Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, CHILDREN of All Ages. Welcome to the "Over-Under", Cheap-Heat's resident DEGENERATE Gambling column… SO LETS?
B-B-B-B-BREAK IT DOWN! (again!)
Last we left I had the following six-
STOP IT!
These men as the top favorites to win the 2015 Royal Rumble. A quick recap:
Rusev was 20:1.
Dean Ambrose was 15:1.
Randy Orton was 8:1.
Dolph Ziggler was 4:1.
Daniel Bryan was 2:1
Roman Reigns was 3:2.
I look at this and I've dropped Rusev out. He's lost a little luster. Kind of drifted along the last few weeks, or so it feels to me. He'll still be a force in this, but its not a big deal for him to lose in the Rumble. He's been tossed out of matches like this before.
25:1
Here Dean… Sit on this couch. Dean's chances have decreased. Not much money coming in on the "Lunatic Fringe" and more interest being placed "elsewhere" has hurt him. How they're handling him is VERY "Ziggler – 8 months ago". They have a commodity that crowds love. Yet? They're just using him as feeder for heels they're trying to build up. Luckily it works for his character, BUT? Doesn't really work with any kind of momentum for him moving into this match and having the feel of someone they could have Main Event Wrestlemania.
12:1
Where O' Where Did Dolph GO?!?! Dolph's odds also increased. The firing angle cools things for him. Maybe that's on purpose so the crowd will be itching for him all the more? But its hard to say that the guy who is technically "fired" as I write this (during Raw). Who knows what this means for the Show Off? There is still a possible rematch with Barrett. The firing did a good job clouding his standing… or possibly cooled off the hottest face they had in the company at the time. To me this would probably be the most satisfying winner of the Rumble. I hope he's in there and in the final four. A final four of Ziggler, Reigns, Bryan, and maybe Ambrose would be amazing. All faces the Authority hate, and wouldn't want in the Main Event of Mania.
10:1
He's HERE! The ADDITION to the Update. Bray Wyatt has been on a tear since his return. Owned a feud with above mentioned Dean Ambrose. Won a match with Daniel Bryan on Raw tonight. They're clearly interested in keeping Bray hot and as high profile as possible. If they wanted to do something "SHOCKING", I could see him as an outlier for a Rumble win.
8:1
STILL RKOing outta NO WHERE! Nothing has changed here. He's still only a "RUMOR", or "potential" entrant. I still expect to see the Legend Killer at the Rumble, and I still consider him an outside favorite to win it. He'll be going after the Authority. He'll be vipering (yeah its a verb now!) anything in site. If WWE is having cold feet for my two favorites? They might got with an old standard. "Bankable star", as I imagine they'd see it.
4:1
Suffering Suckatash… Reigns Slips! Never has so much effort gone into trying to elevate someone and it slowly dragging him to the depths of at best, apathy, at worst loathing. He is an ear marked, silver stamped, rocket packed future big time player for the WWE. But? Since his return from injury, we've seen decent to down right laughable promos. (last week he stumbled over some smack talk for Big Show, and i couldn't help but think in Michael Cole's voice: "VINTAGE REIGNS!") – The content has done him no favors. There is a backlash when someone is force fed to the fans. (see: Batista. See also: 2014 Royal Rumble) I talked about how HIS time off was a detriment. That if they just shoved him up the card for the sake of shoving him up the card? It would go poorly. His potential win is the most interesting for anyone who likes the social experiment that a live wrestling audience can be… especially in a town like Philadelphia.
2:1
His odds haven't INCREASED, but he is now the front runner. The Authority has started poking their nose in his bidness… AGAIN! Kane cost him a match against Bray tonight. I'm waiting, as I now fully expect him to go in at #1 for the Rumble. He's been at full speed in two televised matches. So much so I cringe with worry. He's also still has the crowd firmly behind him. Any one of the possible matches for him at Mania coming from the Triple Threat Title match would be excellent. Plus we do have a PPV between the Rumble and Mania, so who knows what would happen there. He muscled his way into the Main Event at Mania last year, can the "Yes Man" do it again this year? We're gonna find out!
Its the most wonderful time of the year! No… not Christmas, and take down your lights you heathens! Its Royal Rumble season. The most fun Pay Per View of the year. Put a few bucks down on it with your friends, or find a bookie who takes WWE bets, and have at it!
