Final updates before royal rumble

I think so this year it would so so royal rumble.

WWE Royal Rumble 2018: Roman Reigns, Shinsuke Nakamura And The 5 Favorites
Blake Oestriecher, CONTRIBUTOR
Jan 28, 2018 5:00 AM 54
WWE Royal Rumble 2018 is highlighted by a star-studded 30-man battle royal that features John Cena, Roman Reigns, Finn Balor and a slew of the company’s biggest stars.

But will the 2018 Royal Rumble match be as predictable as recent ones have been? Over the past several years, the Royal Rumble winner has been rather obvious at least a week before the pay-per-view went on air. Last year, Randy Orton emerged as the clear-cut betting favorite and was the overwhelming favorite by the time the PPV began before he ultimately went on to win it. Similarly, Triple H emerged as the obvious betting favorite in 2016, and of course, wound up winning the bout. Reigns, the winner of the 2015 Royal Rumble, was the clear frontrunner to win that bout as well.

Not surprisingly, Batista went on to win the 2014 Royal Rumble after being established as the clear favorite while Cena was the runaway favorite to win the battle royal in 2013, which is exactly what he did. Thus, history suggests that one of the betting favorites will win the 2018 Royal Rumble and that it will probably be whoever has the best odds at the time of the PPV. That should automatically eliminate a number of guys who haven’t consistently hovered near the top of the odds, although it’s worth noting that the odds for several superstars, including stars like Seth Rollins and Braun Strowman, have been all over the place.

So, who will leave the 2018 Royal Rumble with a career-defining victory and a WrestleMania 34 title shot? Here are the five favorites, based on a mix of betting odds and news reports suggesting they are frontrunners

Randy Orton update

Reports have indicated that the Royal Rumble winner will come from SmackDown, likely due to speculation that the No. 1 contender for the Universal Championship will be determined at Raw’s Elimination Chamber pay-per-view next month.

If that is indeed the case, Randy Orton has to be considered one of the favorites for the blue brand as he currently has the 10th best odds to win the bout. That might surprise some considering that Orton won the Royal Rumble match just a year ago, but with the widespread speculation being that a SmackDown star is winning the Royal Rumble, there don’t appear to be a whole lot of realistic options who could win the 30-man battle royal.

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter has noted that Orton is one of the likeliest winners from SmackDown, in large part because he is yet to have a full-blown feud with AJ Styles, the current WWE Champion, and because WWE tends to focus heavily on him as a top star on SmackDown. What’s interesting, however, is that Orton will be working a reduced schedule early this year that essentially makes him a part-timer for the foreseeable future, so it’s unclear exactly how he will fit in on the road to WrestleMania 34.

Still, Orton is a very strong draw and has largely remained one of the top 10 favorites to win the match to set up what would be just his second match ever with Styles (assuming Styles also wins at Royal Rumble), so it’s certainly a big match worthy of a WrestleMania spot and wouldn’t be a shocker given the way WWE consistently highlights “The Viper.”

John Cena update

Even though reports indicate John Cena vs. The Undertaker is set for WrestleMania 34, you can never put anything past WWE when it comes to the booking of Cena.

Keep in mind that WWE switched the Universal Championship to Goldberg after Royal Rumble last year in order to get to Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar for the title at WrestleMania 33. Also keep in mind that Cena is one win away from his record-setting 17th world title win, so there are certainly some ingredients here that could do one of two things: Put Cena in a title match that isn’t against The Undertaker or do The Undertaker vs. Cena for the Universal Championship, perhaps with Taker’s career on the line.

Even if none of those things happen (and the latter seems much less likely), Cena is a known live event draw and still a big viewership hit, which is why he was the original betting favorite and has consistently been one of the top betting favorites to win the over-the-top battle royal. Although WWE seems to have plans penciled in for most of its top WrestleMania matches, the recent history of the Royal Rumble indicates that Cena should be considered one of the best bets to win the match until, well, he doesn’t.

Other than the 2015 Royal Rumble when Roman Reigns won the match, the bout has recently been dominated by stars who are now part-timers (Orton in 2017, Triple H in 2016, Batista in 2014 and Cena in 2013), meaning that the trend could continue this year. And if it does, it’s a safe bet that Cena would be the one who keeps it going.

Dolph Ziggle updated

If you’re looking for a deserving superstar who could actually win the Royal Rumble, look no further than Dolph Ziggler. Yes, seriously.

Ziggler may not seem like an obvious candidate to win the bout, but it would fit perfectly with his current storyline in which he relinquished the United States Championship and “walked out of WWE” because he felt like like the fans did not appreciate him. That may just be a way to reinvent his character, but it could indeed serve as a means to get Ziggler back to the main event and to, believe it or not, his first-ever singles match at WrestleMania 33.

The bottom line is that WWE business peaks at WrestleMania no matter what matches are on the show because, well, simply because it’s WrestleMania, so even though Ziggler vs. Styles (or whoever else he might face) doesn’t sound like a huge ‘Mania match, the bottom line is that it doesn’t really matter. WrestleMania is one of the most valuable brands in sports, worth an estimated $195 million according to FORBES, and Ziggler in a world title match won’t negatively affect that, especially when there may be a handful of bigger matches on the card anyway.

“The Showoff” has teased that he could legitimately leave WWE in the near future. Therefore, his current hiatus may be leading to his eventual departure. Perhaps, though, it could be a major swerve to set up for a career-defining win for Ziggler, one that could potentially result in a show-stealing match at WrestleMania 34.