Cena for the Universal Championship, perhaps with Taker's career on the line.Įven 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. 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. Brock Lesnar for the title at WrestleMania 33. Keep in mind that WWE switched the Universal Championship to Goldberg after Royal Rumble last year in order to get to Goldberg vs. The Undertaker is set for WrestleMania 34, you can never put anything past WWE when it comes to the booking of Cena. 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."Įven though reports indicate John Cena vs. 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. The Wrestling Observer Newsletterhas 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. 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. 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. 1 contender for the Universal Championship will be determined at Raw's Elimination Chamber pay-per-view next month. Reports have indicated that the Royal Rumble winner will come from SmackDown, likely due to speculation that the No. 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. 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. 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. Reigns, the winner of the 2015 Royal Rumble, was the clear frontrunner to win that bout as well. Similarly, Triple H emerged as the obvious betting favorite in 2016, and of course, wound up winning the bout. 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. 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.