WWE Rumors: Goldberg Joins ‘Royal Rumble’ 2017 Match Favorites With Odds Boost

In the latest WWE rumors, Bill Goldberg made a huge announcement on WWE’s Monday Night Raw program just one night after defeating Brock Lesnar in under a minute and a half. The legendary wrestler discussed his future plans with the WWE and let it be known that last night’s Survivor Series appearance was not his final match within the company. That has fans speculating about his chances of winning a huge Royal Rumble match and claiming a championship again. The latest odds seem to reflect how good his chances have become to actually win the match.

According to ProWrestling.net in their WWE Raw results coverage, Goldberg kicked off the latest episode of the Raw television show in Toronto. During his speech, he thanked all the fans, his wife for putting up with him during his weeks of training, and his young son. Goldberg mentioned, “all good things must come to an end,” which drew “No” chants from an enthusiastic crowd. However, the 49-year-old superstar said he was confronted backstage by Stephanie McMahon in an interesting exchange.

Goldberg mentioned that Stephanie praised his return performance in the main event of Survivor Series 2016 against Brock Lesnar. She told him it was clear he had one more spear, jackhammer, and “a**-kicking” left in him. She questioned whether he also has “one more title run left” in him, and then said the road to the title will go through the Royal Rumble. Goldberg announced that he decided “everyone’s next” at the Royal Rumble in January.

"At the #RoyalRumble Match … EVERYONE is NEXT!" – @Goldberg #RAW pic.twitter.com/Gw5eFl9dZn

— WWE (@WWE) November 22, 2016

The big match features at least 30 superstars coming to the ring in timed intervals. Eliminations occur when a superstar is tossed out of the ring over the top rope. This continues until eventually, just one competitor remains as the Royal Rumble winner. Previous winners have included Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Shawn Michaels, John Cena, and Triple H. Goldberg has never won the match during his career.

Over the past decade or so, the Royal Rumble has become more than just a big match victory on a wrestler’s resume. It has carried with it a championship match at WrestleMania, which seems like it could be the story with Goldberg. In last year’s situation, the match was actually for the championship which Roman Reigns held at the time, but Triple H made a last moment elimination to win the title from him.

The latest edition of the pay-per-view comes in January 2017 from San Antonio, Texas. There will be two more “themed” PPVs ahead of it with SmackDown’s TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs followed by Raw’s Roadblock event in December. As of this report, it doesn’t appear that Goldberg will be a part of either one of those events, but that could still change.

After Goldberg’s quick victory in last night’s Survivor Series main event over Brock Lesnar, there were quickly rumors about what it all meant. Some fans were speculating he won quick due to an injury he suffered and the company not wanting to risk further injury. However, later reports started to come in that it wasn’t his final match, and in fact, the fan response to his return had been so positive that WWE decided to keep him on for a few more events.

With the latest announcement and his momentum shift after the quick win, the betting odds have also changed up. Goldberg got a huge boost into the top favorites to win the Royal Rumble match in January. Right now, his odds are sitting at 9 to 2 on the Paddy Power website’s listing of possible contenders. The favorite to win the match is still “The Demon” Finn Balor, who has been sidelined by an injury ever since winning the WWE Universal Championship at SummerSlam 2016. It’s unknown if he’ll be healthy enough to compete in the match, but one would have to think if he makes a surprise return that will probably be the time to go with it.

Among the other favorites to win the 2017 Rumble are John Cena and Seth Rollins at 5 to 1, as well as Brock Lesnar at 6 to 1. Roman Reigns is a 13 to 2 favorite right now with Chris Jericho at 7 to 1 odds. AJ Styles and Kevin Owens, the two current champions for the brands, are both listed at 8 to 1 odds to win the match, but if they’re still holding titles heading to the match, it seems to make little sense either would win.

With that said, it appears that Goldberg will be a part of the Royal Rumble 2017 pay-per-view, and then also compete at WrestleMania 33. Speculation right now is that he either wins the big match in San Antonio and goes on for a title shot, or somehow Brock Lesnar finds a way to cost Goldberg the match and then they meet again in a third bout. However, as of right now Goldberg has a 2-0 record over “The Beast,” so it seems to make very little sense for a third match in their series. Anything is possible within WWE, though.

WWE fans, do you think Goldberg is now the favorite to win the Royal Rumble? Will he win it, or will another superstar claim the huge win? What’s next for Goldberg after the Royal Rumble in January?

[Featured Image by WWE]