WWE SummerSlam 2016 Betting Preview: Balor, Ambrose, Lesnar Odds Favorites

The 29th edition of WWE SummerSlam will take place on Sunday night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, with the first-ever Universal Championship to be decided between two of wrestling’s biggest stars in Finn Balor and Seth Rollins.

Balor is listed as a solid -160 betting favorite (wager $160 to win $100) against Rollins, who is a +120 underdog at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark and may be a solid play for those bettors looking for value on the card.

The Universal Championship is a new heavyweight title exclusive to the Raw brand. Balor was the fifth overall pick in the 2016 WWE draft and earned the right to compete for the Universal Championship by defeating Roman Reigns after winning a four-way match over Rusev, Cesaro and Kevin Owens.

Rollins is a two-time WWE champion and was named Superstar of the Year for 2015.

The WWE World Championship will also be on the line in a match between current champ Dean Ambrose—the second-biggest favorite on the SummerSlam card—and challenger Dolph Ziggler. Ambrose is massive -700 chalk, with Ziggler checking in as the second-biggest underdog at +400.

WWE women’s champion Sasha Banks is the largest favorite of any wrestler at -1200 against Charlotte (+600) as they battle for the title belt. In addition, Rusev (-300) will take on Reigns (+200) for the WWE United States Championship, while Apollo Crews (-200) faces The Miz (+150) for the Intercontinental Championship. The Club (-250) will meet champions The New Day (+170) for the tag team title as well.

Five other matches will happen at SummerSlam, including the return of Brock Lesnar, who will be back in the ring versus Randy Orton following a brief hiatus to fight at UFC 200. 

Lesnar, the former UFC heavyweight champ, failed two drug tests after beating Mark Hunt via unanimous decision in the co-main event of mixed martial arts' biggest event of all time.

WWE still allowed him to come back despite the doping violation, and he is an extra-large -350 favorite here while Orton is listed as a +225 underdog.