The first weekend of April sees WrestleMania XL being held at the Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. This WWE event isn’t just of appeal to die-hard fans of professional wrestling.
Movie fans will be intrigued to see Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson in action. Those who love boxing will also be pleased to see Muhammad Ali inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. The two-day event will also see plenty of bets placed on the matches that will take place.
Now you might be wondering how online US sportsbooks be offering odds on professional wrestling. It’s no secret that the results of pro wrestling bouts are predetermined. However, only a select few who write the storylines and produce the matches know who’s going to win.
Therefore, there will be plenty of odds being available for matches such as Roman Reigns v Cody Rhodes and Rhea Ripley v Becky Lynch.
There have been few more popular sportsmen than ‘The Greatest’ himself, Muhammad Ali. You might also therefore be wondering why a former world heavyweight boxing champion is going into the WWE Hall of Fame.
It has a celebrity wing and this year, the late champion gets an overdue induction. He owes a great deal to the world of professional wrestling. Ali was a fan in his youth and based his outrageous behavior outside the ring after seeing the wrestler Gorgeous George. Just like Ali was too in later years, he told fans how he was the prettiest and the best.
Back in 1976, while still world heavyweight champion, Muhammad Ali went to Japan to face legendary wrestler Antonio Inoki. It was described as ‘The War of the World’s as the boxer took on the wrestling legend.
It’s no disgrace to say that the fight was an absolute disaster. Inoki spent most of the 15 rounds on the mat and kept aiming kicks at Ali’s legs. The fight ended in a draw but those kicks caused blood clots in Ali’s legs.
Ali also had a confrontation with WWE wrestler Gorilla Monsoon. 1985 saw him as the guest referee in the main event of the first ever WrestleMania at Madison Square Garden. That appearance included him landing a right hand on ‘Rowdy’ Roddy Piper. He also appeared in WCW and now he’s being posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
Dwayne Johnson comes from a wrestling family and this year he has made his comeback to WWE. Not just as a professional wrestler but Johnson is also on the TKO board after the recent changes at the company.
Even more surprising is the fact that this popular movie star is now a villain in WWE. At one stage it looked as if he was going to challenge Roman Reigns (his real-life cousin) for the WWE Undisputed Universal title. It’s now Cody Rhodes who will be getting that title shot on night two of WrestleMania.
It’s on night one when ‘The Rock’ will be getting back in the ring to fight. He teams up with Reigns to take on Rhodes and WWE world heavyweight champion Seth ‘Freakin’ Rollins. It’s likely he’ll be appearing in some way on the second night too.
It’s a good move for WWE as the presence of Johnson ensures headlines outside of the wrestling websites. John Cena is also teasing that he will be making an appearance at WrestleMania this year. Hopefully he’ll be wearing more clothes than he did at the recent Oscars ceremony.
The same applies to the fact that Logan Paul is their current US champion. There have been plenty of celebrities who have wrestled or made appearances for WWE (previously the WWF) over the years. Even Donald Trump has featured and is also in the WWE Hall of Fame.
Few have consistently wrestled for WWE and put in performances that have been of a high standard. Bad Bunny has had success but Logan Paul has been a revelation since he began wrestling for WWE.
He may well take on Randy Orton at WrestleMania after interfering in his match at Elimination Chamber. It’s not all about wrestling matches though for Logan Paul. WWE have signed a sponsorship deal with his Prime Hydration. They are now the exclusive Hydration Drink Partner of WWE.
WrestleMania promises to be a great event. It’s much more than just a wrestling weekend and the eyes of sporting fans and gamblers will be on Philadelphia in April.
