Bookie .vs. Blogger: Locking In Our Top 5 Rumble 2018 Picks

In mid-November, a bookmaker and myself decided that it would be interesting to run a series here at WWELeaks.org where we would compare our top five picks to win the 2018 Royal Rumble and see how TV and other news stories might switch our opinions in the weeks leading to this year's pay-per-view.

After eight installments, and now that this is Rumble Week, we have nothing else to do but lock in our final picks.

Usually, these posts are structured in a way where we take it in turns with our picks. This time, I would like 'The Bookie' to have the final say, so will list our top fives individually.

So, starting with mine..

The Blogger's Picks

5. John Cena
I removed John Cena's name a few weeks ago. This was after it was reported that he and The Undertaker were pencilled in to wrestle at WrestleMania. After Raw, when The Undertaker hinted he was done (or something!), I went back to entertaining the idea of Cena winning the Rumble and - instead of challenging for a title - asking Taker to come out of retirement.

4. Finn Balor
Balor was third on my list last week. He was lowered because he was standing tall on Raw along with The Club and DX. For those of you who may be new to these posts, I have Balor on the list in case WWE books him to win and then move over to Smackdown to challenge his former Bullet Club colleague, AJ Styles.

3. Baron Corbin
Unlike Balor, Baron Corbin was left laying on Smackdown following an RKO from Randy Orton.

2. Roman Reigns
Roman Reigns has been on the list continuously. This is due to the reports that he'll be the one who faces Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania. One way to get to this match is to have Reigns overcome the field and win Sunday's battle royal. Another way is to have him become a number one contender with a victory inside the Elimination Chamber in February. Reigns stays near the top in case they go with the former.

1. Dolph Ziggler
In the most recent Bookie .vs. Blogger, I mentioned that Dolph Ziggler - who made it to my list earlier this month - was on shaky ground because of the US Championship situation. I didn't know whether he would return to confront new titleholder, Bobby Roode.This hasn't happened. Therefore, I am going to stick to my guns and lock in Ziggler.
As many of you are aware, Ziggler relinquished the US Championship and walked out of WWE (Kayfabe) in December. He hasn't been seen nor talked about since. A surprise return at the Royal Rumble would immediately put him in the WWE Championship picture and give him the excuse that he was bigger than the US  Championship and wanted to go for the premier title.

Now, it's over to The Bookie for his final five...

The Bookie's Picks

5. Roman Reigns
I'm walking the Big Dog back into my top five. He could win to help Vince McMahon troll the Internet Wrestling Community. This time, he won't have The Rock in his corner for the Philly crowd.

4. Rusev
Rusev wasn't pinned in the six-man tag team match on Smackdown Live, which is good. I still think he's a wild card.

3. Braun Strowman
I expect Strowman to have a strong showing and expect him to be in the final four.

2. Shinsuke Nakamura
After having Nakamura at number one since we started, I have now moved him down. I think WWE hasn't done a good job with him in the Rumble build. Another thing is he is one of the participants in the match at FastLane.

I have finally done it. A new number one! The guy who was hanging out with the legends at the Manhattan Center on Monday night getting the rub from Triple H and Shawn Michaels..

1. Finn Balor
As I wrote in other Bookie .vs. Bloggers, I would like to see Balor move over to Smackdown Live following a win in the battle royal.

I think it's very close this year. There could have been other names that made it into my top five along the way. I cannot wait to sit back with a beer and watch it on Sunday night. I hope you enjoy it and cheers for reading!