Randy Orton Gives Update On His WWE Royal Rumble Match Status

Randy Orton will be making his 18th appearance at this year's WWE Royal Rumble event, although it's unclear as of this writing whether he will be involved in the match itself.

Regardless of his status being undetermined, the Apex Predator told FOX2 Now that he expects to be in the 30-man battle royal.

"I will probably end up being in the Royal Rumble itself. That's not official yet," Orton said.

This year's Rumble makes its return to St. Louis, Missouri for the first time in ten years, but this one is getting super-sized. 2012's Rumble took place from the 18,000 seat Scottrade Center, but this year's will hail from The Dome at America's Center, expected to hold over 50,000 fans.

While Orton has won a pair of Royal Rumble matches already, he still has the hunger to win another for a very particular reason.

"I'm going to do my best to hang on for dear life and win the Royal Rumble in my hometown," Orton said.

Not only would this mean a victory in his hometown of St. Louis, but a third Rumble win would put Orton in an elite company that currently only has one other member.

"That would be the third time that I won the event," Orton said. "Which would put me and 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin as the only two WWE performers to ever win that event three times."

There are currently 15 available spots for this year's men's Royal Rumble match. The battle royal currently has Kevin Owens, Austin Theory, Rey Mysterio, Dominik Mysterio, Montez Ford, Angelo Dawkins, Sheamus, WWE United States Champion Damian Priest, AJ Styles, Big E, Kofi Kingston, Sami Zayn, Madcap Moss, Happy Baron Corbin, and Johnny Knoxville of Jackass confirmed.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit FOX2 Now with an h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

Wrestling Inc.'s Dakota Cohen contributed to this article.