Professional Wrestling might be fake, but the business Vince McMahon’s company brings in is very real. Thousands pack arenas and stadiums to see the faces and heels of the company duke it out, and no event is bigger than Wrestlemania. In our current COVID-19 coronavirus world, what does Bodog’s odds say will happen at the Showcase of the Immortals?
Before even considering the matches and the bookmakers lines, we have to take a look at how the current epidemic has affected the show. As the NBA, NHL and MLB have suspended their leagues, the WWE originally intended to go through with their biggest show of the year, to be held at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida on April 5. But rather than risk infecting a potential 74,512 in attendance with COVID-19, the company has taken the precautious step of deciding to broadcast from their WWE training facility in Orlando, Florida, without an audience.
If you saw any of the WWE’s product from the past week, you know this is going to be weird. Wrestlers stood in the ring, taunting other wrestlers they just left behind in the locker room. It was a novelty to watch, but the pretend-combat and drama of the WWE doesn’t make a lot of sense without a crowd to watch it.
Credit should be given to the director and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, though. When Austin asked the crowd to give him a “Hell Yeah,” the feed cut to a live shot of empty seats.
Byron Saxton giving Steve Austin a hard time. pic.twitter.com/KxgernjtZI #WWE #RAW
— NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW news (@nodqdotcom) March 17, 2020
But, the show must go on, right? So Wrestlemania will happen in front of that same crowd Austin was trying to reach, and we have Bodog’s odds on who’s favored to win. But before we jump right in, there’s two things to remember.
First, some of these matches might be postponed to a later event. Dave Meltzer, a man with many sources inside the company, noted that the 16 matches planned could all very well change. “I don’t know if they will even do 16 matches at this point,” he said. “There may not even be a WrestleMania on April 5th either. They announced that but [if] one guy on that roster getting the virus or one major celebrity getting in in Florida or an outbreak in Florida, then it’s not happening.”
The other thing to expect is that a lot of championships likely won’t change hands. Crowning new champions is a bit of what Wrestlemania is about, and doing that in front of empty seats loses a lot of the intended impact.
That all being said, here’s the lines as they stand now.
Becky Lynch vs Shayna Baszler – WWE Raw Women’s Championship – Winner
Becky Lynch (C) +125
Shayna Baszler -165
Brock Lesnar vs Drew McIntyre – WWE Championship – Winner
Brock Lesnar (C) +250
Drew McIntyre -400
Goldberg vs Roman Reigns – WWE Universal Championship – Winner
Goldberg (C) +550
Roman Reigns -1000
John Cena vs Bray Wyatt – Singles Match – Winner
John Cena +250
Bray Wyatt -400
Rhea Ripley vs Charlotte Flair – NXT Women’s Championship – Winner
Rhea Ripley (C) -220
Charlotte Flair +155
