After a month off since WWE TLC 2017 it’s time for the annual fall tradition known as Survivor Series. This year the show takes place at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas and is expected to be SIX HOURS LONG if you include the two hour pre-show. If you’re going to be there live make sure you buy the popcorn and the souvenir drink with free refills because you’re going to need them! For the rest of us watching at home on the WWE Network, it’s all about knowing when to take those bathroom breaks. The odds I’m about to give you are for the matches not to miss.
“Odds? Odds on a scripted and formatted show? That’s absurd!” I’ve heard you loud and clear out there, but you may not understand that these aren’t necessarily odds on the MATCH or the WRESTLERS. What you are actually betting with these odds is the propensity for Vince McMahon to change his mind and throw out the script before the matches take place. Favorites are generally long term stories that are building up to a payoff that won’t be easily discarded. Underdogs are not that important to the current story. Of course whenever someone becomes a huge underdog or a HYOOOGE favorite, that’s when Vince McMahon decides it’s all “too predictable” so keep that in mind.
The signature match of Survivor Series this year is a non-title champion vs. champion match between Universal Champion Brock Lesnar (-500) vs. World Heavyweight Champion AJ Styles (+300). Styles being the underdog makes sense for several storyline reasons: he only won the title a week ago (beating Jinder Mahal), the ex-champion could interfere to humiliate Styles, there is a serious size differential between Lesnar and Styles, and Paul Heyman may interject himself into the match as a distraction. The deck is certainly stacked against Styles here, but the good news is that he can’t lose his title in this match, and if it’s a good match that goes more than 10 minutes we ALL win.
Our next set of odds is for a five-on-five Team Raw vs. Team SmackDown women’s match. Team Raw (Alicia Fox, Nia Jax, Asuka, Sasha Banks and Bayley) is -295, while Team SD (Becky Lynch, Carmella, Naomi, Tamina and TBD) is +200. That’s fair given that even in the storyline the fifth member of SmackDown is undetermined given Charlotte Flair gave up her spot after winning the Women’s Title this week from Natalya. So who will that mystery fifth woman be? A lot of people think it will be a certain goth chick, but sadly there is no betting line or odds for THAT possibility.
There is also a men’s Team Raw (Kurt Angle, Braun Strowman, Finn Balor, Samoa Joe and Triple H) that is +120 and a Team SmackDown (Shane McMahon, Randy Orton, Bobby Roode, Shinsuke Nakamura and John Cena) that is -167 but those lines aren’t big enough to grab my interest. Personally I would keep a closer eye on The Shield (-500) vs. The New Day (+300), which is your “safe bet” given Roman Reigns is back for The Shield now that his convalescence for illness is over. Anyway please remember these previews are for entertainment purposes and if you wager only bet what you can afford. Enjoy Survivor Series!
