It’s tough to argue against the idea that the Royal Rumble is the single most-anticipated match every year in the pro wrestling world. This year, that anticipation will get dialed up 100 percent, as for the first time ever, the women of WWE will also participate in their own, second Royal Rumble match at the sure-to-be-six-hour-long pay-per-view on January 28.
The Universal Championship match at Royal Rumble may be profoundly underwhelming, and there’s a 100 percent chance that Brock Lesnar will retain his title in that bout, but there are at least plenty of other things you’ll be able to bet on at the Rumble!
And I’m not just talking about the standard Rumble drawing and pool you probably play with your friends, either. I’m talking about honest-to-god sports betting on professional wrestling. A thing you can do in the year 2017!
Sports betting website Paddy Power appears to be the first bookmaker to post odds on the two Rumble matches, or at least one of the first. Based on the lines that they’re showing so far, it looks like there isn’t a lot of informed guesswork in these odds, but you never know. You never know.
For the men’s Royal Rumble match, here are the current favorites to win:
John Cena: 9/4
Roman Reigns: 5/2
Shinsuke Nakamura: 11/4
AJ Styles: 5/1
Seth Rollins: 8/1
It’s 2017 and the opening betting favorite to win the Royal Rumble is John Cena. Same as it ever was.
And over on the women’s side, the lines have popped up from several other betting sites (and notably, NOT from Paddy Power). It looks like people have been reading internet rumors, based on these odds. (Reminder that a minus sign indicates a favorite, and a plus sign indicates an underdog.)
Ronda Rousey: -111
Asuka: +200
Nia Jax: +500
Becky Lynch: +500
Paige: +750
Upon further review and after crunching the numbers, we can determine with absolute certainty —
[adjusts green visor]
[pulls arm on adding machine]
— that you would have to be some sort of degenerate maniac to put serious money on anyone to win the Royal Rumble this early. Thanks for joining us!
