WWE Rumors: ‘Royal Rumble’ 2017 Longshots To Win Or Even Enter The Ring Sunday Include Hulk Hogan, CM Punk, And President Trump
Sunday’s WWE Royal Rumble 2017 pay-per-view has brought one of the most exciting 30-man matches in recent history, due to the WWE continuing to add intrigue regarding the entrants and possible storylines heading forward. After this particular event, there are two more pay-per-view events for the Raw and SmackDown brands, which could bring about different champions for WrestleMania 33. With that said, the most fun beyond trying to pick the actual winner for Sunday’s Rumble match has been trying to guess who else will enter the ring with the remaining spots. Based on recent betting odds, there are some really off-the-wall considerations out there for some major longshots to enter the ring and even win the match itself.
While the past several years worth of Royal Rumble matches have been highly predictable, the latest installment has been anything but that. Ever since Bill Goldberg became the first entrant into the match just one night after Survivor Series 2016, it started up the WWE Royal Rumble rumors regarding who else would enter and who might win the matches. Brock Lesnar was the next to officially enter the match followed by a barrage of other stars. Among the biggest names to enter beyond “The Beast” and Goldberg were Chris Jericho, Braun Strowman, Dean Ambrose, Randy Orton, and of course, The Undertaker. Both Raw and SmackDown also had a few qualifier-type matches, yielding new entrants such as Sami Zayn and Mojo Rawley.
As of this report, there are more than one-third of the entrants named for the big match. That has left plenty of excitement about who else’s theme music will surprise fans once the buzzers sound on Sunday. By looking at some of the sports book’s betting odds, there are some interesting names listed to not only enter and win the match. These superstars and celebrities are major long shots to even get in the ring for the 30-man match, but still fun to contemplate.
One of the biggest long shots of them all over at 5Dimes is UFC superstar Conor McGregor. He currently holds betting odds of +45000 to win the Royal Rumble. McGregor is well known for his trash talk on social media or in interviews about the guys in the WWE not being for real. Some fans and analysts felt it may have been a work to get Conor into the WWE ring in the future. It just doesn’t seem like that moment is at the Royal Rumble.
NBA star Shaquille O’Neal is listed as a +30000 favorite to win the match, making him yet another longshot. Shaq was a surprise entrant at last year’s WrestleMania 32 Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal and got into it with Big Show for a bit. Both big men were eventually eliminated. They’re also due to lock up at WrestleMania 33 in Orlando in April. Shaq may once again be a surprise competitor, but certainly won’t be this Sunday’s winner.
Two legends of the wrestling world are also both long shots to head the ring and be the last man standing on Sunday. “The Icon” Sting and Hulk Hogan are both on the betting odds for Royal Rumble 2017 winners. Sting and Hogan each hold odds of +30000 to win at 5Dimes. The Hulkster is also 150-to-1 at Paddy Power. However, Hulk Hogan is reportedly going to be in Los Angeles this weekend, according to Wrestling Inc, while Sting suffered an injury in one of his few WWE matches that will keep him out of wrestling action. In an interesting related note, it’s been mentioned that Rey Mysterio doesn’t have any obligations this weekend, but as of this report, he’s not listed on odds to win yet.
It should also be noted that the Paddy Power sportsbook actually contains several other superstars listed among their top 20 favorites to win this year’s Royal Rumble who have yet to officially be named as competitors. They include Finn Balor (6-to-1), Samoa Joe (13-to-2), Seth Rollins (25-to-1), Kurt Angle (33-to-1), and Triple H (40-to-1). As fans saw on this past week’s Raw, Rollins lost his spot in the match due to Triple H’s entrance music and effects showing on stage which distracted him enough for Sami Zayn to defeat him. Zayn earned Rollins’ spot in the Rumble, but there’s been no word on if Triple H might enter the match too.
As Wrestling Inc mentioned in their roundup, Kurt Angle has recently said there is no way he’ll appear in the big match. For additional giggles, Batista and CM Punk are also listed with odds of 66-to-1 each. Fans are still keeping their fingers crossed for the latter of the two to make a crazy surprise return to the ring, but that seems bleak at the moment based on his continued pursuit of a mixed martial arts career. The former pro wrestler who called himself the “Best in the World” was last seen at the 2014 edition of the pay-per-view, starting out at No. 1 and lasting until one of the final four competitors when Kane took him out.
Paddy Power also contains some of the more outlandish potential longshot winners for this year’s match. They include Jerry Lawler at 150-to-1, Conor McGregor at 250-to-1, and Ronda Rousey at 400-to-1. However, three celebrity winners are the biggest longshots. Boxer Floyd Mayweather, former president Barack Obama, and current president Donald Trump each carry 1000-to-1 odds to win the Royal Rumble and headline WrestleMania. Mayweather and Trump have each been involved with WWE in the past, and it’s no secret that the new president is good friends with Vince McMahon.
The WrestleZone website even reported Trump’s potential payout of $1,000 on a one dollar wager if he won. Could Mr. McMahon and President Trump possibly be working out a major plan to get the president “more over” with a Universal Championship win against Roman Reigns at WrestleMania? It’s highly doubtful, but fun to imagine all the strange possibilities that could happen for this Sunday’s exciting event.
Wrestling fans, which former WWE star would get you most excited if they showed up at this year’s 30-man Rumble match?
[Featured Image by WWE]
