'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
What's the story?
Everyone is focused on who is the odds-on favourite to win the men's and women's Royal Rumble match, however the odds for the top ten for both matches have changed overnight with some surprising names suddenly appearing. Could the WWE be planning some major surprise returns?
In case you didn't know...
The current odds-on favourite for the Men's Royal Rumble Match is Shinsuke Nakamura with Roman Reigns and John Cena close behind. Whilst for the Women's Royal Rumble Match Asuka, Ronda Rousey and Paige fill the top three.
The heart of the matter
But if you look further down the betting odds list for both the Men's and Women's Royal Rumble Matches you'll notice a few unusual names that we haven't seen competing in a WWE ring for a while.
Firstly there's Stephanie McMahon who sits at eighth favourite, she's been training for what could be an in-ring return, and is guest announcing for the match. Then there's sixth favourite Nikki Bella, who we know has been eyeing up an early February ring return, and made an appearance on RAW 25 and finally there's Kharma, a name that has shot up from nowhere to become joint ninth favourite.
On the men's side there are two former WWE, and then former Impact Wrestling stars who could be on their way to returning to the company they were initially with. Ninth favourite EC3 is more expected given that he's pulled out of an Indy match on Rumble weekend. But perhaps more surprising is the sixth favourite being Bobby Lashley, who is expected to return to WWE, but not this soon.
Update: I went to grab a screenshot of the Men's Royal Rumble odds like the one above for the Women's Royal Rumble and for some reason Bobby Lashley had been completely removed from the list. My eyes did not decieve me, he was sixth favourite. Make from that what you will.
What's next?
The Royal Rumble match is almost upon us, but it's unclear whether these betting odds can be considered 'smart money',meaning that they're the result of actual insider information influencing betting or whether it's just people hoping for the best with this long-time absent Superstars.
Author's take
If just half of these possible surprises actually did happen at the Rumble it almost wouldn't matter who actually goes on to win as I would truthfully be marking out.
