Early Predictions for CM Punk and the WWE Royal Rumble 2024 Match Card

The end of one year and the start of another brings with it the march to WWE's Royal Rumble premium live event, the official start of the Road to WrestleMania, and the beginning of professional wrestling's most exciting period.

This energy, anticipation, and intrigue around this year's Rumble are intensified by the return of CM Punk to a company some assumed he would never again perform for.

Ahead of the January 27 event in St. Petersburg, Florida, enjoy these way-too-early rumors for Punk, Cody Rhodes, and other top WWE Superstars.

Bayley's Triumph

For weeks, fans have watched as Bayley has been cast aside by her Damage CTRL teammates Asuka, Kairi Sane, Dakota Kai, and WWE Women's Champion Iyo Sky. She has watched the faction she created pass her by with every passing show.

A split from the group is inevitable, and with it will come a Bayley babyface turn. The ignition point for both will come at the Royal Rumble when The Role Model wins the titular match for the first time in her career.

A victory for Bayley will set her on a collision course with Sky for the top prize in the SmackDown women's division and in the process, present her a moment that has eluded her throughout her career.

Her fellow Four Horsewomen have had legitimate WrestleMania moments. Charlotte Flair won on her first try and ended Asuka's 914-day unbeaten streak in 2018. Becky Lynch won the first women's WrestleMania main event a year later. Sasha Banks made history with Bianca Belair as the first two black women to the main event The Showcase of the Immortals in 2021.

Bayley has competed at the Show of Shows and may very well have experienced sentimental moments that she will carry with her forever, but she has not had that defining moment on the grand stage reflective of her place in wrestling history as one of the great revolutionaries of women's wrestling.

That should change this year, beginning with a Rumble victory that has been equally as elusive.

Randy Orton Challenges The Tribal Chief

Randy Orton made it abundantly clear upon his return to WWE that he was focused on avenging the beatdown by The Bloodline that cost him 18 months of his career.

He has already begun enacting his revenge, first by signing with the SmackDown brand and then, by dealing RKOs to Jimmy Uso on consecutive weeks. With the announced return of Roman Reigns on SmackDown next week in Salt Lake City, Utah, expect The Viper to make his presence felt and the march to the Rumble to officially begin.

Orton is one of the few genuine legends that Reigns has not defeated during this historic run as the Undisputed WWE Universal champion. Before the serious injury suffered by Orton, which ultimately required spinal fusion, it appeared as though that matchup may be a possibility.

Nearly two years later, they will finally clash in a marquee match that could easily headline the show over the Rumble matches if the creative direction demands it.

CM Punk and Cody Rhodes' Stories Intersect

Both Cody Rhodes and CM Punk will enter Royal Rumble season with their own stories to tell.

For Rhodes, it is about returning to the main event of WrestleMania 40 and winning the title that eluded his father, the legendary Dusty, by knocking off Roman Reigns and righting a wrong from last year's Showcase of the Immortals.

For Punk, it is about doing something he has never accomplished before by competing in the main event of WrestleMania.

Ironically enough, Punk has also never won the Royal Rumble match, something he could very well accomplish to set up his WrestleMania headlining bout.

To do so, though, he would have to stunt Rhodes' journey to Philadelphia and force him to take an alternative route to The Show of Shows.

That is not necessarily a bad thing, either.

It was fairly obvious through most of the past year that Rhodes-Reigns II was the direction things were heading for WrestleMania. Given how much fans value unpredictability, preventing backlash over a mostly obvious Rumble win would benefit Rhodes and allow him to remain the immensely over babyface that he is.

At the same time, a Punk win could be construed as predictable, especially if he walks in and is booked in that manner. Would such an outcome earn him the disdain of fans who want to see him earn it a bit more than that?

Fellow former WWE champion Bobby Lashley already expressed his feelings on the topic.

"I think, for integrity purposes, I understand he has a big name, he's coming back. He's gonna do some big numbers, but I hope they make him work for some of the stuff. I hope he's not one of the people that he comes back [and says] 'We're going to win the Rumble. We're going to do this. We're going to do that.' I hope they give him an opportunity to kind of prove his loyalty to the business and some of the people in there, just to let everybody know, some of the naysayers, some of the people that aren't too happy, about him being there," he said in an interview with WrestlingNews.co's Steve Fall (h/t Ella Jay of Yahoo Sports for the transcription).

There are likely fans who feel the same way.

The good news is that no one knows what will happen, or if Triple H and Co. have another option in mind for the high-profile win.

Choices create unpredictability, which makes wrestling that much more exciting. Considering the significance of this time of year, exciting is exactly how fans want their pro grapples.