WWE WrestleMania 29 Matches: Long Shots with Best Chance to Emerge Victorious

Placing a wager on a sporting event is an age-old practice that millions of people across the world partake in. While it's more widely accepted in some places than others, sports betting has essentially become mainstream. One sport that is fairly new to the betting scene, however, is professional wrestling.

The WWE is obviously predetermined, so being able to bet on that could lead us down a slippery slope, but it's ultimately all in good fun. It isn't as if bets can be placed on wrestling year-round, but many of the bigger events have odds available. WrestleMania happens to be the most important show on the WWE calendar, so there should be plenty of action this weekend.

Many of the matches have fairly obvious odds with guys like The Undertaker and John Cena installed as heavy favorites. Not every match is going to go by the book, however, so there is money to be made when it comes to betting underdogs. Here are three WrestleMania long shots with the best chance of emerging victorious and fattening your wallet.

*All betting odds courtesy of Bovada 

Wade Barrett (+250)

Although the Intercontinental Championship match between Wade Barrett and The Miz is set to take place on the WrestleMania pre-show, it is still on the board for betting purposes. Barrett and Miz have entered into a feud over the past few weeks stemming from their status as "movie stars." The focus has shifted toward The Miz's pursuit of the IC title, though, but the bare-knuckle brawler from Preston, England won't give it up without a fight.

It's easy to see why The Miz is a -400 favorite as he is the face and Barrett hasn't done much with the title, but he is far from a lead-pipe lock to win. The Miz has been handled quite poorly since turning face, and while he has won more than he has lost, he tends to come up short in big matches. The Miz also had a failed Intercontinental Championship run of his own last year, so the creative team may be wary of putting the strap back on him.

Barrett went through a rough patch for a couple months, but he has been built back up over the past few weeks. Since there are so many high-level faces in the WWE right now and so few of that caliber on the heel side, the WWE may decide that keeping the title around Barrett's waist is the right move for now. The fact that the match is on the pre-show could also make it more likely that Barrett retains as one would think that the WWE would put a title change on the main card.

Jack Swagger (+250)

There is no doubt that the feud between world heavyweight champion Alberto Del Rio and Jack Swagger has cooled down in recent weeks after a hot start, but there is still a lot of excitement present ahead of their WrestleMania showdown. On a card where so many matches seem to be predictable, this one could potentially go either way. Despite that, Del Rio is a -400 favorite. That seems awfully steep for a stale champion who has essentially fallen flat.

That isn't to say that Swagger would necessarily be a better champion, but at least he has a defined character and a great mouthpiece in the form of Zeb Colter. The WWE is probably happy with the fact that Del Rio has captivated the Latino audience, but a change should still be in order. Whether that means Del Rio loses the title to Swagger or Dolph Ziggler cashes in his Money in the Bank contract on Del Rio remains to be seen.

With so many people expecting a cash-in, though, the WWE can easily wait a little longer on that front. Of the 10 matches that are currently on the card, eight of them have faces favored to win. It isn't uncommon for faces to win more matches, particularly at 'Mania, but that ratio is too unbalanced. Some upsets are going to happen on the heel side and Swagger is among the best bets in that regard.

Brock Lesnar (+275)

When Brock Lesnar defeated Triple H at SummerSlam and The Game contemplated retirement, most fans realized that Triple H would eventually return for revenge. That is precisely what happened as he prevented Lesnar from attacking Vince McMahon and laid down a WrestleMania challenge. Lesnar and Paul Heyman accepted on the condition that they select the stipulations. Heyman decided to make the match No Holds Barred, but also stated that if Triple H loses, then he must retire.

Triple H was already expected to win in order to make up for his SummerSlam defeat, and it can be argued that the retirement stipulation makes a victory even more likely. At the same time, Triple H only wrestles a couple times per year at most, so a loss in this match would give the WWE an excuse to keep him off television. Losing a retirement match doesn't mean that somebody actually has to retire, so Lesnar has a fighting chance in this one.

Also, Shawn Michaels will be in Triple H's corner. That may seem like a plus in Triple H's favor, but with a card that is shaping up to be predictable, the WWE could very easily have HBK cost Triple H the match either purposely or inadvertently. If that happens, then a match between Triple H and Michaels could potentially take place at WrestleMania XXX, which is something that has been discussed among fans lately. It may seem like a long shot, but +275 is a pretty nice line for Lesnar.

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter and listen to him on Ring Rust Radio.