The road to Wrestlemania 33 begins in earnest this Sunday when 30 superstars battle it out for a title shot at the WWE Royal Rumble 2017 in San Antonio. This year’s rumble match is one of the most unpredictable in recent memory, and Goldberg (+250) has been pegged as the favourite to win it all according to sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Goldberg has only had one match since his more than decade-long absence from a WWE ring, but the former WCW World Champion decimated Brock Lesnar in one minute and twenty-six seconds in that outing at Survivor Series in Toronto.
There are few wrestlers in the WWE that can go over Goldberg right now, but one of those is The Undertaker (+400).
There has been plenty of speculation surrounding ‘Taker, as fans keep pondering when the phenom will retire. At one point, many rumour mills were reporting that The Undertaker was set to face John Cena at Wrestlemania for the WWE Championship, making for a fitting end to his legendary career.
However, if the WWE thinks ‘Taker has more Wrestlemania events in him, they may hold off on him winning the rumble and getting the title shot.
Traditionally the rumble match is a stepping stone for newer talent to get their push toward the main event scene. This year, Samoa Joe (+550) fits that bill. Joe has not appeared on NXT since dropping the NXT title to Shinsuke Nakamura in December and could be a surprise entrant in the rumble match.
Reports suggest that the WWE is readying a big push for Joe once he appears and there is no bigger push than a title shot at Wrestlemania and no better place to start than the rumble.
Of course, you cannot talk about the Royal Rumble, or wrestling in general, right now without mentioning Kenny Omega (+5000). The Winnipeg native has not been seen since having one of the greatest matches in wrestling history against Kazuchika Okada and NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom 11.
The wrestling world is dying to see more of Omega and a surprise entrance in the rumble would mirror former Bullet Club leader AJ Styles’ welcoming to the WWE last year.
Finally, though Braun Strowman has seen his odds to win the match itself drop the past several weeks, the behemoth is still a massive -350 favourite on the odds to record the most eliminations. The former Wyatt Family enforcer has been making massive strides in the ring and it’s clear the WWE is high on him. The best way to build Strowman as a credible monster heel is to have him eliminate everyone in sight during the rumble.