Roman Reigns vs. Undertaker: WWE WrestleMania 33 Match odds, preview and winner predictions
Roman Reigns vs. Undertaker is one of the major highlights of this year’s WrestleMania. It started out as a storyline that no one wanted to see. Some fans found it hard to digest the possibility of Reigns sharing the WrestleMania ring with Undertaker but the ignorance soon turned into interest as WWE impressed with the buildup.
Rumour has it that Reigns vs. Undertaker could be the closing match of the pay-per-view. Undertaker’s brand value is what helps to justify WWE’s decision to have Reigns vs. ‘Taker close the show and it’s this same reason that raises the stakes for this match.
The betting odds:
Despite his legendary status, Undertaker opens as an underdog against Roman Reigns in the betting market. According to Odds shark, Undertaker is now a +400 underdog while Reigns is a -700 favourite.
Meanwhile, according to 5Dimes, Undertaker is a +650 underdog while Reigns’ is the favourite. There were some fluctuations in the numbers throughout the last few days, but Reigns was the favourite from the start itself.
The betting market believes that Reigns has enough star power to get a win over Undertaker and this is not surprising.
Reigns has been booked strongly by the WWE in recent years and ‘Taker’s age and a lot of other factors were probably taken into consideration when placing the bets. There are rumours floating around suggesting that WrestleMania 33 could be Undertaker’s last WrestleMania outing and this is another reason that motivates people to keep their money on Reigns.
The preview and prediction:
Stakes are high for Reigns: As mentioned earlier, Reigns vs. Undertaker is a feud that got better with age. After WWE’s failure to push Reigns as a clean baby face, shades of a heel turn were incorporated into his character and the storyline with Undertaker flaunted these.
During the storyline, Reigns was not seen making any unwanted jokes or trying to make the fans laugh. Instead, he seemed poised to make a statement and this was the booking he needed after the Shield’s breakup. It took WWE so long to come up with the formula and therefore the damage has already been done.
The fans have embraced Reigns as someone that they love to hate and his match with Undertaker will either enhance or destroy this concept.
For Reigns, the stakes are high. Win or lose, it’s a career-defining match for him. Though the odds are in his favour, a win could further push down Reigns into the abyss. Fans are going to shower him with jeers if he wins, and unless WWE is planning a heel turn, it would be catastrophic.
A loss for Reigns, on the other hand, wouldn’t hurt him heavily. He will have a ‘WrestleMania match with Undertaker’ as an achievement to showcase on his resume and at the same time, will escape the wrath of WWE Universe.
The Undertaker’s point of view
Coming to ‘Taker, this is another typical WrestleMania storyline for him. His ability to work with Reigns will be a major concern for everyone involved as The Deadman was reportedly in a considerable amount of pain not too long ago. Even though he goes in as an underdog into the match, the possibility of ‘Taker winning cannot be eliminated.
WWE will draw huge from the retirement match of Undertaker. So if WrestleMania 33 was indeed Undertaker’s retirement match, WWE would’ve advertised it long back.
Furthermore, if there is a potential match with John Cena in the pipeline, losing to Reigns would be a major setback for the Undertaker if WWE plans to have him feud with John.
But then again, we are talking about the professional wrestling business and WWE could pull off a major swerve and let ‘Taker retire on Sunday night: Do we need more reasons to tune in?
As far as the prediction goes, I’ll be sticking with Undertaker for this one, since a win for Reigns would hurt not only his career but would have a negative impact on WWE if this is the Deadman’s final match.
Prediction: Undertaker wins
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