Samoa Joe And The 2017 WWE Royal Rumble

WWE fans have been anticipating Samoa Joe's arrival to the main roster ever since he made his NXT debut in 2015. Some have predicted this could be the year. In fact, many, myself included, have bet on it being this month.

I've been following Paddy Power's market where its customers can bet on certain wrestlers being official entrants in the battle royal. The market was published  on January 2nd. Joe was the first option to see action as his price fell from 4/6 to 4/7 almost instantly.

It was downhill from there.

When I checked in yesterday, he was 1/5. As of right now, he's as low as 1/9 on Paddy Power's WWE Betting Page.

There could be a good reason why his odds have been snipped between yesterday and this morning.

This week's issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter notes that, despite the WrestleMania plans not being completely in concrete, there has been an idea thrown around that would place Joe in one of the top matches on the show.

Dave Meltzer is on record as stating he does not know this for sure, but would suggest that one way for Joe to make a splash is to have a good showing in the Royal Rumble (if he's in it). I couldn't agree more. In fact, I asked Paddy Power to add 'Samoa Joe' to its market where customers could wager on the wrestler who eliminates the most entrants in the battle royal.

He was added a day after the market was initially published at 8/1. Then, a few days later, the firm was offering him at 10/1.  He's now 4/1, but Betfair.com has him at 5/1

If Vince McMahon decides to go with the plan on the table for Samoa Joe to be in a big match at Mania, then four opponents come to mind. I'll leave my favourite option last.

1. Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship. To get there, Roman Reigns would have to defeat Kevin Owens for the title and this would mean Joe having to possibly win the Royal Rumble.

2. AJ Styles or John Cena for the WWE Championship. To get there, Joe doesn't necessarily have to win the Royal Rumble. He could outlast five other wrestlers at February's Elimination Chamber PPV.

3. The Undertaker. This one makes the most sense to me. If The Undertaker isn't wrestling for either title and Braun Strowman is off the table, then Joe could be the guy. It could easily be set up at the Royal Rumble with Joe being the person who eliminates The Undertaker from the match. That'll make a splash, right? Then they could go off to Mania 33. I would even go so far as to have Joe win as well. This way they could go with a Brock Lesnar versus Samoa Joe match at Mania 34 where both of Undertaker's WrestleMania victors go up against each other.

But, I'm getting ahead of myself.

If any of you out there has a feeling that Samoa Joe will walk out of San Antonio with a title shot, the best price that is currently out there is 33/1 with William Hill, Sky Bet, SportingBet and Coral. Ladbrokes had him at 40/1 just before I started writing this post, but the firm has now cut him to 25s.

Don't forget, the 4/1 for Samoa Joe to eliminate the most participants is also worth a look on Paddy Power's WWE Betting Page. or - if you're a Betfair.com customer - you can get him at a slightly better 5/1.

Update: Sky Bet customers can get Samoa Joe at 10/1 to deliver the most eliminations. View the latest odds.