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The eight participants for the WWE Crown Jewel World Cup have now been confirmed.
John Cena was the first to be announced for the tournament on last week's Raw, while Kurt Angle booked his place in the final eight after impersonating The Conquistador to win a Global Battle Royal.
Jeff Hardy was the next to qualify, defeating Samoa Joe on last week's SmackDown Live, and he was joined in the tournament by long-term rival Randy Orton, who defeated The Big Show later in the night.
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This week's Raw saw Seth Rollins and Dolph Ziggler earn their spots in the tournament, courtesy of victories over Drew McIntyre and Dean Ambrose respectively, while The Miz picked up a quick victory over Rusev at SmackDown 1000 and Rey Mysterio won on his WWE return against Shinsuke Nakamura to qualify.
With all eight participants now announced, let's take a look at the four most likely winners of the World Cup – a tournament designed, in the words of WWE, "to determine the best in the world".
Honourable mentions
Before we run through the possible winners, here's the logic behind not including the remaining participants:
Kurt Angle: Given that WWE hasn't put Angle in a single one-on-one match since he returned to the company in early 2017, it seems extremely unlikely that he'll go all the way and compete in three one-on-one matches in the same show.
Jeff Hardy: Of all the Superstars in this World Cup, Hardy has the least momentum. He hadn't been on WWE television for a month before his surprising victory over Samoa Joe. The semi-final is probably his best bet.
The Miz: While it's not impossible that The Miz wins the tournament, it would seem a bit of a waste. He has already told AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan that he will be waiting to face the winner of their WWE Championship match at Crown Jewel, so he doesn't need a World Cup victory to solidify his status as the next #1 contender.
Dolph Ziggler: The "best in the world" nickname that will inevitably stick with the winner of this tournament would perfectly suit Ziggler and his arrogant persona. However, with higher-profile Superstars involved, the Raw tag champ will probably put on one or two contenders for Match of the Night before being eliminated.
#4 Rey Mysterio
Rey Mysterio made his in-ring WWE return by defeating United States champion Shinsuke Nakamura in the final World Cup qualifier on SmackDown 1000.
The high-flyer produced some classic moves from his WWE past, including an innovative splash under the bottom rope to the outside of the ring, as well as his trademark 619 move, before getting the win with a springboard frog splash.
In all honesty, it's difficult to see Mysterio winning the tournament – he's the distant fourth pick of our four most likely victors – but if he can build up enough momentum and support from fans on the next two episodes of SmackDown Live, you just never know.
After all, he defeated Dolph Ziggler and R-Truth on the same night in a tournament to crown a new WWE champion in July 2011. The next week, he won against The Miz to become champion.
The reign didn't even last until the end of the show, but that's not the point – he still won the tournament!
#3 Seth Rollins
Does Seth Rollins really need to win a tournament which will probably have next-to-no significance once Crown Jewel is over? No. No, he does not.
However, with Rollins and Roman Reigns at odds with Dean Ambrose on a seemingly weekly basis at the moment, it’s inevitable that “The Kingslayer” and “The Big Dog” will soon find themselves embroiled in some heated altercations of their own.
For that reason, a Rollins victory in the World Cup could be a good way to kick-start a battle with Reigns over who is “the best in the world” out of the two men, and it would tie into the current storyline by further devaluing the importance of Ambrose to The Shield.
Besides, Rollins legitimately feels that he is "the best in the world", as he recently said before namechecking Kenny Omega as somebody he wants to face one day, so the new nickname would be a suitable fit for him.
#2 Randy Orton
Randy Orton has been on a roll ever since he returned to WWE television at Extreme Rules in July.
“The Viper” has tormented everybody and everything in his path, from Jeff Hardy and his stretched earlobe to Tye Dillinger and his crooked fingers, and it surely won’t be long before his recent change in attitude leads to another WWE Championship pursuit.
Braun Strowman’s 50-man Greatest Royal Rumble triumph in April counted for absolutely nothing, at least from a storyline perspective, so perhaps WWE has learned from that and the winner of this World Cup tournament could receive a title opportunity in the future.
If that is the case, then Orton should be considered a top contender to win the whole thing. Plus, when you consider the aggressive attacks he’s been dishing out recently, it's difficult to see any of the other seven men in this tournament (except our #1!) picking up a win over the 13-time World champion.
#1 John Cena
Whether he’s part-time or full-time, champion or not champion, there’s no denying that John Cena is still the highest-profile active competitor that WWE has on the roster.
His importance to WWE was summed up by the World Cup announcement on last week’s Raw, which stated that he was immediately placed in the tournament at Crown Jewel and, unlike the other seven participants, he didn’t even have to qualify.
Why? For the simple reason that he is John Cena.
The biggest hint that the 16-time World champion will win the tournament, becoming “the best in the world” in the process, is the way that the recent WWE Network specials have been booked.
Barring the odd match (e.g. The IIconics and Buddy Murphy winning in their home country), the babyfaces picked up victories at the Greatest Royal Rumble and Super Show-Down, essentially making the shows feel like glorified live events.
Crown Jewel is the third and final WWE Network special of 2018, so a Cena victory is probable if WWE goes down the same route of babyfaces getting the wins.
