A long four weeks has passed since WrestleMania 33 concluded what to many wrestling fans feels like a “full season” of WWE. Many of the things you probably expected (and which we predicted) happened — Brock Lesnar beat Bill Goldberg for the Universal Title, Roman Reigns beat Undertaker, and so on. We did get a few nice “Mania moment” surprises though, including the return of the Hardy Boyz to WWE, successfully winning the Raw tag team titles in the process.
Coincidentally, those same Hardyz will be defending their gold at the WWE Payback event this Sunday (April 30, 2017) in San Jose, broadcast live on the WWE Network, and we’ll give you the latest odds on that match in just a second. First a word of fair warning to the bettors out there — WWE odds are not like those for any other sport you watch. In fact, “sports entertainment” means the outcomes are to some extent predetermined, but what ISN’T predetermined is Vince McMahon or the writing team tearing up the script and writing a new one the day of the show. Therefore, you aren’t so much betting on the athletes as you are the odds the people in charge will change their minds.
Right now, with the popularity of the Hardyz following their WWE return, it doesn’t seem like they’re going to be pulled away from the spotlight any time soon. They are currently -400 to retain with their opponents Cesaro & Sheamus at +280. Unless the well of enthusiasm runs dry or their merchandise sales slow down, expect them to be on top for at least a few more months, until such time as WWE decides to pull the trigger on the “Broken Universe” and re-debut them as Broken Matt and Brother Nero.
With no Universal Title defense for Brock Lesnar on Sunday, the top title matches are the aforementioned tag team defense, a United States Title defense, and the Raw Women’s Title. Let’s look at the latter first since champion Bayley is in her hometown of San Jose. That’s usually bad news for a WWE performer as they often script people to lose at home, but Alexa Bliss is only a small favorite as the challenger at -155, with Bayley a very slight +115 underdog. That’s a good sign this could go either way, and that nobody in creative has made up their mind yet.
Kevin Owens vs. Chris Jericho is about as close as you can get to a “sure thing” though with Jericho going on tour with his band Fozzy in May. Therefore even a strong -400 line for Owens to retain seems low. Right now Jericho is the +280 dog but no matter how high that gets I just wouldn’t risk it. It doesn’t make sense for him to cancel a tour just to stay and defend a newly won United States title — it just doesn’t add up. But what I hope DOES add up is your wagers on Payback. Please remember that these previews are for entertainment purposes and to only bet what you can afford. Thanks and enjoy the show!
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