It's that time of year again. The time to help you make bank by betting on something with predetermined outcomes. Lukewarm Jonah has joined me to give you everything you need to know about betting on the Royal Rumble. And we even included our surprise entrants at the end so you could impress all of your friends with how you see the bigger picture when it comes to the wrestling world. In the words of DX's theme music, let's "Break it down."
WWE Universal Championship Match
Brock Lesnar: 3/10
Braun Strowman: 2/1
Kane: 10/1
LJ: This outcome is pretty obvious and the odds show it. Lesnar is going to win here so he can be defeated by Roman Reigns at Wrestlemania and Reigns can have his what 4th or 5th big win moment. I think Strowman actually has Kane down and beat when Triple H runs in and attacks Strowman. Stephanie rehired Strowman, and they kept asking on commentary “Who can stop Braun Strowman?” For some reason the answer to that question is always Triple H. Plus Triple H caught those hands at Survivor Series with no follow up. I think it’s coming and it’s their way of keeping Strowman strong while not winning the match.
Since this bet is really easy I’m going to go into my Vic Venom mode and fantasy book. What should happen is that Strowman should pin Kane. Lesnar keeps his aura of invincibility so that Reigns still gets the rub from beating Lesnar at Wrestlemania, but the match doesn’t need the title. It’s big enough to be one of the main events, but it doesn’t need to be the main event, as in the last match of the night. If that happens that will be four years straight for Reigns and it won’t win him any fans. You set up the match like the Lesnar vs. Undertaker match was set up. Lesnar comes out looking for his Universal Title rematch when Reigns comes down and attacks him. It worked fine when The Undertaker did it, and it will work fine for Reigns. The match should actually be good, as was their first match. They fight at Wrestlemania, Reigns kicks out of the F5 which has been so protected over the past year that even Braun Strowman didn’t kick out of it. He gets the win and by not going on last, he doesn’t get boos rained down upon him.
Joe: When I first thought about this match, I thought that maybe Strowman could win since it’s not like they have anybody that can give him a challenge, but then you reminded me that Triple H is the toughest, coolest, most awesome, super sweet, suck it dude in the whole universe. Braun may have hands like sledgehammers, but Triple H has an ACTUAL sledgehammer, so he will probably retire Strowman.
That means it’s down to Brock Lesnar or Kane. I could see this match going either wa, hahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahaha, no, I can’t. Brock Lesnar definitely wins.
Men’s Royal Rumble:
Shinsuke Nakamura
7/5
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Kurt Angle
50/1
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Big Show
100/1
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Roman Reigns
9/4
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Big Cass
50/1
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Jake "The Snake" Roberts
100/1
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Dolph Ziggler
4/1
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The Rock
50/1
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Johnny Gargano
100/1
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John Cena
4/1
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Shelton Benjamin
50/1
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Scott Dawson
100/1
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Braun Strowman
5/1
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Eric Young
50/1
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Dash Wilder
100/1
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Daniel Bryan
5/1
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Triple H
50/1
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Tommaso Ciampa
100/1
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Finn Balor
7/1
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Chad Gable
50/1
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Heath Slater
150/1
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Randy Orton
10/1
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Dean Ambrose
50/1
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John Morrison
150/1
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Baron Corbin
10/1
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Karl Anderson
66/1
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Bo Dallas
150/1
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Seth Rollins
16/1
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Luke Gallows
66/1
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Curtis Axel
150/1
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AJ Styles
16/1
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Shane McMahon
66/1
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Bubba Ray
150/1
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Sami Zayn
18/1
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Killian Dain
66/1
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Sin Cara
150/1
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Kevin Owens
18/1
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CM Punk
66/1
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Kalisto
150/1
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Batista
20/1
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Kassius Ohno
66/1
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Goldust
150/1
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Bobby Roode
20/1
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Apollo Crews
66/1
