Roman Reigns' Title Win And How It Affects Royal Rumble & WrestleMania Betting

Roman Reigns winning the WWE World Heavyweight Championship on the most recent edition of Raw will surely lead to even more speculation as to what the main event will be at next year's WrestleMania.

Barring a swerve, and I don't think this will be the case now, Reigns is more or less a lock to be in the title match on April 1st. To be fair - he was always going to be a lock, but his victory over Sheamus has cemented it.

This leads us to question who his rival will be on the WrestleMania stage? 

In this post, I'll mention a few names and write my thoughts on whether there is any value in backing them in any of the Royal Rumble or WrestleMania 32 markets that are available for sports bettors.

If you aren't a fan of fantasy booking, please look away now..

Sheamus

Sefishly, I was sorry to see Sheamus lose the WWE Championship last night. I had backed him heavily in the 'To Compete for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania' market that has been available on Paddy Power's WWE Betting Page.

My motivation to back him came shortly before Seth Rollins was injured. I envisioned that Sheamus would end up cashing in the Money in the Bank title shot at WrestleMania following a Roman Reigns win over Brock Lesnar. I thought the company would use Sheamus in the spot to counter any negative reaction Reigns going over Lesnar would bring. I didn't expect Sheamus to win, but was counting on the cash in to result in a feud for he and Reigns over the late spring to early summer. Alas, this will not happen now as Sheamus has cashed in the Money in the Bank contract.

He should get rematches, but - other than that - he won't win the Royal Rumble nor will he be in the title match at Mania. Not now.

John Cena

Cena is expected to return to WWE television some time in December. I think his return feud should be with Alberto Del Rio, who he lost to before going on his sabbatical.

There are rumours of a John Cena versus The Undertaker WrestleMania match doing the rounds. However, the thought of a Cena .vs. Reigns match must have also been broached in the latest reshuffle.

I'm not ruling it out. I've placed a small speculative punt on John Cena winning the Royal Rumble but would rather see him take on The Undertaker.

If you're looking to back Cena to be in the title match, he's 6/5 at Paddy Power. If you believe he will make it via a Royal Rumble win, the best price available at the time of publishing is the 12/1 from bwin.com. 

Dean Ambrose

Dean Ambrose is a second-favourite to win this year's Royal Rumble.

As he is friends with Roman Reigns, it could make for a compelling storyline for Ambrose to win and then square-off against his former Shield colleague for the title.

I'm not sold on the idea that this is what they'll do for one reason. The company has been trying to make Roman Reigns more liked by the WWE audience. They didn't turn Ambrose in November because they feared the fans would side with him over Roman Reigns, so I think the same mentality will be at play when preparing for a WrestleMania match. 

I cannot see Dean Ambrose winning the Royal Rumble or being in the title match at Mania, so it's a pass. 

For those interested, Ambrose is even money to be in Paddy Power's WrestleMania title match market. The best Royal Rumble win price you can get is 14/1 from bwin.com.

Brock Lesnar

'The Beast' has been either a favourite or second-favourite to win the Royal Rumble ever since the markets opened earlier this year. And rightfully so. He is on a premium contract with WWE, so will always be booked strongly.

I originally thought Lesnar and The Undertaker would have a third match (of their current series) at WrestleMania. However, it seemed that the bout was brought forward to October's Hell in a Cell show because Vince McMahon came up with a WrestleMania card that did not involve the pair wrestling each other. This plan has evidently been scrapped following Seth Rollins' injury. With that said, I don't think Lesnar .vs. Undertaker is likely to take place because the program ended in October.

There have been rumours about Kevin Owens being set up as an opponent for Lesnar at WrestleMania. If this is the case, the Royal Rumble match should be where the pair lay the foundations for the feud. 

If you do want to back Lesnar to win the Royal Rumble, the best price - as of today - is 2/1 from Betfair.com and SkyBet.com.

Lesnar being in the title match at WrestleMania in Paddy Power's exclusive market is 5/6.

Kevin Owens

As noted, a Kevin Owens .vs. Brock Lesnar WrestleMania 32 match has been the topic of speculation. 

If this is the case, I can't see him winning the Royal Rumble. 

For what it's worth, I hope the rumour turns out accurate because I am intrigued to see the pair wrestle each other. 

Triple H

Triple H versus Roman Reigns is yet another match that has been running the rumour mill of late. I didn't buy into it when I first read/heard about it. You know why? Because I sold myself the idea a couple of weeks beforehand. 

I had a bet on Triple H to win the Royal Rumble when he was 50/1 a day after the Survivor Series because I predicted that a Hunter versus Reigns feud was where the direction was going.

I reached this conclusion because Triple H was scheduled to wrestle The Rock at WrestleMania. That match was put on hold because Dwayne Johnson was unable to get clearance from the insurers of the new movie he will be working on. The back-up plan for Triple H was Seth Rollins and that has also been abandoned due to Rollins' injury a few weeks ago.

All the angles that have been done before and after Survivor Series are making me strongly believe that HHH will face Reigns in the title match at WrestleMania.

As noted, I've taken Triple H at 50/1. The odds have fallen dramatically now, though. The best price available as of December 15th is 13/2 from the Betfair Sportsbook.

If you don't think he'll win the Royal Rumble, but will somehow find his way into the title match at WrestleMania, the 6/1 at Paddy Power is worth considering.

To close, I think it's a toss-up between Triple H and Brock Lesnar. The only thing that's stopping me going with Brock Lesnar is the company will be desperate to have Reigns cheered on 'the grandest stage of them all'. They proved this past Sunday that it is achievable if he's up against Triple H. 

Asking a hardcore contingent to favour Reigns over Brock Lesnar might prove too much of a task.