{"id":12668,"date":"2018-01-18T13:52:35","date_gmt":"2018-01-18T18:52:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosonprowrestling.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=12668"},"modified":"2021-12-28T11:27:52","modified_gmt":"2021-12-28T16:27:52","slug":"vegas-taps-daniel-bryan-ronda-rousey-royal-rumble-favorites","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2018\/01\/18\/vegas-taps-daniel-bryan-ronda-rousey-royal-rumble-favorites\/","title":{"rendered":"Vegas Taps Daniel Bryan, Ronda Rousey as Royal Rumble Favorites"},"content":{"rendered":"

The sportsbooks have spoken and as of this morning (January 18), the favorites to win their respective matches at the Royal Rumble<\/strong> are Ronda\u00a0Rousey<\/strong>, a female who’s never stepped foot in a WWE ring and may or may not be signed to a contract, and Daniel Bryan<\/strong>, a man who retired in 2016 and may or may not be cleared to compete.<\/p>\n

Clearly, Las Vegas knows something the rest of the wrestling world doesn’t, begging the question, “How much stock should fans put into Vegas’ seemingly unlikely favorites?”<\/p>\n

Are the Rousey Rumors True?<\/h2>\n
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Photo: WWE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A few days ago, WWE announced its newest class of performance center signees and the names were all notable ones. The first to be announced was 29-year-old Trevor Mann aka Ricochet<\/strong> on the independents and Prince Puma<\/strong> in Lucha Underground<\/a>. Mann is one of the most noted high-flyers in the world, a two-time PWG Battle of Los Angeles<\/strong> <\/em>winner, and multi-time junior tag team champion in Japan. He headlined the class which also featured Mae Young Classic participant, Candice LeRae<\/strong><\/a>, who is the wife of NXT superstar Johnny Gargano and a huge advocate\/proponent of intergender wrestling, and the duo of Hanson and Ray Rowe known as War Machine<\/a>, who are former Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling tag team champions.<\/p>\n

While the foursome alone makes up a remarkable class, according to rumors there was one more name who was signed, however unannounced, and that’s former MMA\/UFC star and Olympic bronze medalist in judo, Ronda Rousey.<\/p>\n

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Photo: WWE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Rousey is no stranger to the world of pro wrestling as she is an avid, lifelong fan, and has made several appearances in a WWE ring, most notably at Wrestlemania 32<\/strong> <\/em>when a tag team match partnering her with The Rock<\/strong> against Triple H<\/strong> and Stephanie McMahon<\/strong>, was teased, and during the Mae Young Classic<\/strong> as Rousey and the two of the other Four Horsewomen of MMA, Jessamyn Duke<\/strong> and Marina Shafir<\/strong>, got into a confrontation with Charlotte<\/strong> and two of WWE’s own Four Horsewomen, Bayley<\/strong> and Becky Lynch<\/strong>, teasing yet another possible match for Rousey in the WWE.<\/p>\n

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Photo: WWE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That was in September and while the fourth horsewoman, Shayna Baszler<\/strong>, is beginning to carve out her own career in professional wrestling, Rousey hasn’t appeared in WWE since. That hasn’t stopped the rumor mill from running rampant though, especially recently, as TMZ reported seeing Rousey, her agent, and Triple H leaving an LA restaurant<\/a>\u00a0about a week ago. Confirming that it was more than just a dinner date, on the day before new recruits were announced, PW Stream tweeted this:<\/p>\n

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The Ronda Rousey deal is done. No news on who\u2019s she\u2019s facing at Mania; the 4-on-4 horse women match is still a possibility. Don\u2019t expect to see her in the Rumble, though – unless WWE are craving major main stream attention. #RoyalRumble<\/a><\/p>\n

— PWStream (@PWStream) January 15, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n