WWE SummerSlam 2021 Odds, Preview, and Picks – Reigns Favored Against Cena in Universal Championship Match

By Graham "GSM" Matthews in Entertainment
Updated: August 23, 2021 at 6:51 am EDTPublished:

- WWE SummerSlam will emanate from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on August 21st, 2021
- The event will mark WWE’s most-attended event of the year with a star-studded card to boot
- Who do betting odds favor emerging victorious in each bout? See odds, analysis, and our best bets below
For the first time ever, WWE SummerSlam will occur live on a Saturday night, August 21st, and will be one of the most-attended installments to date at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. The company has brought back the big guns for the biggest party of the summer including John Cena, Edge, and Goldberg, and loaded the card with several marquee matchups.
From a WrestleMania rematch between Bianca Belair and Sasha Banks for the SmackDown Women’s Championship to John Cena chasing his record-breaking 17th world championship win against John Cena, it’s a star-studded card with plenty of potential on paper.
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Ahead of SummerSlam, let’s take a look at the favorites that will emerge victorious in the night’s four biggest bouts, according to the current betting odds.
WWE SummerSlam 2021 Odds
SmackDown Women’s Championship Match | Odds |
---|---|
Bianca Belair (c) | -200 |
Sasha Banks | +140 |
Singles Match | Odds |
Edge | -350 |
Seth Rollins | +225 |
WWE Championship Match | Odds |
Bobby Lashley (c) | -550 |
Goldberg | +325 |
Universal Championship Match | Odds |
Roman Reigns (c) | -400 |
John Cena | +300 |
All odds as of August 19
SmackDown Women’s Championship
Bianca Belair beat Sasha Banks for the SmackDown Women’s Championship in a fantastic main-event match at WrestleMania 37 and has been steamrolling through the competition ever since. She’s racked up multiple wins over Bayley, Carmella, and Zelina Vega but will face her toughest challenge to date in the form of a rematch with Banks at SummerSlam.

At -200 in the betting odds, Belair is favored to retain her title, but Banks regaining the gold might actually be the safer choice. If WWE wishes to prolong this program, and they almost have to given the lack of depth in that division right now, then Banks should pick up the win to put Belair back in chase mode and build to a rubber match sometime in the fall.
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Edge vs Rollins
This is a match seven years in the making dating back to when Rollins threatened Edge’s life during an angle on Raw in December 2014. Thus, vengeance will be on Edge’s mind come their first-ever one-on-one encounter at SummerSlam, not only for that but also for Rollins costing him the Universal Championship at Money in the Bank last month.

Edge is currently leading in the odds at -350 to Rollins’ +225, and rightfully so. Although Edge isn’t as much of a regular on the roster as Rollins is at this point in time, Edge has lost his last two matches on pay-per-view and is in need of a notable win. SummerSlam is the perfect place for that to happen.
WWE Championship
Bobby Lashley has been extremely dominant and arguably unstoppable since capturing the WWE Championship back in March. He’s another titleholder that has taken on all comers and has defeated each and every one of them, but Goldberg poses a bigger threat than them all.

The last WWE fans saw of Goldberg was when he failed to become champion against Drew McIntyre at the Royal Rumble. The idea of him suffering a third straight loss on pay-per-view (including his defeat at the hands of Braun Strowman at WrestleMania 36) is certainly strange, but it would also be asinine for Lashley’s reign to be cut short by someone who wrestles only two matches a year and has had his fair share of world title runs already.
Lashley has a significant edge over Goldberg in the odds at -550, though it’s entirely possible WWE swerves its fans, yet again with a Goldberg victory. Expect him to come close to unseating Lashley as champ only to fall short in the end.
Reigns vs Cena
One of the biggest bouts WWE could possibly do at the moment is Roman Reigns vs. John Cena, and it’s going down in the main event of this year’s SummerSlam. Cena came back at Money in the Bank following a long hiatus to challenge for Reigns’ Universal Championship and is aiming to walk out a record-setting 17-time WWE world champion.
Of course, Reigns plans to put an emphatic halt to Cena’s feel-good comeback tour by beating him decisively on Saturday night. The odds reflect Reigns’ promise to do so, with The Tribal Chief being favored at -400 to Cena’s +300.

Reigns winning is obviously the correct outcome as well as the best bet, but you can never be too sure with WWE’s unpredictable (and typically questionable) booking tactics. Cena might win only to lose it right back to Reigns in a few weeks on SmackDown or to Big E via a Money in the Bank cash-in directly afterward.
WWE has gotten this far with Reigns’ run as champ, having held it for almost exactly one year, and it would be foolish for them to end it now, especially at the hands of a part-time star such as Cena. Either way, it’s going to be a big fight feel in Sin City for this WrestleMania-worthy affair.

Sports & Entertainment Writer
Graham combined his love of pro wrestling with writing in 2010 when he started writing for Bleacher Report. He has since conducted interviews with WWE superstars like Chris Jericho, Adam "Edge" Copeland, Bill Goldberg, Jay "Christian" Reso, Diamond Dallas Page, and Jim Ross to name a few.