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While the status of Crown Jewel, the WWE's upcoming network special in Saudi Arabia, still remains unknown, the company has continued to build towards their first-ever World Cup tournament, which is scheduled to take place at the event.
After two weeks of qualifying matches, all eight competitors for the tournament are now known, and it looks as though the tournament will follow a traditional knock-out system and will talk place over the course of one night. Which means that there will be a total of seven matches taking place at the event.
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The participants in the tournament have somewhat baffled fans, with the WWE booking seven American superstars in the tournament, with Rey Mysterio being the only superstar to qualify from another country.
Despite the WWE not quite grasping what a World Cup tournament should like, fans can now begin to speculate as to how the tournament is going to play out.
With that in mind, let's take a look at all eight of the superstars competing in the tournament, and rank their chances at victory.
8: Jeff Hardy
Jeff Hardy may be one of the most popular superstars on the SmackDown roster but when it comes to the first ever WWE World Cup, the former US Champion is simply there to make up the numbers.
Hardy's physical condition has not been great over the past few months, and he will likely be fed to a heel in one of the first round matches.
The most logical opponent for Hardy in the tournament is Randy Orton. The two men have just finished feuding and having Orton do away with his former nemesis in dominant fashion in the first round will help him pick up some easy heat early on.
7: Dolph Ziggler
Dolph Ziggler's low placing on this list may come as something of a surprise to some of you, but there is every chance that the WWE may use Ziggler an excuse to trim down the number of matches that are currently scheduled for the tournament.
Ziggler and Rollins have been locked in a feud for some time now, and the WWE could take the smart option of having them face each other in the opening round of the World Cup, only for the match to end in some sort of no-decision, eliminating both men as a result.
This would benefit the WWE in a number of ways. The tournament, if it follows a traditional format, is currently set to have seven matches at Crown Jewel. This will barely leave time for anything else, so having two men eliminated, and thus eliminating a semi-final match, makes a lot of sense.
The tournament also has two part-time stars in the shape of John Cena and Kurt Angle competing and providing one of them with an easier route to the final might turn out to be a wise idea.
6: Seth Rollins
As with Dolph Ziggler, there is every chance that Seth Rollins could be part of a double elimination in the first round of the World Cup tournament.
If, however, the WWE doesn't decide to go down that route, then Seth Rollins is likely to advance to at least the second round in the tournament.
Rollins has been one of the WWE's most consistent performers in 2018, and a good run in the tournament would be a nice way to repay him for all of his hard work.
That being said, Rollins has a lot of enemies on Raw at the moment, and the WWE could easily use the tournament to further those storylines and have Rollins eliminated at an early stage.
5: Rey Mysterio
Rey Mysterio's return to the WWE was one of the feel-good moments of SmackDown 1000, and the WWE will likely want that feel-good momentum to carry forward to Crown Jewel.
Mysterio's first round opponent will be a big indication of how far he is going to go in the tournament but either way, it seems highly unlikely that he will be winning the tournament.
Like Jeff Hardy, Mysterio could be fed to either Orton or The Miz to help one of them build some heat heading into the later rounds.
There is also the possibility that Shinsuke Nakamura gets involved in Mysterio's match, costing him the match and furthering the two men's feud heading into Survivor Series.
4: Randy Orton
Randy Orton is likely going to be booked as one of the top heels in the World Cup, especially given the momentum he has managed to build up during his recent run.
Orton will probably be fed Jeff Hardy in the first round, and there is every chance he could get to the final before coming face to face with John Cena or Kurt Angle, who will no doubt be booked as the top faces in the competition.
Having Orton, who is out and out heel, win the tournament feels a little bit unnecessary though, as it doesn't send the crowd home happy nor does Orton need the victory to help push him up the card.
3: Kurt Angle
Kurt Angle's recent in-ring return has sparked excitement among the WWE fanbase and the prospect of seeing him face some of the company's biggest names is a mouthwatering prospect.
That being said, for Angle to win the tournament, he would win need to win a total of three matches to do so, and given that he hasn't wrestled in singles competition for quite some time, it seems unlikely that the WWE would expect him to do that.
There is the option, as mentioned before, that the WWE could book a double knockout earlier in the night, providing someone with an easier route to the final, but if that is the case, they may save that spot for John Cena.
Instead, Angle is likely to be robbed of a spot in the final by Baron Corbin, setting up some sort of showdown between the two men at Survivor Series.
2: The Miz
Of the three heels in the World Cup, The Miz is the one who could benefit from winning this tournament the most.
The former WWE champion is arriving in Saudi Arabia on the back of an embarrassing defeat to Daniel Bryan, and a victory in the World Cup could really help give him some momentum heading into Survivor Series.
While the feud between Bryan and The Miz has been put on the back-burner for now, there is every chance that The Miz will get involved in the WWE title match at Crown Jewel, setting up a potential triple threat between The Miz, Bryan and Styles at Survivor Series.
Having The Miz win the World Cup would provide him with the perfect excuse to claim a title shot at Survivor Series, and would also provide him with plenty of momentum heading into the match.
1: John Cena
The WWE World Cup is not likely to mean anything in the long run, and having John Cena walk out of Saudi Arabia with the trophy would be a nice way of sending the live audience home happy if nothing else.
Despite his status as one of the company's top stars, Cena has not had much luck in the way of victories over the last 12 months and having him overcome three opponents would be again to remind the WWE Universe of just how highly the company values his presence.
With Cena still working on a film with Jackie Chan in China, there is every chance that the WWE won't want to have him wrestle in three long, gruelling matches, but the aforementioned double knock-out scenario with Ziggler and Rollins could provide the WWE with the perfect way around that problem.
