When you’re a fan of sports entertainment, there are few things that get your motor going like a big WWE pay-per-view event. These premium shows present the very best of what the company and the business have to offer. They are the focal point for every piece of programming in between, where storylines culminate, often with epic matches that maximise the drama of feuds. Think of huge events like the Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, and SummerSlam. And if you’re willing to put money on the line, the exhilaration of watching a WWE event can go up an extra notch.
When you think about it, betting on WWE isn’t that dissimilar to other types of gambling. You guess an outcome based on the information at your disposal and you put your money behind it. However, there is one thing that separates it from traditional sports betting or new online casinos, and it’s that events are scripted. The outcomes are predetermined by writers and bookers in the company. In that sense, betting on WWE is more like predicting what will happen in a movie franchise or TV show than an actual sporting competition. In this sense, you yourself have to think like a booker. You’re betting on what you think the company thinks is good for business.
It’s the strange dichotomy between the staged performance element and the very real money you’re wagering that makes betting on WWE so unique and fun. The bet isn’t simply taking factors like side or athletic ability into play, it’s taking the story too. Imagine if betting on football or boxing went by the same principle, and you took the background of a title contender into account before betting. That would be wild. You’re trying to get inside the heads of the WWE creative team and predict where the storylines are going. It adds an extra layer of strategy to consideration beyond win-loss records.
Taking the Unpredictable World of WWE Head On
That desire to try and predict the unpredictable draws some parallels between WWE betting and more traditional forms of gambling like playing online slots. Both require you to embrace the inherent volatility and understand that the outcomes can zigzag in unexpected directions at any moment.
Most fans would argue that there is more actual skill involved in predicting WWE events than there is in leaving things up to chance as you would with a slot machine. Looking at patterns and trends in the business can help one anticipate which direction the company may choose to go in at an upcoming pay-per-view.
Another factor to consider is how the company tracks fan contentment. In the Triple H era of creative strategy, WWE appears to listen to its audience a lot more than under the previous regime. Many would argue that its currently going through a golden era again, with comparisons to the Attitude Era made regularly. Read online forums to check the temperature of fan sentiment before an event. The fans who regularly contribute to these forums often have a fantastic ability to recognise where a storyline is going. They have acquired this ability through years of watching the company’s programming.
Now, if all this sounds like homework to you, there’s a chance that you haven’t watched WWE before. If this is the case, you’re in for a treat. WWE programming has a deep and rich history of engrossing and colourful personalities. From legends like Randy Savage, Mankind, and The Undertaker, to modern stars like Cody Rhodes and Gunther, the conveyer belt of iconic wrestlers rarely slows down. Even casual fans can’t help but get caught up in the nostalgia of watching stars from their childhood hit the ropes for a one last match. That is, one last match until the next ‘last’ match.
Unforgettable Moments to Bet On
Over the decades, WWE has provided bettors with endless unforgettable moments to put money on. The Undertaker's legendary WrestleMania streak. Brock Lesnar ending it. Daniel Bryan's miraculous rise to capture the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XXX. Seth Rollins cashing in his Money in the Bank contract in the middle of the main event at WrestleMania 31. You would have gotten decent odds on these.
Over the decades, it’s been common for WWE and other wrestling companies to incorporate real-life drama into storylines. For the clued-in wrestling fan, this can lead to prime betting opportunities. Like the famous ‘Montreal Screwjob’ incident in which Vince McMahon manufactured a loss for Bret Hart because he was about to leave the company. Hart was locked in the Sharpshooter at the time, and had yet to tap out, when McMahon ordered the referee to ring the bell and give the win to Hart’s opponent, Shawn Michaels.
Or, what about when McMahon turned on The Rock at WrestleMania 17, making an unlikely alliance with Stone Cold Steve Austin to help The Texas Rattlesnake win the title? Few people predicted that would ever happen.
Then, there was the more recent return of CM Punk to WWE after several years away. The circumstances under which Punk left the company made a return seem highly unlikely. So much so, that one might say, hell would freeze over before Punk would return to WWE. Sure enough, he came back to the company in late 2023. Before long, WWE would sell ‘Hell Froze Over’ CM Punk merchandise from their online store.
With so many twists and turns, it's easy for WWE fans to get caught up in the excitement of not just watching the episodes and events unfold, but putting some money down and sweating out the results. And thanks to the rise of legitimate online sportsbooks and betting apps adding WWE to their offerings, it's becoming easier than ever for fans to do just that.
So whether you're a longtime hardcore wrestling die-hard or just a casual fan looking to put a new spin on your viewing experience, betting on WWE can certainly make things a lot more interesting. Just don't bet the house on expecting predictability from the always unpredictable world of sports entertainment.
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