WWE Rumors: UK Superstar Could Enter ‘Royal Rumble 2018’ Match, Latest Odds Change For Champion
Over the past weekend, WWE rumors were sparked as a certain superstar was pulled from some independent show appearances. It’s now being reported that WWE’s United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne withdrew from the shows ahead of the upcoming Royal Rumble in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Based on that, plus an interesting Royal Rumble odds change, there is plenty of speculation going around as to whether or not Dunne might participate in the men’s match. There’s also a lot of buzz over a certain former WWE superstar making a huge return in the match, based on his odds movement at the sportsbook.
The recent rumors about Dunne caused his Royal Rumble odds to move over the weekend too. As WWE Leaks mentions in their report, Dunne went from 1 to 2 odds, to 4 to 11 odds at the Irish sportsbook Paddy Power. The site suggests that fans are placing bets on Dunne to appear in the match based on the news that came out this past weekend regarding his independent show schedule. However, it’s also being said that WWE may simply have wanted Dunne to be a part of the Royal Rumble weekend for other events since he is one of their champions.
With that said, it wouldn’t be a major surprise if WWE involves a few other champions in this exciting match. Other superstars on the odds list have been current WWE NXT Champion Andrade “Cien” Almas (4/6), and current New Japan Pro Wrestling IWGP United States Champion Kenny Omega (10/1). Of those, Almas seems more likely. Omega could participate based on any sort of arrangement he may have made with WWE or Chris Jericho before their match.
Including the WWE United Kingdom champion, Pete Dunne in the match would be a great way to have fans get more familiar with him, as he hasn’t been featured during too many of the main pay-per-views, yet. Dunne previously appeared in a match on WWE Raw where he took down the Cruiserweight champ Enzo. He’s also participated in a few NXT TakeOver pay-per-view events over the months.
In addition to Dunne, a former WWE superstar may be a surprise entrant, based on his recent job situation and betting odds to enter the Rumble. Ethan Carter III, who was known as Derrick Bateman back in his WWE and NXT days, has recently moved up the Paddy Power betting odds. “EC3” is currently a 1 to 3 favorite behind Chris Jericho (3/10), Kane (1/9), and Dolph Ziggler (1/9) for their chances to make an in-ring appearance for the Rumble. Fueling the speculation that Bateman (Carter) will be in the match is the fact he was spotted at the WWE Performance Center, according to FanSided.
Fans will get to see who all of the entrants for the Royal Rumble 2018 matches are this coming Sunday. The event is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. Eastern Time with WWE Network set to show the latest pay-per-view live streaming online.
