2015 to 2018 – Favorites Dominate as Royal Rumble Odds See 100% Success
Between 2015 – 2018, there were five WWE Royal Rumble matches, four men’s and the inaugural women’s match. When the final Royal Rumble odds came out the day of the event, the favorites to win all ended up winning.
2015: The Era of Roman Reigns Begins
Reigns was a -165 favorite on the day of the Rumble; Daniel Bryan was 2nd at +170
You didn’t have to be in Philadelphia the night of January 25 to know just what the live crowd thought about the results of the 2015 Men’s Royal Rumble. The boos rained down so much so that even the Rock’s appearance couldn’t save things. The final image of the night, a bloodied Roman Reigns having his hand raised by his cousin, has become synonymous with an era in WWE largely mocked as the “Make Roman look strong” time period. Sure, 10 years later, Reigns would become one of the most beloved WWE superstars in his role as the OTC, but in 2015, he was the guy getting pushed down everyone’s throats, perhaps too much, too soon. Reigns closed at -165 with Daniel Bryan a far second at +170.
2016: It’s Time to Play the Game
Triple H was a +105 favorite on the day of the Rumble; Roman Reigns was 2nd at +225
In 2016, Triple H had been off TV for close to a month when he made a less-than-surprising return in the Men’s Royal Rumble match. It always made sense in the storyline that Triple H, as leader of The Authority, would enter the match given the title was on the line, but WWE left it a secret until the moment he entered at No. 30. The problem was that the betting odds opened and closed with Triple H as a huge favorite to win. Sure enough, after tossing out the then champ, Roman Reigns, and Dean Ambrose, Triple H did just that. Depending on the sportsbook, he closed between +105 and +110, with Reigns the closest behind him (+225 to +285), with the odds gap widening significantly after that.
2017: Return of the Viper
Randy Orton was a -2600 favorite on the day of the Rumble
When the sportsbooks opened for the 2017 Men’s Royal Rumble, Randy Orton was not the favorite. At times the Undertaker was ahead of him as was Goldberg and Braun Strowman. But the day of the Rumble saw a massive, monumental shift. Smart money as they call it, came in, and it was all being put on Orton’s case to win. When that kind of money comes in signaling how things are trending, the books took notice. With so much money down on Orton, he went from a +350 underdog to a -2600 favorite. And for those that don’t know, that was essentially saying his win was all but automatic. The thing with betting in wrestling is you’re betting on storylines not necessarily who is the better wrestler. In this case, the storyline was all leading up to Orton turning on the Wyatt Family and that’s exactly what happened after he won the Rumble and decided to challenge his former faction mate, Bray Wyatt for the world title.
2018: A Japanese Sweep
Shinsuke Nakamura was a -110 favorite on the day of the Rumble; Roman Reigns was 2nd at +225
Asuka was a +137 favorite on the day of the Rumble; Ronda Rousey was 2nd at +150
2018 brought the debut of the inaugural Women’s Royal Rumble, a match that offered a lot of intrigue as to who WWE would give the historic honor of being the first winner to. Many names circulated, but when the odds came out, it was the unofficially signed Ronda Rousey at the top. Closely behind was the undefeated Asuka. And much like the year prior with Orton, when the morning of the match arrived, Asuka had leaped Rousey, only this time, by the shortest of margins.
On the men’s side, Roman Reigns hovered around the top of the odds until he finally found himself sitting in first place less than a week before the event. Yet by the time January 28 rolled around, Nakamura had surpassed Reigns, doing so a few days prior. And while WWE offered a swerve, leading fans to believe Reigns would win another rumble after doing so in 2015, they didn’t pull the trigger. For what may be the only time it happens, two Japanese wrestlers took home the honors.
