The Wrestling Genius: Survivor Series Fake Betting

“John Cena this is your life”, as much as I don’t like John Cena’s in ring work I did enjoy this segment from Raw. From what I’ve read online, I might be the only one who liked it. Let me just say, I liked it for two reasons, I’m a Foley mark, and I love awkward comedy. That was about as awkward and uncomfortable of 15-20 minutes of television I’ve seen since The Situation tried comedy at the Roast of Donald Trump. John Cena played the role of embarrassed target perfectly. Foley played the goofy host; seen him do better but still good. Plus we got to see Bull Buchanan again which is never a bad thing, okay that was terrible, but terrible in a good way. The moment The Rock Rock Bottomed Foley and brought the segment to a close it was clear this wasn’t Cena’s night and it certainly wasn’t going to be Foley’s night. This night belonged to The Rock and no one was stealing his spotlight. He later delivered a good not great promo and he along with Cena and The Awesome Truth set their match at Survivor Series quite well.

All right, here are my picks for this Sunday’s Survivor Series. As always, I do them as if there were real Vegas betting lines. I’ll start with $2000 fictional dollars and how much I bet reflects my level of confidence in the bet and how much I actually care about the match.

Beth Phoenix(-300) vs. Eve(+200) for Divas Title

Vegas has a lot on Beth Phoenix and why not she is the champion and Eve has shown little resistance to Phoenix in recent history. Beth is too strong and too talented. As fast and athletic as Eve is I think the glamazon is too much. Taking the -300 even if I won’t make a lot of money off it.

Beth Phoenix over Eve
Betting $200 leaving me with $1800 fictional dollars

Dolph Ziggler (-220) vs. John Morrison(+150) for United States Title

I thought this line would be higher for Ziggler but Vegas clearly doesn’t like that Ziggler will be wrestling twice in one night again for the second straight PPV. Personally I really like Ziggler and think he’s one of the best in the world today and he could be in five matches in one night and I’d still take him over John Morrison. Morrison is good but I’m just not seeing them putting US title on him right now.

Ziggler over Morrison
Betting $300
$1500 left

Team Orton vs. Team Barrett 5 on 5 (pick’em)

Vegas is having trouble handicapping this one and quite frankly I’m having trouble picking a winner as well. Orton’s team has the clear size advantage with Mason Cyborg Ryan, and Sheamus. However, Barrett’s team is just more talented with guys like Rhodes, Ziggler and Swagger being the best pure wrestlers on either team. The high flyers balance each other out and won’t be a factor in the outcome. I think I’m going to lean team Orton though, just too much size.

Team Orton over Team Barrett
Betting $200
$1300 left over

Mark Henry (-250) vs. Big Show (-120) World Heavyweight Title

Look I’m not saying this will be fun to watch, nor am I saying I’m excited for it in the least. With that said I do know one thing, it’ll be slow moving and boring. Vegas leans towards champions and that is reflected in the line. This is by far the least attractive title rivalry I’ve seen in a long time. I just can’t get excited for it. I know a few of my twitter followers have given me a hard time for not liking it but sorry it just bores me watching two slow giants trade blows for 15 minutes. I’m taking the upset here though Big Show seems motivated and ready to claim the world title.

Big Show over Mark Henry
Betting $300
Money left $1000

Alberto Del Rio (+200) vs. CM Punk (-200) WWE Title

Vegas leaned toward the champion in the Henry/Show match but they are leaning challenger in this one and why not? Punk is the better of the two and has shown an ability to come up big in big moments. Del Rio hasn’t won cleanly yet as champion and has shown a weakness against Punk. If Punk really is what he says he is, the best in the world, he should have no problem finishing off the loud mouth Del Rio. Unless Del Rio gets help there is no way Punk loses. Punk just has too much talent for Del Rio to overcome without help, but don’t be surprised if Del Rio snakes his way into a victory. I’m not betting against Punk in a match though one on one.

Punk over Del Rio
Betting $500
Money left $500

The Rock and John Cena(-350)vs. Miz and R-Truth(+250)

Vegas has the Rock/Cena team heavy favorites but I just don’t see it that way. Cena and Rock don’t like each other and have never teamed up. Whereas Miz/Truth have been BFFs for a few months now and have a great chemistry. It’s hard to bet against The Rock and Cena, I just don’t see how that ticking time bomb keeps from going off. If the Philadelphia Eagles and Miami Heat have shown us anything, it’s that dream teams generally don’t work. It’s hard to get good chemistry in a short amount of time, especially if you hate each other. The Awesome Truth is a solid team and has put their egos aside to try to take over the WWE. I just don’t see how Cena and Rock can put their egos aside for even one match.

Miz/Truth over Rock/Cena
Betting final $500 on biggest upset of the year.

There you have it my picks: Phoenix, Ziggler, Team Orton, Big Show, CM Punk, and the Awesome Truth.

All right, that is all for this week folks, thank for reading. Also, if you enjoy my wrestling column then you should check out my new column at filmonair.com. You can reach me to complain, praise, or whatever either via email at jjg672@hotmail.com or twitter via @JaredGebhardt.

Sincerely,

The Wrestling Genius: Jared Gebhardt