Why Bet On Wrestling?
It’s the age old question we get often: why bet on pro wrestling?
It’s fake! It’s scripted! It’s predetermined! How can you bet on WWE when people are involved in the actual outcome and script it?
Why not ask everyone that bet on NBA in 2007 how they feel about that after Tim Donaghys book came out?
Or hell all those people who will bet on their Leafs or their Raptors or Seahawks whoever and then complain about how the “refs are against them”?
Yes – wrestling is predetermined. Yes – Vince McMahon and a few others know what the results are going to be.
But that doesn’t mean the betting public knows. That doesn’t mean the sportsbooks know. We can only guess. And even when a result appears inevitable – that doesn’t mean that’s always the case. Just ask Patriots fans who bet on their team to cover the point spread against the Dolphins on the December 29th, 2019 NFL game for example.
First of all sportsbooks are aware they could be abused. They are. They’re not stupid. That’s why they set up bettling limits. Most sportsbooks have a rule where you can only risk up to $50 or to win up to $50 to stop any rampant abuse. Unless Vince wants to get about 10,000 minions together to all sign up and bet a +700 underdog for $50 the sportsbooks are fine.
(Of course we wouldn’t put it past Vince to do that! The XFL ain’t gonna pay for itself)
See here is how sportsbooks work. Most people don’t go after the best betting odds. Even if the Patriots -6.5 is +110 at Sportsbook A and +120 at Sportsbook B – if you have an account at Sportsbook A and not Sportsbook B, you’re going to stick with Sportsbook A. It’s a matter of convenience for the majority of people.
That’s why sportsbooks offer the ability to bet on wrestling. To get people in the door. Not all sportsbooks offer professional wrestling betting so if the sportsbooks offer this limited sport, they are going to steal away players from another sportsbook. Then when people get used to betting there, they will be most likely to bet at that sportsbook.
So in one sense it’s a “loss leader”, much like deposit bonuses are.
The other reason is that UPSETS HAPPEN. A LOT. Wrestling is not predictable at all. Some can be small upsets, some can be big upsets. Here’s a quick list of just a few upsets to give you an idea – I literally just clicked a few PPVs at random and found upsets at each one:
- WWE Royal Rumble 2020: Drew McIntyre and Charlotte both win as a +500 underdog
- AEW All Out: Cody beat Shawn Spears as a +190 underdog
- WWE Survivor Series 2016: Goldberg defeated Brock as a +280 underdog
- WWE Survivor Series 2014: Miz/Mizdow won 4-way as +150 underdogs
- NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 14: Team Sano beat team Liger as +300 underdogs
- WWE Evolution 2018: Shayna Baszler defeated Kairi sane as a +255 underdog
- WWE Wrestlemania 34: Charlotte Flair defeated Asuka as a +425 underdog
Just a few examples. There have been hundreds of upsets over the years. Some massive ones such as Reigns +1000 at Fastlane 2017, Zack Ryder +3300 at Wrestlemania 32 and of course, Brock beating Taker at +1100 odds.
Hell betting on wrestling makes even more sense than most sports as variance isn’t an issue. You don’t have to worry about a red card, or a power play or anything like that.
As silly as it sounds, betting on wrestling is less risky than betting on practically every other sport out there.
