The Puzzle Of Seth Rollins' Rumble Odds And More

It sure was a surprise, early yesterday evening, when Seth Rollins' odds to win the Royal Rumble began to decline.

It was even more of a shock- in the early hours of this morning - when Edge, and not Rollins, won the battle royal.

Earlier in the week, it looked like it was a two-horse race with Daniel Bryan and the eventual winner both having compelling stories leading into the PPV. 

The interest in Rollins was significant enough that bookmakers ended up slashing his odds into favouritism. Most ended up pushing Edge out because - with it confirmed that the Rated R Superstar would be one of the initial entrants in the match - it seemed reasonable to consider Daniel Bryan as the second-favourite of the two men with key stories going into the match.

I don't have an idea why the flurry of bets came in for Seth Rollins. However, it absolutely started here in Europe. 

There was a lot of misinformation and teases being relayed over the weekend. One of which was by WWE's British broadcast partner, BT Sport, which published the following picture on Twitter advertising the PPV.

I didn't bother to study the picture over the weekend, but I found myself doing so today and I am quite appalled at the audacity. 

If you look closely, along with scenes from previous Rumbles, there is a box with four other items within. They are of taped fists, MMA gloves, a kilt and a switchblade. 

The picture teased potential appearances by CM Punk, Brock Lesnar, Ronda Rousey and Jay White at the Rumble and could explain why those names - most notably White because the other three are regularly requested - were available to wager on in appearance markets.

Once the PPV had concluded, the account exclaimed that it had fooled its followers 'hook, line and sinker'. 

I can't help but wonder whether anyone was compelled to bet - or purchase the PPV - from those teases. 

It wasn't something that a broadcaster looking to sell PPVs should do before, and certainly after, the event.

Back to the Rumble betting itself - another thing I can't help but wonder about is whether anyone backed Edge to win the Rumble by gambling on the entry number of winner markets yesterday after it was revealed that he would enter the match in second place. 

Edge was introduced first, so 'Entry #01' would be the winning selection. It was 22/1 before Kambi's market closed before the match.

I plan to write more about both of the Rumble matches over the coming days.