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

Welcome to the second of a five-part look at the betting odds for the most recent WWE WrestleMania pay-per-views. In today's post, I'll be writing about the lines that were posted for WrestleMania XXVI, which took place on March 28th 2010.

Before I continue, it's worth noting that I am using the prices that were available from the 5Dimes Sportsbook & Casino. I do not have odds for the following bouts: The pre-show battle royal, the Money in the Bank ladder match and the 10-Diva tag team match.

The first match on the pay-per-view broadcast was the WWE Tag Team Championship match where the champions, ShoMiz, took on John Morrison & R-Truth. The Big Show and The Miz were favoured at odds of -300 (1.33 EU, 1/3 UK). Eventually, their price moved to around -555 (1.18 EU, 20/111 UK). And rightfully so - the duo won the match. Morrison & R-Truth had drifted in the same time from +220 to +365 (4.65 EU, 73/20 UK).

Randy Orton defeated both Ted Dibiase and Cody Rhodes in a triple threat match in the second bout on the card.

Depending on the time of betting, Orton may have been the first underdog victor of the night for many punters as the early odds were leaning in favour of Dibiase being the wrestler to come out of this battle between former Legacy stable members. Wagering for this match was interesting as punters were given two options - 'Ted Dibiase' or 'Randy Orton / Cody Rhodes'. Those who had taken the 2-for-1 proposition had them at +110 (2.10 EU, 11/10 UK) and moved the line to the point where Dibiase was a slight underdog of +100 (2.00 EU, EVENS UK) points.

Orton's opponent from WrestleMania XXV, Triple H, took on Sheamus in the match that followed.

HHH's win against the Irishman was not a shock from a betting perspective. He had been priced as a -300 (1.33 EU, 1/3 UK) favourite while his rival was out at +280 (3.80 EU, 14/5 UK).

The second underdog win of the evening occurred after Rey Mysterio won as an +165 (2.65 EU, 33/20 UK) outsider to CM Punk, who the bookies had pegged at -215 (1.47 EU, 20/43 UK).

The favourites fought back when a heavily-priced Bret 'Hitman' Hart defeated Mr. McMahon.

Behind The Undertaker retaining his streak, Hart winning was the most obvious result of the evening. Hart was available at -3000 (1.03 EU, 1/30 UK) with his adversary a longshot at +1300 (14.00 EU, 13/1 UK).

Chris Jericho retained the World Heavyweight Championship against Edge in the next match.

An underdog once again covered as Jericho had been installed at +160 (2.60 EU, 8/5 UK) with the challenger favoured with a line of -210 (1.48 EU, 10/21 UK).

The WWE Title match ended with John Cena's arms raised in victory. Going in, he was -410 (1.24 EU, 10/41 UK) with Batista set at +290 (3.90 EU, 29/10 UK).

The final match on the card saw The Undertaker take on Shawn Michaels for the second year running. The stipulations were simple: if Michaels won - he would end the streak. If he lost, he would be forced to retire.

As per usual, The Undertaker won the match. His price to win was -430 (1.23 EU, 10/43 UK) with the book. The unlikely HBK victory may have tempted some at +310 (4.10 EU, 31/10 UK). However, their punt against a wrestler losing the same match-up two years in a row would have been for nought.

WrestleMania XXVI had a mixed bag of results from a betting perspective. It certainly had its moments for the bettors who like to take the underdogs. Losses by CM Punk, Edge and possibly Ted Dibiase could have ruined a number of WrestleMania parlays on that night.

I'll return next Monday morning with a look at the WrestleMania XXVII betting odds.