WWE: NXT Star Favored To Win The Royal Rumble?

The 2017 Royal Rumble is setting up to be one of the most star studded and undpredictable Rumbles in WWE history. With several returning, big name superstars, and word of Vince McMahon scrapping most of his rumored Wrestlemania 33 plans, odds on the Rumble winner are changing by the day. One of the most surprising favorites to emerge is a man who currently isn't even on the WWE's main roster. According to our friends at oddschecker.com, two time former NXT champion, Samoa Joe has gone from a longshot underdog to one of the heavy Rumble favorites.

Oddschecker spokesman, Sam Eaton, gave us insight on the drastic change.

"Last Thursday Samoa Joe's odds of winning the Royal Rumble were some way off the pack of favorites, which includes; The Undertaker, Braun Strowman, Randy Orton and Finn Balor. However, the WWE superstar's odds have been slashed dramatically over the last few days.

Samoa Joe was 33/1 last Thursday, giving him a 2.9% chance of winning. Today the American born wrestler is as short as 4/1, which has improved his chances of winning to 20% according to bookmakers. Oddschecker users have been excited about his chances, with 10% of all bets placed on the event in the last week being placed on him. People who like to have a long-term bet on the Royal Rumble could have got Joe at a massive 125/1 in late October.

There are a few superstars who are seeing their odds moving in the opposite direction for the Royal Rumble. At the start of 2017 Chris Jericho was among the favorites at 3/1 to win the Battle Royal, however the 46 year-old is now a 12/1 shot, which gives him just under an 8% chance of winning.

Similar to Jericho, Bill Goldberg's odds have been on the drift since the beginning of the New Year. Goldberg was as short at 2/1 for the Royal Rumble in late December, however the bookies aren't giving him much of a chance now, he's 16/1 to win the main event.

Another market which might appeal to the Oddschecker users is betting on the most eliminations. It's no surprise that Braun Strowman is favorite for this, his odds range from 4/6 to as short as 2/7 with the bookmakers. Samoa Joe is second favorite and can still be backed at 3/1 with one bookmaker on Oddschecker."

Eaton told us he thinks Samoa Joe will be among the favorites on the day on the Rumble, but he expects Braun Strowman to keep shortening and hit favortism for the Royal Rumble in the next few days. It should be noted that Joe does not currently have a match scheduled for NXT Takeover San Antonio, which takes place the day before the Rumble.

Who is your pick for the 2017 Rumble?

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