Royal Rumble Royal Rumble 2018: Current Favorites

[Solidus1]

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I'm taking a look at the latest betting odds for the Rumble, and here are the top 8 favorites right now.

John Cena @ 9/4
Roman Reigns @ 5/2
Shinsuke Nakamura @ 11/4
AJ Styles @ 5/1
Seth Rollins @ 8/1
Braun Strowman @ 10/1
Bobby Roode @ 10/1
Samoa Joe @ 12/1

Do you want any of these guys to win? If not, who?

 

[Solid Snake]

I wouldn't mind Roode winning to start the year of strong.

 

[bullyballmm]

I don't know who y'all want but I want Darren.

lol but seriously I want Cena to win to get AJ/Cena at Wrestlemania for the title

 

[Grievous 3D]

Shinsuke Nakamura @ 11/4

Nakamura please...

Styles vs. Nakamura for the World title at Wrestlemania please...

 

[Prince Bálor]

The Rumble's in Philly, so it's going to be hilarious if Cena or Roman win.

I wouldn't mind either of the two winning, but if they do win, the 2015 Royal Rumble scenario is going to be inevitable, where the winner is booed out of the building.

Anyways, as for who I see coming out victorious, it's gotta be Roman, Nakamura or even Cena.

 

[SWL]

so in my eyes it's definitely gonna be a Smackdown guy because Raw has the Elimination Chamber where the winner can challenge for Brock's title. So either they do a switcheroo and have Styles lose the title at the Rumble but then win the Royal Rumble match anyways or they just go with Nakamura, which is still unlikely to me as they haven't done much with him, but those are the 2 in my head. I'm not feeling Roode, but maybe I will if they're willing to turn him heel for a program with Styles.

Another, a bit more complicated, way of doing this would be to have a shake up before Mania. So that a Raw guy can win the Rumble but then go over to Smackdown and challenge Styles instead of Lesnar. Someone like Joe would perfectly fit into that. Would also get people talking because the title picture wouldn't be clear at first. After the Rumble you can have Joe go over to Smackdown, challenge Styles and Angle can, in kayfabe, set up the EC #1 contenders match so replace their Rumble winner, which Reigns can win.
This is more of an idea, and probably something they won't do, but I used to love the ability of the Rumble winner to actually choose the champion he wants to challenge. Like when Taker stood in the ring with current world champs Bobby Lashley, Cena and Batista to ultimately choose the obvious Batista, but still.. the fact that there's a slight possibility that he could have picked Cena was pretty sick

 

[TheprofileofJericho]

Ok here are some of my thoughts and theories. First of all, I think its safe to assume that the winner will be a Smackdown guy. Reason being that Raw has the Chamber PPV, and since Brock wont be defending the title that night, the chamber match will be a number one contenders match for the Universal title. This way Roman gets his first Chamber victory, and he goes on to main event Wrestlemania against Brock, so its actually quite a nice setup. Now, as far as the Rumble match winner, I have 4 people in mind.

1. Nakamura : It is no secret that Nakamura vs Styles is a dream match that everyone wants to see. I mean just look at the reaction they got in the MiTB match, the crowd went nuts (and that was just a stare down). Now imagine giving them a world title match on Wrestlemaina, it would go down in history as one of Wrestlemanias most memorable and greatest matches ever, without a shadow of a doubt. This, in my opinion is the most logical and safest decision they can go with, I mean as far as Wrestlemania dream matches go, it doesn't get any bigger then this one. The biggest problem here is Vince,and if he is willing to give a Rumble match victory to a guy like Nakamura. Hopefully he will see the massive potential that this match has, and give the green light to Nakamura.

