WWE Rumors: Are ‘Royal Rumble’ 2017 Winner Spoilers Given By Latest Betting Odds?

With Survivor Series 2016 just around the corner, there’s WWE rumors already circulating about who will be in another major pay-per-view marquee match. The Royal Rumble 2017 will feature the annual battle for a spot in a main event title match at WrestleMania. Each year, at least 30 superstars come down to the ring in intervals and attempt to throw one another out of the ring. That goes on until one competitor is left as the Royal Rumble winner. The winner usually goes on to headline WrestleMania in a title match. The latest betting odds could very well be giving away spoilers for who the Royal Rumble winner will be in 2017.

The WWE Leaks website discusses the most recent odds for favorites to win the Royal Rumble in January 2017. Coming in at the top of the list is none other than Finn Balor aka “The Demon.” Balor is the inaugural WWE Universal Champion but just for a day. Since then, Kevin Owens has gone on to hold the strap for many more days as the reigning champion. Balor has been on the sidelines due to the injury he suffered in his championship-winning SummerSlam match against Seth Rollins.

However, he’s the top guy in terms of favorites to win the Rumble with odds listed at 3 to 1 through Kambi betting platforms as of this report. He has 10 to 3 odds via Paddy Power. All that would seem to indicate he will be healthy enough to compete for the match, but that’s still a question mark.

An advertisement for the upcoming WWE Roadblock pay-per-view lists Balor among the superstars who might appear at the event. Also at that event, the current Universal Champion Kevin Owens will take on current United States Champion Roman Reigns in a match. Roadblock is scheduled to take place on December 18, 2016, at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. While Balor was a potential appearance mentioned in advertising, he’s gone on record as saying he’d be home with family for the holidays around the time of the pay-per-view. This could be merely a smokescreen to divert fans from his surprise return, or it could legitimately be what his plans are.

So who else might win the Rumble if not Balor? Some of the other favorites include Brock Lesnar and Seth Rollins each at 4 to 1 odds, as well as AJ Styles, John Cena, Kevin Owens, and Roman Reigns at 7 to 1 odds each. There’s been talk that Cena could win this Rumble in order to set up a big match with AJ Styles to capture the WWE World Heavyweight title at Mania. However, a name on the list that isn’t really up there with the top favorites but has potential is that of Chris Jericho. He’s never won the match but came close. In 2012, Sheamus eliminated Jericho to win the Rumble.

Depending on the sportsbook, Jericho has odds around 17 to 1 to become the Royal Rumble 2017 winner. The idea here is that he and Kevin Owens will continue their friendship storyline only for things to start to break down between them. It’s already been seen in several instances where the friendship has been tested or even violated. An example was Owens’ refusal to get in the ring to help Jericho against Rollins, as well as Owens getting a Superman Punch from Reigns on Raw in a Fatal Fiveway match and then collapsing on top of his friend Jericho for the pinfall victory.

Based on the way the story has been looking, Jericho could be a very smart wager for opportunists looking to take a risk. It could eventually get to a point in the friendship that Jericho starts to take issue with Owens’ treatment of their relationship and eventually gains sympathy from the fans. Jericho has been getting over with his mention of “The List” each week on Raw and could easily become a fan favorite against the heel Owens at WrestleMania 33.

However, keep in mind that Jericho likes to go on tour with his band Fozzy and seems to come and go from WWE, so keep an eye on Finn Balor’s status as the Rumble approaches. Of course, WWE loves to launch surprises at the Royal Rumble and those usually include a superstar returning from injury to compete in the big match.

WWE fans, do you think the rumors that Finn Balor will win the 2017 Royal Rumble will prove true? Will someone else win the event? If you were booking the match, who is your winner and what’s their match for WrestleMania 33?

[Featured Image by WWE]