00 EU, 3/1 UK

Maria +300 US, 4.00 EU, 3/1 UK

Melina +300 US, 4.00 EU, 3/1 UK

Gail Kim +100 US, 2.00 EU, EVENS UK

Beth Phoenix -200 US, 1.50 EU, 1/2 UK

The Field -500 US, 1.20 EU, 1/5 UK

As you can see from the list of names - Santino Marella's entry as 'Santina' was not on the board. This is because the 'character' was introduced on the show. Therefore, his victory would have fallen under 'The Field' meaning the favourite won.

If I recall correctly, people were speculating that Mae Young would somehow get involved and end up the eventual victor. This explains why the 'Any Other' result was given favourable odds over Beth Phoenix.

Chris Jericho won a three-on-one handicap match against Jimmy Snuka, Roddy Piper and Ricky Steamboat. I do not have the odds for this match at hand. I have looked around the Internet and the only website showing odds for WrestleMania XXV is the Bleacher Report. The writer of this article does not hold any information either.

Matt Hardy's win against his brother - Jeff - resulted in an underdog payout for 5Dimes.

Matt was available at odds of +110 (2.10 EU, 11/10 UK) when match betting opened. Jeff was favoured at -140 (1.71 EU, 5/7 UK).

Rey Mysterio's Intercontinental Championship win against John 'Bradshaw' Layfield is another bout that hasn't any recorded odds.

Following, Mysterio's victory - The Undertaker took on Shawn Michaels in what was, in my opinion, the best match in WrestleMania history. There was no surprise when the odds were initially posted - The Undertaker was favoured to win and retain his Mania undefeated streak. He was priced at odds of -300 (1.33 EU, 1/3 UK). The Heartbreak Kid had opened at +230 (3.30 EU, 23/10 UK).

As we know, The Undertaker got the W.

The three-way bout for the World Heavyweight Championship was the penultimate match on the card. John Cena was favourite to leave Houston as champion. When the lines went live, he was available at -200 (1.50 EU, 1/2 UK) with Edge and The Big Show marked at +200 (3.00 EU, 2/1 UK) each.

Cena did indeed win the title at the match. Punters that had wagered on him when the book was opened got him at a decent price considering he would have been heavily backed going in.

The main event at WrestleMania XXV was the grudge match for the WWE Title which saw Triple H successfully defend the strap against Randy Orton. The sportsbook was spot on here as well.

The champion opened as a -140 (1.71 EU, 5/7 UK) favourite with Orton in a slight underdog role at +110 (2.10 EU, 11/10 UK).

Looking back at the odds and results indicates that this was a time before inside betting became such a troublesome activity for the sportsbooks to contend with. These days, the odds laid out on favourites comes with a higher risk for those looking to make significant money gambling on how a wrestling match is booked.

You too will notice this difference as this series continues. In the second part, I'll concentrate on the odds that were available for WrestleMania XXVI.