2012 Royal Rumble Winners: The Five Possibilities

With the 2012 Royal Rumble mere hours away, the big question is: Who will walk away the Rumble match winner?

Though we're bound to have some crazy returns and awesome sub-plots, only one person can walk away.

Can't wait to find out? Well, we have narrowed the competition down to just five possible winners. Most are who you'd expect.

But one may shock you...

Honorable Mention: Santino Marella

Look, Santino is not winning.

Honestly, I should not even have him on this list.

The only reason he is here is because (a) I wanted an honorable mention slide, and (b) I am interested in what the WWE will do with him this year.

After his fall between the ropes caused him to be the runner-up last year, his Rumble performance became a part of his character. There have been some subtle and not-so-subtle reminders of this throughout the past year (his shoot before he was squashed by Nash a few months ago, his appearance on the poster for the Rumble).

They can't just leave him out, or even have a quiet run. WWE have backed themselves into a corner; it will be interesting to see what they do with Santino from here.

Chris Jericho

Jericho is just back and ready for a big push.  

A match with Punk at Wrestlemania for the title would certainly be a huge push.

Even if this doesn't happen, expect a deep run for Jericho.

Dolph Ziggler

Ziggler has been getting an incredible push these past few months.

He's been getting two matches per PPV and putting forth fantastic performances. And it's all culminating with his title match at Rumble.

Even if he were to lose to Punk, another title match will not be far away.

Randy Orton

Orton was the early front-runner for winning the Rumble (starting months ago).

However, the "injury" he suffered, seemingly to make his Rumble win even more dramatic, may have back-fired for the WWE, losing him momentum.

Now that he made a return, expect Orton to eliminate Barrett and make a deep run, but winning the Rumble may not be in the cards.

The Miz

This is another long shot.

Having him constantly beaten by Truth, whether in-ring or out, may have taken enough of the momentum away from Miz's character to make a Rumble win impossible, especially given that he is the first entrant.

However, the heat he can get may set up for a blockbuster title match with Punk at 'Mania.

Expect Punk to eliminate Truth at some point and at least make a deep run.

CM Punk

Yes, I see this as a real possibility. Here's my argument:

Jericho spoke that one line this past week about "the end of the world." Punk calls himself "the best wrestler in the world." Hence, Jericho may be hinting that he will interfere and cost Punk the title against Ziggler.

Even if Jericho doesn't interfere, John Laurinaitis, being the special referee, has already made it so that Punk can drop the title and not take a hit to his persona.

Have you noticed the WWE's statement that "for the first time, all superstars are eligible to compete"? Clearly, they are setting up for something with that; what else hasn't been done besides someone entering the Rumble a champion and still competing in the Rumble match?

If you see Punk drop his title, don't lose hope: A Rumble win may be right around the corner.