How The HIAC 2015 Prop Bets Fared

Now that we're almost a week removed from WWE Hell in a Cell 2015, it's about time I went through the prop bet markets that were available for last week's event and see what the winning selections were.

Every month, most of the sports betting websites that offer WWE betting publish side markets where customers can bet on things like the Money in the Bank contract being executed, a referee being knocked and many more. This past weekend was no exception. Here are the bets that were available.

Money in the Bank To Be Cashed

This market was available at sites like bwin, Paddy Power, Betfair and the trio consisting of 888Sport, Unibet & 32Red.

From my observing of the prices, the best available odds that I could find was the 11/10 for the 'No' from Paddy Power.

Ttitles Retained

In the days before matches became official, the Bwin Sportsbook had published markets where customers could wager on the current WWE titleholders retaining their championships. Winning selections would have been 'New Day to retain' 57/100, 'Kevin Owens to retain' 3/10 and 'Seth Rollins to retain' 1/2. Anybody who took 'John Cena to retain' at EVENS would have obviously lost.

The 888Sport, Unibet and 32Red trifecta of sportsbooks also had specials where customers could punt on titles being kept.  The markets for the Divas, Intercontinental and World Heavyweight Championships being retained were offered at 1/20. The WWE Tag Team Championship being retained was 11/10 when the market opened, but it went down to EVENS so it appears some had winning tickets there. The US Championship not being retained paid out at 1/7.

It was almost a given that John Cena would go on his hiatus from WWE without the US Championship, so the Betfair Sportsbook put out a titles to be retained market that excluded Cena's belt from the equation. Customers who backed this on the weekend of the show would have been paid out at odds of 11/4.

Total Chokeslams

With both The Undertaker and Kane being involved in key matches on the card, the Betfair traders saw fit to publish a market where customers could bet over or under the total number of chokeslams delivered on the night.

The line was set at 6.5 with the 'Over' originally being offered at 4/5 and the 'Under' at 10/11. The 'Under' saw action as its price went to 8/11 by the day of the show. Those who bet low would have won as the result was two.

Total German Suplexes By Brock Lesnar

This was another Betfair exclusive. The traders set the line at 4.5 with the 'Over' priced 11/10 while the 'Under' was 4/6. Within days, 'Over' had been backed to 10/11 but it was the 'Under' that was the winning selection. Customers who took the 4/6 or 4/5 would have been glad to see Brock Lesnar perform no more than three of his special manoeuvre on the night.

Total Time Taken For The Undertaker's Entrance

Betfair customers were also afforded the possibility to predict how long The Undertaker's entrance to the ring for his main event would take. The line was set at 3 minutes and 45 seconds. The timer started with the first gong of Taker's theme and it ran all the way to the moment his first foot hit the canvas. The time was recorded at 3 minutes and 52 seconds, so anybody who had backed the 'Over' at 8/11 would have had winning betting slips. 

A Referee To Be Knocked Out

This is one of the regular props offered by Betfair. It pays out if a referee is or isn't knocked out in any match on a PPV. 

In the case of the most recent event, the 'Yes' was given 4/7 while the 'No' was 5/4. The winning selection was 'No'.

Any Match To End in a DQ

Another frequent Betfair market. The Hell in a Cell odds for the 'Yes' were 4/6 and the 'No' was 11/10. Customers who backed 'No' were the winners on the night.

John Cena's Mystery Opponent

With John Cena's opponent for the US Championship a mystery right up to the start of the show, some sportsbooks installed a market where customers could wager on the wrestler who challenged for the strap. Names like Dean Ambrose, Tyler Breeze and Samoa Joe saw a lot of action during the day as did Daniel Bryan following a lot of misinformation circulating over the weekend. The actual choice - Alberto Del Rio - did not appear on any of these sportsbook's lists. Betfair refunded all bets on this market. The rest stuck to the 'all-in compete or not' ruling.

Live In-House Appearance

Betfair's Live In-House Appearance market is becoming one of my favourite WWE props on a pay-per-view Sunday. What it is is a list of people who have been associated with World Wrestling Entertainment in the past. For example, wrestlers who haven't been seen on WWE TV for some time or celebrities that are known to the area of the specific PPV. Bets are settled if any of these people appear on camera within the arena (ie, if they make an in-ring appearance or are acknowledged on the broadcast as being sat at ringside. Backstage skits do not count).

As Hell in a Cell was emanating from Los Angeles, the bookmakers put in stars like Freddy Prinze Jr and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Their appearance on this list made sense for many reasons. Prinze, based in Hollywood, is a WWE fan who once worked on the company's writing team. Arnie, on the other hand, is linked to WWE as he was inducted into the Hall of Fame this year and is also one of the characters on WWE 2K16. 

Wrestling personalties like Ric Flair and The Rock were favourites. 'The Nature Boy' was 1/3 while 'The Rock'  was 1/2 but it was one name that proved to be the winning selection - HBO's Bill Simmons. He was acknowledged as being in the audience watching with his son and friends. His odds were 20/1 for the entire time that the market was available. 

Be sure to check back over the next three weeks as I will hopefully have a handful of Survivor Series prop markets to go through on the weekend of the event/ I'll also have a review post, similar to this one, within a week of its conclusion.

Odds taken from the following websites: Bwin, 888Sport, Unibet, 32Red, Paddy Power & Betfair