Dave Meltzer, editor of the famous publication, gave Rousey and Kurt Angle versus Triple H and Stephanie McMahon four-and-a-half stars in his review of WWE's biggest event of the year.
It wasn't a surprise to see the match given high praise when I read the issue, which came out in the early hours of this morning. I felt it was the best match of the night. As did many others.
The match that came close to it was Charlotte Flair's upset victory over Asuka. It received four stars from the reviewer.
With the issue now out, the oddsmakers from Kambi will settle all of their Wrestling Observer Star Ratings betting markets that were available to customers during the WrestleMania betting frenzy.
Those that backed the mixed tag team match in the 'Highest Rated Match' market are looking to have their bets settled at 15/1.
Not bad.
As noted, the 'Highest Rated Match' market wasn't the only Wrestling Observer Newsletter themed market available over the weekend. Customers could have also placed wagers on Over/Under propositions and two new specials that made their debut.
Over/Unders
Here's how the markets looked across the weekend for matches on Sunday's card. No Over/Unders were published for the two battle royals.
Cedric Alexander .vs. Mustafa Ali
Cesdric Alexander's WWE Cruiserweight Championship victory over Mustafa Ali was awarded three stars by Meltzer.
|
Cruiserweight Championship
|
Over 3.75 Stars
|
Exactly 3.75 Stars
|
Under 3.75 Stars
|
|
6/4 8:45am
|
21/20
|
8/5
|
23/20
|
|
8/4 9:00PM
|
"
|
"
|
"
|
The bookies had the line set at 3.75 stars. The 'Over' was favoured, but it was obviously the 'Under' - at 23/20 - which won here.
The Miz .vs. Seth Rollins .vs. Finn Balor
Seth Rollins' Intercontinental Championship win in the triple threat match received three-and-a-half stars in the review. This was given a line of four stars when the market was published, so - once again - the 'Under' struck here.
|
Intercontinental Championship
|
Over 4 Stars
|
Exactly 4 Stars
|
Under 4 Stars
|
|
6/4 8:45am
|
6/5
|
7/5
|
23/20
|
|
8/4 9PM
|
11/10
|
"
|
5/4
|
|
CLOSED
|
"
|
"
|
"
|
As you can see the 'Over 4 Stars' was priced at 6/5, but had been backed into 11/10 by 9PM BST on Sunday evening. It stayed at this number right up until the bell to start the match.
Charlotte Flair .vs. Asuka
As I mentioned earlier in this post, the WWE Smackdown Women's Championship match was given four stars meaning it won silver.
|
Smackdown Women's Championship
|
Over 3.75 Stars
|
Exactly 3.75 Stars
|
Under 3.75 Stars
|
|
6/4 8:45am
|
13/10
|
8/5
|
19/20
|
|
CLOSED
|
"
|
"
|
"
|
The line was set at 3.75 Stars and stayed with the eventual winner at 13/10 throughout the entire weekend.
Randy Orton .vs. Rusev .vs. Jinder Mahal .vs. Bobby Roode
The fatal four-way for the US Championship, which was won by Jinder Mahal, was given a line of three stars when odds were published.
|
US Championship
|
Over 3 Stars
|
Exactly 3 Stars
|
Under 3 Stars
|
|
6/4 8:45am
|
7/4
|
6/4
|
3/4
|
|
7/4 9:45AM
|
"
|
"
|
"
|
|
8/4 11:30AM
|
8/5
|
33/20
|
"
|
|
11:20PM
|
6/5
|
37/20
|
9/10
|
|
CLOSED
|
"
|
"
|
"
|
The bettors were keen on the match going over the line as 7/4 dropped to 8/5 by Sunday morning and had descended to 6/5 before the PPV.
The reviewer gave the match two-and-three-quarter stars, so the result went against the action.
Kurt Angle and Ronda Rousey .vs. Triple H and Stephanie McMahon
The match of the night was given a line of two-and-a-half stars. The punters thought it was set too high and backed the 'Under'. We know how this one went.
|
Mixed Tag
|
Over 2.5 Stars
|
Exactly 2.5 Stars
|
Under 2.5 Stars
|
|
6/4 8:45am
|
6/4
|
33/20
|
4/5
|
|
8/4 11:30AM
|
"
|
7/4
|
3/4
|
|
CLOSED
|
"
|
"
|
"
|
The winning selection turned out to be the 'Over'. Despite the 'Under' being cut, it stayed at 6/4 all through the weekend.
The Usos .vs. The Bludgeon Brothers .vs. The New Day
Smackdown's triple threat match for the brand's tag team straps was given two stars. It fell below Kambi's line of three-and-a-half.
|
Smackdown Tags
|
Over 3.5 Stars
|
Exactly 3.5 Stars
|
Under 3.5 Stars
|
|
6/4 8:45am
|
11/10
|
8/5
|
11/10
|
|
CLOSED
|
"
|
"
|
"
|
The Undertaker .vs. John Cena
The Undertaker's short win over John Cena was given one-and-a-quarter stars. This was the second-lowest rated bout of the night.
|
Cena .vs. Undertaker
|
Over 3 Stars
|
Exactly 3 Stars
|
Under 3 Stars
|
|
6/4 8:45am
|
7/4
|
7/5
|
4/5
|
|
CLOSED
|
"
|
"
|
"
|
The line was set at three stars. The market was stationary from the open to close with the eventual winning selection at 4/5.
Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon .vs. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn
Daniel Bryan's return, as a tag team partner of Shane McMahon, to take on Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn had a line of three-and-a-half stars.
|
Bryan and McMahon .vs. Owens and Zayn
|
Over 3.5 Stars
|
Exactly 3.5 Stars
|
Under 3.5 Stars
|
|
6/4 8:45am
|
13/10
|
8/5
|
19/20
|
|
CLOSED
|
"
|
"
|
"
|
The oddsmakers had the line spot on as Meltzer did indeed give it three-and-a-half.
Alexa Bliss .vs. Nia Jax
Nia Jax's WWE Raw Women's Championship triumph over Alexa Bliss was rated two-and-three-quarter stars by Meltzer. This went over Kambi's estimate of two stars.
|
Raw Women's Championship
|
Over 2 Stars
|
Exactly 2 Stars
|
Under 2 Stars
|
|
6/4 8:45am
|
6/5
|
6/4
|
11/10
|
|
CLOSED
|
"
|
"
|
"
|
The winning selection was 6/5 from Friday right up to the match.
AJ Styles .vs. Shinsuke Nakamuta
With expectations high that AJ Styles' WWE Championship defence against Shinsuke Nakamura would be a show stealer, the traders put up an Over/Under market for this match weeks ahead of the rest..
They set the line at a very high 4.75 stars. This was because, the last time Styles and Nakamura wrestled in a singles match on a big stage - at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 10 - the bout was graded four-and-three-quarters.
|
Styles .vs. Nakamura
|
Over 4.75 Stars
|
Exactly 4.75 Stars
|
Under 4.75 Stars
|
|
16/3 3:20pm
|
5/4
|
37/20
|
17/20
|
|
22/3 4:30pm
|
7/5
|
7/4
|
4/5
|
|
2/4 12pm
|
6/4
|
"
|
3/4
|
|
5/4 2:00pm
|
8/5
|
9/5
|
7/10
|
|
CLOSED
|
"
|
"
|
"
|
Before the line was published, I anticipated that the oddsmaker would have it at 4. Therefore, I decided not to place a bet with it set so high (I was looking to bet the over). It's a good job I didn't as the match received a star less than the line.
The 'Under' saw a lot of action in the weeks the special was available. These bettors were obviously on the right side.
Cesaro and Sheamus .vs. Braun Strowman and Nicholas
The penultimate match of the night was given a line of two-and-a-half stars when it was priced up.
|
Raw Tags
|
Over 2.5 Stars
|
Exactly 2.5 Stars
|
Under 2.5 Stars
|
|
6/4 8:45am
|
EVS
|
6/4
|
13/10
|
|
8/4 11:30AM
|
22/25
|
8/5
|
7/5
|
|
CLOSED
|
"
|
"
|
"
|
By the morning of WrestleMania Sunday, the punters had evidently backed the 'Over' as it fell from even money into 22/25.
The bout was not received well. It beat The Undertaker versus John Cena for lowest rated of the night with one star. Therefore, the winning side would have been the 'Under' at 13/10 or 7/5.
Brock Lesnar .vs. Roman Reigns
The main event - for the WWE Universal Championship - was given three stars by Meltzer. With a line of four stars by Kambi, this obviously meant the favourite won out.
|
Universal Championship
|
Over 4 Stars
|
Exactly 4 Stars
|
Under 4 Stars
|
|
6/4 8:45am
|
6/5
|
33/20
|
EVS
|
|
CLOSED
|
"
|
"
|
"
|
Head-To-Heads
One of the new markets published ahead of Mania were head-to-heads where customers had the opportunity to bet on which of two matches would end up receiving the most stars. There were three of these markets available.
Cruiserweight Championship .vs. Smackdown Women's Championship
One market saw the Cruiserweight Championship final between Cedric Alexander and Mustafa Ali against the Smackdown Women's Championship.
Alexander .vs. Ali was favoured, but Flair .vs. Asuka's four stars beat the other guys' three.
Bryan/McMahon/Owens/Zayn .vs. SD Tag Team Championship
Two Smackdown tag team matches went up against one another in the second head-to-head with Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan versus Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn meeting the triple threat for the WWE Smackdown Tag Team Championship.
The winning match-up was the one featuring Daniel Bryan's return. It was 5/4 throughout the weekend. As you now know, it earned three-and-a-half stars while the other bout only hit two.
Intercontinental Championship .vs. Universal Championship
Of the three head-to-head markets, the only one to have price changes was the one where the Intercontinental Championship went up against the main event.
Exact Star Rating Of Highest Match
The second, and final, new market that was introduced was one where clients could bet on the exact star rating of the match which was rated the highest.
It opened with '5 Stars or More' and 'Exactly 4.75 Stars' joint-favourites at 6/4.
As we know, the favourites didn't win. The mixed tag, earning four-and-a-quarter stars, was the winning selection at 7/2.
And there you have it. With a bit of luck, I'll be back in a few weeks with another Observer Star Rating market for the Greatest Royal Rumble. In the meantime, you can check out the links below to see if any WWE markets have been installed.
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