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No Way Jose
150/1
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Samoa Joe
25/1
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Eric Rowan
66/1
|
R-Truth
150/1
|
Bray Wyatt
25/1
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Enzo Amore
66/1
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Jey Uso
150/1
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Rusev
25/1
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Mojo Rawley
66/1
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Jimmy Uso
150/1
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Jinder Mahal
25/1
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Luke Harper
66/1
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Fandango
150/1
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Matt Hardy
33/1
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Neville
80/1
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Stone Cold Steve Austin
150/1
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Jeff Hardy
33/1
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Kane
80/1
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Alberto Del Rio
200/1
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Brock Lesnar
33/1
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Tyler Bates
80/1
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Jerry Lawler
200/1
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Jason Jordan
33/1
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Tyler Breeze
80/1
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Shaquille O'Neal
200/1
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Chris Jericho
33/1
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Brian Kendrick
80/1
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Billy Gunn
200/1
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The Miz
35/1
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TJ Perkins
80/1
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Hulk Hogan
200/1
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Big E
35/1
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Pete Dunne
80/1
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Kevin Nash
200/1
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Sheamus
40/1
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Zack Ryder
80/1
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James Ellsworth
200/1
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Kofi Kingston
40/1
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Shawn Michaels
80/1
|
Darren Young
200/1
|
Goldberg
40/1
|
Hideo Itami
80/1
|
Carlito
225/1
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Undertaker
40/1
|
Tye Dilinger
80/1
|
Vin Diesel
250/1
|
Elias
40/1
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Titus O'Neil
80/1
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Rhyno
250/1
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Cesaro
40/1
|
Conor McGregor
100/1
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Floyd Mayweather
400/1
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Kenny Omega
40/1
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Ryback
100/1
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Donald Trump
750/1
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Roderick Strong
50/1
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Jack Gallagher
100/1
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Barack Obama
1000/1
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LJ: Huge shock for me here, with Reigns not the odds on favorite. If for some reason Reigns doesn’t win, you have to assume a Smackdown guy will win and it looks like the favorite is Nakamura to take on, presumably, AJ Styles at Wrestlemania. That is a dream match and it would be pretty awesome. Roman getting better than 2 to 1 odds when it’s pretty clear he’s going to be fighting Brock Lesnar for the Universal Title at Wrestlemania is pretty insane.
I’m going to take a look at a few more interesting bets before I make my official pick. First of all, Dolph Ziggler at 4 to 1? No idea how he has the same odds as John Cena. Cena is an interesting option because he’s the “free agent” John Cena so if he won there would be some drama as to which champion he was going to choose which the WWE might want to explore. I’m about 99% sure Daniel Bryan won’t ever be wrestling in the WWE again, so I need 100 to 1 to make that bet make sense.
Finn Balor with the newly reunited Balor Club is interesting at 7 to 1, but I feel like Lesnar has to drop the title for anyone from RAW to win who’s not Roman Reigns. The story is the same for Seth Rollins at 16 to win, if anyone from RAW wins it almost has to be Reigns unless Brock drops the title in the triple threat. Beyond that there’s Sami and Kevin at 18 to 1, either of which could face AJ Styles at Wrestlemania in a good title match but they’ll probably be doing something stupid with Shane McMahon.
Chris Jericho at 33 to 1 is somewhat interesting since he’s going to be back for RAW’s 25th anniversary so he should be in the Rumble. For a really long shot, how about CM Punk at 66/1. If Punk ever comes back it’s for the Wrestlemania main event he never got, and he could want to come back and wrestle AJ Styles for another dream match. They could put it on last, give Punk his main event, and possibly save Roman from some hate.
Finally my pick, it’s super boring but at least it’s not the odds on favorite. I’m picking Roman Reigns. We are all but assured he’s fighting Lesnar for the Universal Title at Wrestlemania, so if you know the guy is going to be fighting for a World Title, might as well pick him to win the match that guarantees it will happen. Plus, at 9/2 the odds are just too good to ignore their golden boy winning.
