2022 to 2025 – Royal Rumble Odds Rebound as Favorites Win 6-of-8
After a period of success for the underdogs, the Royal Rumble odds favorites roared back over the last four years, winning six of the eight matches.
2022: The F in UFC stands for Favorite
Brock Lesnar was a +250 favorite on the day of the Rumble; Big E was 2nd at +350
Ronda Rousey was a -150 favorite on the day of the Rumble; Bianca Belair was 2nd at +400
Brock Lesnar winning the 2022 Men’s Royal Rumble seemed pretty far-fetched given Lesnar was the WWE Champion at the time. However, Lesnar was scheduled for a title defense on the event card so there was always a chance he’d lose and enter the match. Well, the oddsmakers seemed to know this was exactly what was going to happen. Earlier in the night, Lesnar lost his title to Bobby Lashley and then just a little while later, was entrant No. 30. He threw out five people in just over two-and-a-half minutes, last eliminating former Rumble winner, Drew McIntyre.
The women’s match told a bit of a different story. In 2018, Ronda Rousey made her WWE debut and now, four years later, she was back, looking for her first Rumble victory. Rousey opened and closed as a big favorite over 2021’s winner, Bianca Belair. Rousey entered 28th, lasted a little over 10 minutes, and recorded four eliminations, including that of Charlotte Flair, who she later challenged for her title at WrestleMania.
2023: the Rs Have it
Cody Rhodes was a -150 favorite on the day of the Rumble; Sami Zayn was 2nd at +190
Rhea Ripley was a -200 favorite on the day of the Rumble; Becky Lynch was 2nd at +500
There was one prevailing question entering the 2023 Royal Rumble: Would Cody Rhodes fulfill his destiny? Rhodes returned to WWE the year prior doing so at WrestleMania as Seth Rollins’ mystery opponent. However, just a month into his return, Rhodes got injured in a match, causing him to miss eight months. Rhodes returned to WWE in a pre-taped video in early January 2023, announcing he was all healed up and returning to try to win his first-ever Rumble match. It would get him one step closer to the reason he returned to WWE in the first place, winning the world title and dedicating it to his father, who never had the chance to hold the belt. 2023 marked Rhodes’ first Rumble match since 2015 so it was no real surprise that he was the favorite to win it all. And win it all he did. Rhodes entered last, marking the second consecutive year the No. 30 entrant won the match after Brock Lesnar’s victory in 2022.
Rhea Ripley, much like Bianca Belair two years prior, entered the Women’s Royal Rumble showing she had officially arrived. It was Ripley’s fourth Rumble and while she had some close calls in previous years and is second only to Nia Jax in total women eliminated, she had never been able to win. Until 2023. Ripley entered the match as the favorite with all eyes on her. Though when she drew the No. 1 spot, bettors likely held their breaths as Ripley would need to run the gauntlet to claim her first victory. Well, not only did she do exactly that but in the process, put on one of the most dominant Rumble performances, man or woman, of the last decade. Ripley lasted over one hour and eliminated seven women, last taking out rival Liv Morgan.
2024: Back-to-Back and First-Time Winner
Cody Rhodes was a +250 underdog on the day of the Rumble; CM Punk was the favorite at +125
Bayley was a -140 favorite on the day of the Rumble; Becky Lynch was 2nd at +250
WrestleMania 39 provided one of the biggest shocks WWE had delivered in some time. To bring odds into it, Cody Rhodes was favored at -500 to defeat Roman Reigns, whose odds sat at +300. That means to have made $100 on a Rhodes bet, you’d have had to wager $500. Meanwhile those who bet $100 on Reigns, would have stood to won $300. Everyone seemed to think Rhodes was going to win the title and fulfill the destiny he returned to WWE to accomplish. But when the dust settled, Reigns remained victorious and Rhodes was left to wonder, what happened. Not one to give up however, Rhodes fought his way back and when the 2024 Men’s Royal Rumble came along, he was ready for a second chance at glory. Rhodes overcame the odds, entering 15th, and lasting over 43 minutes en route to becoming just the fourth wrestler to win back-to-back Rumbles.
Entering the 2024 Women’s Royal Rumble, Bayley had taken a bit of a backseat to her fellow Damage CTRL members. In fact, Bayley hadn’t won a title in four years at that point. So when the Rumble came around and Bayley was a big favorite, it seemed like the WWE Universe was getting the return of the OG Bayley. The former champion entered the match as a member of Damage CTRL and absolutely did damage. She entered at three and broke the record for the longest time spent in the women’s match at 1:03:03 (it was broken again in 2025 by Roxanne Perez) while eliminating seven people including Liv Morgan, who for the second year was the runner-up. In the lead-up to WrestleMania, Bayley turned face when she was kicked out of Damage CTRL, and later won the women’s title, her first since 2020.
2025: The Royal Rumble Odds Couple – One Winner a Huge Dog, the Other the Anticipated Favorite
Jey Uso was a +1600 underdog on the day of the Rumble; Seth Rollins was the favorite at -200
Charlotte Flair was a -200 favorite on the day of the Rumble; Iyo Sky was 2nd at +200
The 2025 Men’s Royal Rumble was a fascinating one given all of the swirling storylines. Chief among them was John Cena, who had announced this was his final Royal Rumble. Everyone knew Cena was retiring and it seemed all but certain on his way out, he’d win his 17th world championship. And the best way to ensure the opportunity at doing just that was winning the Rumble. At points, Cena was the favorite to win the match, something that only shifted in the days leading up to the match. That’s when Seth Rollins rose to the top of the table. Cena finished as runner-up and Rollins was taken out by Punk before the final four. Punk, Roman Reigns, Drew McIntyre, the Rock, Brock Lesnar, and Bron Breakker all had better odds to win than Jey Uso, the man who eventually dumped Cena over the top to win it all. Uso’s +1600 and ninth best odds is the lowest anyone has won the Rumble in the last decade, and likely beyond. The match lasted over one hour and 20 minutes, making it the longest such in history. Uso was there for 37 of those minutes, totaling three eliminations.
Charlotte Flair missed over two years of action between December 2023 – January 2025. She made her grand return at the Women’s Royal Rumble and the anticipation was that WWE was once again going to elevate the Queen. Sure enough, Flair made history as she has so often in her career. WWE’s all-time winningest women’s champion entered the match at lucky No. 27 and became the fifth person to win from that spot and first woman. She also became the first woman to win multiple Rumbles, doing so in 2020.
