Recently, early online sports betting odds were released for the 2019 Men’s Money in the Bank ladder match and perhaps unsurprisingly, Drew McIntyre topped the list (+170).
McIntyre posted earlier this year on social media, now the 10 year anniversary of his Chosen One moniker, about “standing on the precipice of a prophecy fulfilled.” And while he’s been successful in his return to WWE and the main roster, McIntyre has yet to really break through in a meaningful way. For the most part, the Scottish Psychopath has taken part in various faction wars and six-man tag team matches, hinging on rivalries he’s had with some of the participants involved. But perhaps that prophecy is closer than anyone could have realized as while McIntyre has come up short in attempts to win a title over the past year, capturing the briefcase would all but guarantee he does just that.
“Standing on the precipice of a prophecy fulfilled” #RoyalRumble pic.twitter.com/CT9YJ7SBhn
— Drew McIntyre (@DMcIntyreWWE) January 23, 2019
McIntyre’s career with WWE began over a decade ago as in 2007, he joined Florida Championship Wrestling. Two years later, after winning the FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship once and the Florida Tag Team Championship twice, McIntyre was moved to SmackDown fulltime where he was given Vince McMahon‘s endorsement as a “future world champion,” and someone the chairman had personally signed for the brand. McIntyre found early success and preferential treatment as McMahon’s “chosen one” and by 2010, he was the Intercontinental Champion for what turned out to be the first and only time. From there, he went on to win the tag titles alongside Cody Rhodes as the Dashing Ones.
With McMahon’s influence no longer part of his character, McIntyre’s final four years in WWE were more a flicker than a flame. He moved to Raw in 2011 but was rarely used and in 2012 he was thrown into 3MB alongside Heath Slater and Jinder Mahal. In 2014, McIntyre was released from his contract. It turned out to be the best thing for him as the former Intercontinental Champion reinvented himself, becoming one of the earliest WWE superstars to depart and find fame and success on the independent circuit. McIntyre won 12 titles away from WWE including the EVOLVE Championship, ICW World Heavyweight Championship and TNA/IMPACT World Heavyweight Championship, which he did after cashing in a different kind of briefcase, perhaps foreshadowing what might happen on May 19th.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fir0vs_VIms
When McIntyre returned to WWE, joining NXT in 2017, he was a new man, one ready and equipped to finally lay claim to the destiny that was thrust upon him eight years earlier. It didn’t take long for McIntyre to rise to the top of the NXT ranks, winning the championship less than four months after his arrival. McIntyre held the title for 91 days, losing it to Andrade in November of that year. Just a few months later, after recovering from a torn bicep, McIntrye re-emerged a member of the Raw roster and aligned with Dolph Ziggler. The two won the tag team titles in September 2018, defeating the B-Team (Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel).
While McIntyre bit his tongue about being the better wrestler in the duo, he was also biding his time, and when the moment struck, he dropped Ziggler to return to the singles scene for the first time in nearly five years. But it’s been a rocky road as McIntyre has yet to really go off on his own, always backed by some kind of an alliance/faction. His moment, his true moment is still yet to come. Though perhaps, it could happen at Money in the Bank. Only four times in the 19-year history of the match has the winner not been successful in their cash-in and two of those times happened in the last two years. If McIntyre wins, it’s not likely WWE has the winner lose his cash-in for the third year in the row as that would start to defeat the purpose of the vaunted briefcase.
But first, McIntyre has to win, which won’t be an easy task. The field is an interesting one, full of past MITB participants, two former winners in Randy Orton (+1750) and Baron Corbin (+1250), and a slew of first-timers, including McIntrye himself, who despite spending most of his career with WWE, has yet to take part in the match.
Now, unlike any other form of online sports betting such as the NBA, MLB or NHL, all three of which you can bet now with PlaySugarHouse, WWE offers a known/scripted element. Normally, the online sports betting odds reflect that. However, more often than not, especially of late, the favorite at the time of the match, isn’t the one who takes home the case. In both 2016 and 2017, the odds were a year off as Dean Ambrose, favored in 2016, won the following year as did Baron Corbin, who was favored to win in 2017 but didn’t claim the case until 2018. In other years, like an RKO, the winner has come “outta nowhere.” Now, McIntyre being favored doesn’t mean he’s doomed as this was just the first set of odds released. It’s likely, as has been the case over the past few years, that these will change closer to the event itself as a better sense of where the stories are headed develops.
McMahon is also known for changing things last minute though, so if you do choose to bet on this or any other match, beware the 11th-hour booking change that could cost you some, well, money…in the bank.
