WWE Rumors: The Undertaker is the favourite to win the Royal Rumble

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What’s the story?

According to OddShark, The Undertaker is currently the favourite to win the Royal Rumble as per the betting odds. The Phenom currently has the odds as 2/1.

In case you didn’t know...

The lower the numbers in the betting, the better. There have been heavy rumours of a John Cena vs. The Undertaker match happening at Wrestlemania 33 for the World title. While the match itself doesn’t need the Championship, that looks to be the direction WWE is going in.

John Cena has a date in the Royal Rumble for the WWE Championship, and winning it would mean that he will tie Ric Flair’s record of 16 World Championships.

John Cena vs. The Undertaker was a heavily rumoured match for Wrestlemania 32 last year. This would likely have been The Undertaker’s swan song. However, after Cena suffered a torn rotator cuff and was sidelined for 5 months, all plans had to come to an abrupt halt.

It now looks like WWE continue the plan to have the two icons who have never met at Wrestlemania cross paths after over a decade. The rumoured Wrestlemania 33 bout may most likely be The Undertaker’s final WWE match as well. The Undertaker announced his entry to the Royal Rumble match on the January 9th edition of Raw.

The heart of the matter

The Undertaker being the favourite does not come off as a surprise. With Goldberg and Brock Lesnar being the other two titans in the Rumble match, their odds aren’t too good. This is because of the rumour (and logical deduction) that the two will face off once more at Wrestlemania 33. 

2017 Royal Rumble has turned out to be one of the most unpredictable Royal Rumble in years. However, with The Undertaker announcing his entry, many are likely to place their bets on him.

However, it should be noted that last minute betting odds can change drastically; the odds right now may not be the same a day before the Pay-Per-View.

Here are a list of other superstars and their betting odds

Randy Orton 3/1
Chris Jericho 9/2
Braun Strowman 6/1
Finn Balor 13/2
Bill Goldberg 8/1
John Cena 9/1
Seth Rollins 14/1
Brock Lesnar 16/1
Baron Corbin 20/1
The Miz 20/1
Bray Wyatt 25/1
Dean Ambrose 25/1
Kevin Owens 25/1
Sami Zayn 25/1
Cesaro 25/1
Samoa Joe 33/1

Randy Orton being one of the favourites is interesting as well.

What’s next? 

If The Phenom does win the Rumble, then it is almost a certain that the dream match between him and Cena will finally take place at Wrestlemania, and it will be his swan song as well. Whether he retires as champion is something fans will have to wait and see.

Sportskeeda’s take

While there will be some backlash from fans who want to see younger talent go over, the general consensus regarding Taker winning the Rumble will generally be positive, primarily for the massive respect that the fans have for him.

He should be an interesting Rumble winner if he does manage to emerge the victor. Him being in the Rumble also sets up some potentially interesting paths crossing. Who wouldn’t want to see The Undertaker and Sami Zayn, or The Undertaker and Samoa Joe, or The Undertaker and Goldberg?

Smackdown Live Results: Analysing and grading each segment (January 10th)

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The Corbin/Cena main event was disappointing, with a typical clean comeback win for Cena

After delivering a good showing in last week’s first episode of 2017, SmackDown Live looked to repeat its success, with the Royal Rumble only three weeks away. They did, with another good episode of SD Live outdoing Raw once again in terms of quality.

Dean Ambrose and The Miz’s feud took centre stage, opening the show with an edition of the Ambrose Asylum. Nikki Bella and Natalya ensued in a chaotic brawl due to their bad blood, with the rivalry between the two becoming even more personal.

Dolph Ziggler faced off against Kalisto, suffering another loss but making up for it with a vicious beatdown on Kalisto and Apollo Crews after the match. The Wyatt Family battled American Alpha in a rematch for the SD Tag Team Championships, with tensions between the Family leading to an upset win for Gable and Jordan.

Philippines car sales soar 24.6% in 2016

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MANILA -- New car sales in the Philippines peaked last year, as the entry of new models spurred more auto purchases in Southeast Asia's fastest-growing economy, industry groups said Tuesday.

Total sales rose by 24.6% to 359,572 units, according to a joint report by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Incorporated and the Truck Manufacturers Association. Sales of Hyundai Philippines, the biggest among those companies that are not affiliated with either of the two groups, stood at 25,021 units at the end of September, up 50% year-on-year, suggesting that the industry surpassed its 370,000-unit target for 2016.

"Successful introductions of new models complemented by various events and promotions enabled us to meet the increasing customers' demands in an expanding Philippine market," CAMPI president Rommel Gutierrez said.

The International Monetary Fund expects Philippines' gross domestic product per capita to have breached the $3,000 mark last year. The overall economy expanded by 7.1% in the third quarter, while interest rates have been kept relatively low, allowing banks to offer cheap auto financing packages. Auto loans extended by banks jumped 29.1% to 353.80 billion pesos ($7.14 billion) at the end of September from the year before, data from the Philippine central bank showed.

Toyota Motor Philippines, which grew sales by 26.95% to 158,728 units, cornered the leading market share, with 44.14%. Mitsubishi Motors Philippines, which captured a 17.08% market share, sold 61,400 units, up by 13.52%. Ford Motor Philippines sold 33,688 units, an increase of 32.77% and equivalent to 9.37% market share.

CAMPI has yet to set its target for 2017, but Mitsubishi and Toyota plan to begin Philippine production after qualifying for a $600 million incentive program, which could boost car sales. Mitsubishi plans to begin manufacturing its Mirage sedan this year, while Toyota aims to start the local production of its Vios sedan next year. Both companies are required to produce 200,000 units each over a period of six years under the program.

But while local vehicle production is being ramped up, higher excise tax on car purchases could be imposed as early as 2018 as part of President Rodrigo Duterte's tax reform program. 

Philippines is the third fastest growing automotive market in Southeast Asia. According to the ASEAN Automotive Federation, Singapore led the car sales growth from January to October, with 50.3% cyclical expansion, followed by Vietnam with 32.1%, the Philippines, and Indonesia with 2.6%. Brunei, Malaysia and Thailand all reported contraction, while data from Myanmar was not available.

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