It has been a month now since WrestleMania 31, and the landscape of WWE was drastically altered by that show. Going in it was widely believed that Brock Lesnar would retain the World Heavyweight Title, especially given he announced a WWE contract extension before the PPV, and the hard push of Roman Reigns to the top was met with a lukewarm (and in some cases openly hostile) reception. The PPV odds should have mentioned a third possibility – one that very few of us considered – Seth Rollins cashing in Money in the Bank during the match. Previous MITB contract holders had cashed it in after a world title match, when the champion afterward was beaten up and vulnerable, but Rollins turned the match into a triple threat where the title could change hands without the champion being pinned. That’s exactly what happened – Reigns speared Lesnar, Rollins hit a curb stomp on Reigns, and Reigns was pinned while Lesnar was down and out. The next challenger for Rollins’ WWE World Heavyweight Title is Randy Orton, who not-so-coincidentally holds a win over Rollins at WrestleMania 31, in a match taking place earlier in the night before Rollins cashed in. In storyline Rollins was gravely concerned about the threat Orton posed to his newly won belt, so he connived his way into getting to choose stipulations for their match at Extreme Rules, and once he got his way he banned Orton’s devastating RKO finisher. Unfortunately he also left the door open for Orton to choose a stipulation as well, and he booked the match for the confines of a steel cage. Looking at on the surface you might think that Orton trumped Rollins and set himself up to win the title, whether he can hit the RKO or not. The odds makers disagree and have Rollins as the -900 favorite, with Orton coming in at a relatively long +500 dog. When you think the way WWE’s writers does, this makes perfect sense, because they wouldn’t go to such lengths to script Rollins as the champion only to undo it a month later. Orton also doesn’t need to be the champion to be a top star, as he’s already a multi-time former world champion, and over with the crowd in front of just about every WWE audience. As the old saying goes “this feud must continue.” The odds for John Cena and Rusev in a “Russian Chain Match” are eerily similar, with Cena being the -900 favorite to retain the United States Title, and Rusev being the +500 dog. Again one has to suspect the first PPV after WrestleMania is largely a placeholder when it comes to newly won titles – so Cena’s victory will not be erased in this rematch despite the stipulation. This is one of those times where betting the favorites may not be a profitable endeavor, but it’s also a pretty safe way to cash in. The one line you probably want to avoid right now is Daniel Bryan (-195) vs. Wade Barrett (+155), as there’s every possibility that Bryan will not even be medically cleared to compete at the PPV. As always remember that these previews are for entertainment purposes only, WWE shows are predetermined (the odds reflect the decisions of WWE’s writers and chairman Vince McMahon) and that if you do wager bet only what you can afford. Enjoy Extreme Rules!