2. Either Kevin Owens or Sami Zayn :The idea here would be to have 1 of them win the rumble and the other being the champion going into Wrestlemania. So who would win the Rumble? Well the same thing I said about Nakamura winning applies to Sami, in fact even more so. I just don't see Vince letting a guy like Sami win the Rumble match. On the other hand, I can definitely see Owens winning, even though I would prefer it, story line wise if Sami won the Rumble, and Owens beat Styles for the title. So Owens wins the rumble while Sami is the next challenger for AJ Styles, at Fastlane. Owens promises Sami to help him win, which he does, screwing AJ out of the title, and setting up a match between the two best friends at Wrestlemania for the WWE title. Now just as Owens and Zayn think they got the match that they always dreamed about, out comes Shane to screw it all up, adding AJ to the match and making it a triple threat. This a perfect way for Shane to finally get payback at the two, messing up their Wrestlemaina dream match. It also makes sense to add Styles to the match, since he was screwed out of the title. In the end, Owens wins the title screwing Sami in the match yet again, setting up a feud between the two for the months to come. This is how I see WWE doing it. I would do it a little bit different, like i said having Sami win the rumble, and Owens the title. Everything else would remain the same, Owens screws Zayn in the match retaining the title. Then a baby face Sami Zayn starts building momentum in the following months, all leading to a one on one match against Owens at Summerslam, where he finally wins the WWE Championship.

3. John Cena :Simply because I don't see him doing anything else at Wrestlamania. And yes while another Cena Styles match would be cool, there are a lot of better options. Also I really don't want to see Cena winning the rumble, especially because Orton won it last year, and Triple H the year before. Its time for someone younger (that isn't Roman Reigns) to win it.

 

[Rosie]

I believe it'll be a Smackdown guy winning again this year, so looks like Nakamura, Bobby Roode, and, if AJ drops the strap, him. I personally wouldn't mind Nakamura so they can undo the terrible stuff with Jinder, and if he faces AJ going into Mania, even as a face vs face rivalry, AJ can carry him on the mic in the build as he's improved greatly.

 

[JBan]

Dolph Ziggler. Enough said.

 

[Randy Borton]

Most likely gonna be Reigns.

Would be cool to see Kevin Owens win it. KO vs AJ sounds good to me.

 

[SWL]

so, I was just thinking about Cena winning the Rumble, and honestly, it wouldn't be too fucked up to have him win it a 3rd time because Cena vs Styles is one of WWE's most successful feuds over the past couple of years. Every match they've had was a banger, with their last one even being the unquestionable match of the year for WWE programming. Cena winning the Rumble again doesn't sound all that exciting when you look at it but it totally makes sense from a story standpoint. Styles won their first clean encounter at Summerslam, Cena at the Rumble and now they'd have their last big rubber match at WrestleMania. It's almost like getting Cena vs Punk at a Mania, it just feels right to me.

I'd be the first person to complain about someone repeatedly winning the Rumble, as I also see the Rumble as an amazing tool to create a new main event talent, but this is John Cena. The man's been the face of the company for over a decade and people legitimately start to love the guy. Stone Cold won the Rumble 3 times over the span 5 years of being on top, just to put things into perspective, so there's nothing unethical to it either imo.

With that being said, John Cena is my new favorite to win the Royal Rumble match. I'd also mark the fuck out for a newer guy winning it, but damn.. Styles vs Cena for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania just sounds worthy, doesn't it?

 

[Mr. Roman Empire]

Its gonna be Cena. Judging by how the last few Royal Rumbles have been, WWE isnt gonna pull any surprises and give the win to somebody that isn't Cena or Reigns. The never use the Rumble anymore to push talent that could use the win. Peoole are dreaming if they believe like Nakamura is gonna win. No its gonna be Cena so he can become 17 time World Champion at Wrestlemania. Its the set up for such a huge historical match at the grandest stage of them all, its obvious that Cena will win. Reigns vs Lesnar will still happen but Cena will take the Rumble Victory. We've seen Reigns vs Lesnar and Cena vs Styles already but those matches never dissapoint and those are easily the top 4 guys in the company right now in their own right so it just makes sense

 

[WholeFN'Moe]

I think there are only 2 options but WWE never goes with the guy who SHOULD win

Should have been Jericho last year...

That was his year, would have put him over the top as the superstar he is... would have settled for the unpredictible Zayn but...

This year I think the only 3 options barring a CM Punk return is..

AJ Styles
Sami Zayn
Braun Strowman

But again knowing WWE, it could be

Cena,
Reigns,
Jinder or Brock

so Roman can get his rub.... because lord knows that will help him at this point

 

[Solidus1]

Updated odds.

Roman Reigns @ 5/2
John Cena @ 11/4
Shinsuke Nakamura @ 11/4

and the others are way behind.

 

[Crash]

I think Cena or Roman are going win, but I'd like someone like Nakamura winning.