Now what should happen is that Lesnar drops the title like I wrote about in my previous fantasy booking. Reigns is tied up with him at Wrestlemania which opens up the entire field to some interesting possibilities. It may sound a little crazy, but I’d have John Cena win and challenge the new Universal Champion Braun Strowman. Cena can put Strowman over in the main event of Wrestlemania cementing him as a main eventer. Once Reigns beats Lesnar then you can have those four guys feud with each other for the next few months, creating a stacked main event scene that people will be interested in.
Joe: The two matches we have been hearing about for WrestleMania seem to be Lesnar/Reigns and Styles/Nakamura, so I can see why Nakamura is favored and that is why he is my pick. I mean, the Royal Rumble has not been well received in years. The last time that I think a majority of fans were happy about a Rumble winner was 2010 with Edge. The last five years have been Cena, Batista, Reigns, Triple H, and Randy Orton. I think it’s time that a fan favorite takes it, and what better way than to have Nakamura take it here.
For the interesting longshots, I’ll pick a mild underdog, a medium dog, a longshot, and a super longshot to make things interesting. For the mild underdog, let’s go for Rusev at 25/1. This doesn’t really have a shot in hell of happening, but I love Rusev and the world is starting to understand that they should also love Rusev. So let’s love Rusev together in the main event of WrestleMania.
For my medium underdog, I’ll go with Big E. He’s been dynamite for years in the New Day, and this is the perfect way to bust him out of the team atmosphere and let him take on the world as a singles competitor. And this just came to mind, but my two picks would be two of the most delightful options to appear on The Today Show the morning after WrestleMania, so either way, we should probably make that happen.
For my longshot, let’s go with Kenny Omega. This won’t happen, but let me make the case for how it could. Word has it that he re-upped with New Japan for another year, but could this just be a fantastic swerve to make a truly shocking appearance? There is the issue that his current contract doesn’t end until the end of January, but maybe NJPW and WWE have a working relationship after the Jericho thing where he could come back and drop his title after winning the Royal Rumble. Good God, could you imagine him against Brock Lesnar? Keep imagining, because despite what I laid out, it’s definitely not happening.
For my super longshot, I’ll go off the board and reveal one of my surprise entrants for the Royal Rumble, Rey Mysterio Jr. His contract with Lucha Underground is over, and although there was word that WWE was not interested in bringing him back, that seems like it could just be a ploy to make his return a surprise. He was once booed as the 30th entrant in the Rumble, but he could make a pretty triumphant return as this year’s 30th entrant with what I would expect to be a huge pop, even in a crowd full of haters like Philadelphia.
Women’s Royal Rumble:
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|
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Asuka
11/8
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AJ Lee
25/1
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Carmella
33/1
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Ronda Rousey
2/1
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Trish Stratus
25/1
|
Maria Menounos
33/1
|
Becky Lynch
6/1
|
Brie Bella
25/1
|
Tamina
33/1
|
Nia Jax
8/1
|
Lita
25/1
|
Nikki Cross
33/1
|
Nikki Bella
10/1
|
Natalya
25/1
|
Michelle McCool
33/1
|
Sasha Banks
14/1
|
Beth Phoenix
25/1
|
Ruby Riott
33/1
|
Charlotte Flair
14/1
|
Mickie James
33/1
|
Peyton Royce
33/1
|
Bayley
16/1
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Lana
33/1
|
Billie Kay
33/1
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Naomi
18/1
|
Ember Moon
33/1
|
Alicia Fox
40/1
|
Stephanie McMahon
20/1
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Stacy Keibler
33/1
|
Torrie Wilson
50/1
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Alexa Bliss
20/1
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Kairi Sane
33/1
|
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LJ: The Women’s Royal Rumble, the historic first Women’s Royal Rumble. This is interesting and it should be fun to pick. Not surprisingly Asuka is the favorite to win here. She’s undefeated, but I’m not sure whether a battle royal actually would count as a loss for her. So the question is, does the WWE do the obvious thing and have her win and have her be crowned at Wrestlemania, or do they go with someone else?
Who else is interesting on here? Let’s see, well Ronda Rousey not officially on the roster is the next best odds that’s pretty interesting. If they bring in Rousey, she’s going to be a huge deal immediately. Becky Lynch is one of my favorites and a 4 to 1 bet. Sasha Banks is 14 to 1 and Bayley is 16 to 1. Pretty nice odds for the non champion horsewomen.
If we’re going for the long shots, Natalya was champ not that long ago and is 25 to 1. Ruby Riott is 33 to 1, and if they actually want one of the groups of new women’s wrestlers to make an impact, winning the Rumble is a great way to do it.
I really like to make interesting picks, but maybe the WWE has just gotten too predictable. I have to take Asuka at 11 to 8. Getting better than even money on the person who is undefeated and pinned the RAW women’s champion a couple of weeks ago is way too good of a bet to ignore.
Now what should happen is that either Becky Lynch or Bayley should win the Rumble. Two absolute workhorses in the women’s division who have been relatively ignored as of late. At least Lynch is still booked somewhat respectable, so I would have Bayley win it. Her credibility is immediately rebuilt, and she can defeat Alexa Bliss who made her look stupid for their entire feud on the biggest stage of them all.
Joe: Asuka would seem like the obvious pick, but considering that I already picked Shinsuke Nakamura, I have my doubts that they are going to have two Japanese winners this year. Asuka has the longest undefeated streak ever, so we are kind of past the point where this thing needs to continue. She has to lose eventually, and it’s pretty easy to not count this as a loss, even if you do want to keep playing up the undefeated streak, so I’ll say that she is unable to get the win in this one.
That means that I am going with The Boss, Sasha Banks. I mean, when it comes down to it, let’s just go with the best, and Sasha still has the best history of matches of anyone in the history of the WWE. Then, instead of taking on Asuka or Alexa Bliss, she uses her title opportunity to join Smackdown and go after Charlotte one more time. We know those two can put on an incredible match, and them one-on-one at WrestleMania could lead to their best match yet.
The other person I see who has a great chance is Becky Lynch. They have been giving her more of a push lately, so things might be lining up for her to win the Rumble and challenge Charlotte. Let’s face it, the women’s division on Smackdown is just Charlotte, Becky, and Naomi, because I’m not quite ready to count anyone in The Riott Squad since their alliance makes absolutely zero sense. Why not give Becky a big WrestleMania match where her and Charlotte should be able to put on a good show?
For a longshot, let’s go with Trish Stratus. Why? Because it’s Trish Stratus, and I will always pick Trish to win anything, even if it makes zero sense.
For another longshot, I’ll go with Peyton Royce. The Iconic Duo doesn’t really have anything to do in NXT, so this would be a good time to bring them up. Royce is clearly the star of the group, and The Iconic Duo could be a formidable combo to threaten for Charlotte’s title. It’d be tough to build it as a big match, but Peyton can go, so there are far worse ways for this match to end.
Alright, let’s move onto the important stuff. Jonah, who do you got for surprises?
LJ: I’ve got lots of surprises in mind. The Rumble is in Philly, so I’ve got to get a few ECW guys in the Rumble. I’m thinking at least the Dudleys and RVD, but Tommy Dreamer, The Sandman and even Sabu are options as well. I think Killian Dain is the NXT guy in the match. Hopefully Mae Young competitor and friend of The Jonah Show Jazzy Gabbert makes her way back for the women’s Royal Rumble. She’s an intimidating presence and would make a fantastic addition. Kelly Kelly is treated like a big deal for some reason, so let’s say she returns in the women’s Rumble too. I’ll say Mia Yim and Laurel Van Ness make their debuts in the Rumble too, they need a lot of people in that women’s Rumble.
Now for the big surprises that probably won’t happen but I really hope they do. There’s a legend of the WWE who lives in Philadelphia and is still in incredible shape. His name is Steve Blackman and I want him in the Rumble.
I also hope Pentagon Jr. and Fenix make their debut in the Royal Rumble and Pentagon breaks everyone’s arm while yelling cero miedo.
Maybe CJ Parker comes back after his successful stint as Juice Robinson and has a successful Rumble.
Finally, it doesn’t make any sense and I’m pretty sure he’s under contract but The Villain Marty Scrull makes his debut and tears it up in the Rumble. Umbrellas and plague masks for all.
