WWE WrestleMania 36 is an event caught in a strange time in our world, as COVID-19 takes everyone by storm and the Coronavirus has the world stockpiling (read: hoarding) toilet paper and most everyone maintaining a social distance appropriate of 2 meters from the next closest person. Major events like the NCAA Tournament, The Masters, and Coachella were postponed or outright cancelled, and our own WrestleMania has been moved to closed set locations, filmed in advance as the WWE looks to salvage their biggest event of the year.
The Granddaddy Of Them All is no longer being referred to as “live” (rightfully so), but is now “Too Big For Just One Night!” and Rob Gronkowski has turned up as the host for the event. You might remember Gronk interfering in the WrestleMania 33 Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal after Jinder Mahal confronted him at ringside, helping buddy Mojo Rawley win the trophy. Now Gronk is in the fold, a move that will both give him a wrestling career and probably save Mojo’s.
But what has all this done for WrestleMania 36…the betting odds?
In an era where sports betting has never been bigger or more legitimate, the impact of COVID-19 has impacted sports books and betting sites all over. With no sports, there’s nothing to bet on! Well correction, you can still bet on politics, you can bet on when fast food restaurants will open back up, and you can even bet on the weather.
Of course, you can also bet on WrestleMania. According to Sports Betting Dime, Roman Reigns opened betting at WrestleMania’s biggest favorite, at -1000 to beat Goldberg and win the Universal Championship. He joins Rhea Ripley, Bray Wyatt’s The Fiend, Shayna Baszler, and Drew McIntyre as favorites to walk away as winners, but no one has the odds that Roman carries. Those odds opened on March 17, at the front end of Corona-Mania sweeping the world. (Too soon? Not to me!)
Full Opening Odds on March 17:
- Universal Championship: Roman Reigns (-1000) over champion Goldberg (+550)
- NXT Women’s Championship: champion Rhea Ripley (-220) over Royal Rumble winner Charlotte Flair (+155)
- Bray Wyatt’s The Fiend (-400) over John Cena (+250) in a WrestleMania 30 rematch
- Raw Women’s Championship: Shayna Baszler (-165) over champion Becky Lynch (+125)
- WWE Championship: Royal Rumble winner Drew McIntyre (-400) over champion Brock Lesnar (+250)
On March 25…
What has the move of WrestleMania to closed set locations done to those odds? As of March 25, he biggest favorite I listed above was Roman Reigns, and his -1000 odds makes him a 91% favorite over the Hall Of Famer. As of today, March 25, Roman has only dropped to a -800 favorite over Goldberg, meaning it’s likely still going to be his yard after April 4th and 5th just with an 88% chance of victory. Still staggering odds for “The Big Dog” to leave with the blue strap firmly around his waist.
But wait…there’s more, on April 2!
We now know that Roman Reigns is out of WrestleMania 36, and the likely replacement is Braun Strowman. The impact on the betting odds? HUGE! While Roman Reigns was a -1000 favorite, April 1 odds for Braun are -220 to Goldberg’s +155. Those are extremely close odds, and while I fully expect Strowman to win the Universal Championship this weekend, but the change from Roman to Strowman has had a tremendous impact on the betting odds.
WrestleMania 36 is set to be the most unique two-nights WWE has ever produced, with closed-set matches like AJ Styles vs. The Undertaker in a “Boneyard Match,” Bray Wyatt/The Fiend (probably both) vs. John Cena in a rematch that will look nothing like their WrestleMania 30 showdown, and other matches that could go down without a wrestling ring. There will still be in-ring action, likely from an empty WWE Performance Center in Orlando.
But one thing seems certain: be it in front of 70,000 at Raymond James Stadium or zero at the WWE Performance Center, WWE is hell bent on delivering WrestleMania this weekend. For those of you betting on the show, may the odds be in your favor!
