A month removed from the infamous WWE Battleground 2017 Pay-Per-View, we are now ready for SummerSlam 2017 live from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York this Sunday (August 20, 2017). Often billed as “the biggest party of the summer,” the SummerSlam PPV is one of WWE’s traditional “big four” events dating back to the days when PPVs were genuinely few and far between. Even though it has been little mentioned in the advertising building up to this event, this is actually the 30th SummerSlam card, a historic milestone to be sure but not to be confused with the 30th ANNIVERSARY, which will actually come in 2018.
Before we get into the latest odds for this monumental card in both importance AND length (six hours minimum), a word of caution follows. Odds for professional wrestling do not presume to treat what you’re watching as “sport” and base those odds on athletic prowess, physical size, win streaks or any factors you’d find in MMA or boxing. The odds here reflect only two things – the whims of Vince McMahon and the direction of his writing team. Strong odds may indicate those “creative” types have a long term plan for wrestlers they don’t want to change, but odds that are TOO strong may lead to Vince McMahon calling a last second audible on Sunday night. If you do decide wager, always check the updated lines first.
The biggest speculation about SummerSlam is whether or not Brock Lesnar will retain the Universal Title in a fatal four-way against Samoa Joe, Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman. Lesnar’s manager Paul Heyman has threatened that if he loses on Sunday they’ll never be seen in WWE again. As of this writing, Lesnar is -400 against the field at +280, which seems right given his contract runs through WrestleMania next year, and if he were to have another UFC fight, he’d have to be in the USADA testing pool for six months first so he couldn’t take a MMA fight until late in 2018. Meanwhile, in descending order, Joe is +400, Strowman is +800 and Reigns is +1650.
The other world title on the line this Sunday is the WWE championship of Jinder Mahal. Early speculation held that even if No. 1 contender Shinsuke Nakamura were successful in his challenge, Money in the Bank holder Baron Corbin could cash in his guaranteed title shot and take advantage of an exhausted winner after a grueling match (in storyline). He could even cash in during the match to create a triple threat if he chose. Happily, we no longer have to worry about that as Corbin wasted his opportunity by cashing in on the SmackDown before SummerSlam and immediately being rolled up for a pin. With Corbin out of the picture, the latest odds have Nakamura as a -900 favorite to end the long boring reign of Mahal and become your NEW WWE Champion. Mahal is the +500 underdog to retain.
These previews are for entertainment purposes only. If you wager please bet only what you can afford. Enjoy SummerSlam 2017 this Sunday on the WWE Network!
Click below to bet the matches now!