Joe: I’d have to say that I’d pop the biggest for a Steve Blackman return. They could even get Al Snow and reunite Head Cheese. That would be a total waste of Rumble spots, but I’d enjoy the stupidity of it all.
I’ve got a whole lot of surprises that I could see happening at the Rumble. I already mentioned Rey Mysterio Jr. and Kenny Omega, and I do honestly think Trish Stratus and/or Lita will show up at some point, but beyond that I’ve got five more surprises that I’ll rank in order of likelihood.
5. Ricochet/Prince Puma - Probably not happening as I see him making his initial impact in NXT.
4. Norman Smiley - A surprising legend is always out there, and who better than one of the top coaches at the Performance Center? He’ll likely be up there for the NXT show the night before, so let’s get Screamin’ Norman Smiley his Royal Rumble moment.
3. Bobby Lashley - I’m pretty sure he’s done with TNA, but I kind of doubt they use him as a surprise entrant in Philadelphia, because he’s the type of guy that a Philly crowd could definitely boo out of a building. Of course, maybe that’s reason to bring him in here.
2. Ethan Carter III - No idea if he’ll go back to Derrick Bateman, but I kind of doubt he will keep the gimmick of Dixie Carter’s nephew although that would be hilarious. No matter what the gimmick is, this is the kind of guy that will get a huge pop from the Philly crowd, and he’ll be excellent on Smackdown where he can interact with his old friend Daniel Bryan and possibly break up the relationship between John Cena and Nikki Bella, because DB and DB are destined to become brothers-in-law.
1. Sable - A pretty shocking choice but one that makes a ton of sense when you think about it. Her husband, Brock Lesnar, is already going to be there, and it’s not like Sable really wants to wrestle again. Here, she can show up, get a huge pop, and get eliminated in about five minutes. It’s basically the best way to feed an ego without any real sacrifice.
Jonah, although a lot of the matches don’t have odds out yet, is there anything else you wanted to highlight on the card?
LJ: The 2 out of 3 falls match between the Usos and Gable and Benjamin has a chance to steal the show. I’ll say Gable and Benjamin win, since the Usos don’t really need the titles, they’re plenty over as it is. Also, can I just say I love Daniel Bryan’s gimmick of being highly suggestable? I think I’m going to show up on Smackdown and say I should be employed and have him immediately hire me.
I’ll pick The Bar to take back their titles from Jordan and Rollins, due to Jordan screw up. This can complete Jordan’s heel turn and he can feud with Rollins and or Reigns.
I’ll take AJ Styles to retain over Kevin and Sami, probably through some sort of commissioner/GM weirdness. AJ Styles is half of pretty much every dream match you can put on at Wrestlemania, so you’ve got to keep the title on him. My original thought was whoever pinned Styles would be the champ, so I thought it would lead to Kevin and Sami turning on each other, but apparently they’ll be co champions so Shane McMahon will just jump off the roof onto the both of them to cost them the match.
If The Miz doesn’t beat Roman Reigns on the RAW 25th anniversary, he will beat him here through nefarious means. Reigns can’t be holding onto the Intercontinental Championship while he chases Brock Lesnar and the Universal Championship.
Joe: I agree on the Smackdown title match, but I say that The New Shield retains their titles. But for a prediction down the line, if somebody on Raw wins the Royal Rumble, there is a 100% chance that Jason Jordan is going to challenge for the main event spot at WrestleMania. He's very good at just asking for stuff, because wrestlers almost always get what they ask for if they do it in the middle of the ring.
This handicap match makes no sense, but I say that Zayn and Owens win the title here. Co-champions would be incredibly confusing, but they can solve the issue next month at Elimination Chamber where Styles wins back his belt.
There will probably be some women's matches, but nothing seems set in stone, and let's face it, we all only really care about the Royal Rumbles themselves. This event gets me amped up every year, and even a bad Rumble is still pretty great. They have two chances to get this one right so they're bound to get one right, right?...Right?
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