This Sunday night, it's one of the most exciting events of the year as the WWE presents the 28th annual Royal Rumble live from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
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The Rumble Match is always full of surprises and fast-paced, unpredictable action and this year should be no different as the WWE kicks off 2015 with its first pay-per-view event and WWE Network special.
The 30-man over-the-top-rope bout will officially begin the road to WrestleMania 31 by determining who will go on to face the WWE World Heavyweight Champion at the Show of Shows.
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Thus far, Roman Reigns, Daniel Bryan, Rusev, Bray Wyatt, Dean Ambrose, Bad News Barrett, Goldust, Stardust, Kane, The Big Show, Justin Gabriel, R-Truth, Fandango, Diego, Fernando, Big E, Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods, Tyson Kidd, Cesaro, The Miz and Damien Mizdow are confirmed for the match, leaving eight spots left. Those entrances will likely be saved for surprises and other things.
Here are the Top 5 most likely candidates to win the Rumble Match.
Honorable Mentions: Dean Ambrose and the returning Sheamus. Ambrose is one of the top faces, but his constant losing on WWE television over the last few weeks makes him doubtful. Sheamus is expected to return to television either at SmackDown or as a surprise entrant in the Rumble Match, but it's uncertain if the WWE would make him win after he just won the bout three years ago and he's not a lock to be in it.
5) Bray Wyatt: "The Eater of Worlds" is a threat to win the 30-man match as the WWE is big on making him look strong, but he is the least likely of the Top 5 to come out on top. The WWE has made it a goal to put Wyatt on the map as one of the top heels by having him win his feud with Ambrose handedly. Wyatt is likely to face The Undertaker at WrestleMania 31 if the "Deadman" decides to return, so while he'll likely look strong in this bout, he won't walk out of Philadelphia as the Rumble Match winner. Still, his chances are better than most in this match.
4) Rusev: The mighty Russian has a chance to escape the Wells Fargo Center as the No. 1 contender for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, but like Wyatt, his chances aren't as great as some other combatants in this bout. The reigning United States Champion will probably have a strong showing, but the elimination format allows the WWE wiggle room since he won't have to be pinned or made to submit in order to lose the match. Rusev is rumored to face John Cena at WrestleMania 31, so if Cena ends up winning the Triple Threat Match against Brock Lesnar and Seth Rollins for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, Rusev's chances of winning the Rumble Match will surely increase.
3) Randy Orton: Though not an official entrant, "The Viper" is highly expected to return Sunday night as a surprise entrant. Orton has been sidelined since November as Triple H, Kane and Seth Rollins gave him a beat down. This was done to write him off in order for him to film a movie, which has since wrapped. Orton has a great chance to win the Rumble Match, especially if Rollins leaves with the WWE Championship on Sunday, since the two are feuding. Orton won the Rumble Match back in 2009.
2) Daniel Bryan: With Bryan returning to action from major neck surgery and announcing he will enter the 30-man Rumble Match, he instantly has emerged as one of the favorites to win it. Bryan never lost the WWE World Heavyweight Championship as he had to forfeit it after undergoing neck surgery last May, which almost cost him his career. Now that Bryan's back and has big plans for 2015, it is possible that the WWE will give him his first ever Rumble Match win to set up the planned Bryan vs. Lesnar bout that never came to fruition in August due to "The Beard's" injury. Bryan has a great chance of leaving the Wells Fargo Center as the Rumble Match winner, though with his health as a question mark and reports of some WWE officials not being high on him, it is anything but a lock.
1) Roman Reigns: For the last six months since the split of The Shield, Reigns has been the favorite to win the 30-man bout as the WWE continues to push him. Despite his mic skills needing a lot of work and his lengthy in-ring bouts being questionable, he has the type of look that Triple H and Vince McMahon like for their top guy. Reigns has continuously been groomed to be the next No. 1 guy in the WWE and there has been little evidence to suggest that the company is changing its mind about Sunday's result. Reigns vs. Lesnar has been the rumored WrestleMania 31 main event for months, though the company could go in a Reigns vs. Rollins or Reigns vs. Cena direction instead. While anything could happen come Sunday, the smart money in on Reigns' monster push to continue to the tune of a 2015 Rumble Match victory.
The WWE presents the Royal Rumble live this Sunday night from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
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