10 Outside Bets To Win WWE Royal Rumble 2018

6. The Miz

Daniel Bryan Shawn Michaels
WWE

The Miz isn't even on television at the moment, thanks to cinematic duties on the latest instalment of WWE's astonishingly successful 'Marine' film franchise. The film's sixth outing (and Miz' fourth in the role of 'Jake Carter') resulted in a welcome break for the former Intercontinental Champion, having carried the title and the midcard for the better part of two years.

In surrendering the title to Roman Reigns to conclude a fabulous mini-arc in which he antagonised Kurt Angle and The Shield on Monday Nights, The Miz looked every bit the main eventer his opponent was supposed to be. His last run with the WWE Title may have scarred the company perception on him being a tippy-toppy performer, but he's advanced exponentially beyond the all-fart-and-no-sh*t bombast of his younger self.

He's even stood his ground in Royal Rumbles before. An indictment on the company's inability to effectively tell stories within the contest nowadays, he's twice been the contest's 'iron man' without ever managing to see the task out to the bitter end. Aided by brilliantly-cast stooges Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel, there'd never be such an ideal time to give one of the company's most reliable performers a run he truly deserves.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett