WWE Royal Rumble 2014: Projecting Most Likely Final 4 in Battle Royal Match

Growing up a wrestling fan, there were few things I looked forward to more than the Royal Rumble. There was something so very exciting about seeing every major Superstar compete in a single match with only one of them able to leave with their arm raised in victory.

Except for 1994, but having two guys win because management could not make up its mind as to whom it wanted to challenge for the title was stupid anyway.

During those Rumble matches, my favorite moment came late in the match when only four Superstars remained in the match. "The final four," as Vince McMahon once referred to it as on commentary, captured my attention as a young fan because it felt like the best of the best in the Rumble match that year.

There was usually one or two Superstars with a legitimate shot at winning the match, the yearly "marathon man" and a dark-horse candidate who, despite his spot on the card, managed to make it that far in the contest.

The more modern Rumble matches have typically loaded up on main event star power when it comes to the final four, but every once and a while, the company will revert back to the formula that made the match so exciting and entertaining in years past.

For example, the 2011 match featured legitimate contenders Alberto Del Rio and Randy Orton, rising young star Wade Barrett and Santino Marella, who shocked everyone and nearly won the match.

This year, with John Cena and Randy Orton making up the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match, there are more questions than answers surrounding the Rumble match, especially considering the return of Batista to World Wrestling Entertainment and what seem to be ever-changing plans for WrestleMania XXX.

One of those questions is, which four wrestlers will make up the prestigious (at least in this writer's mind) final four?

Taking into consideration position on the card, star power and current push (or lack thereof), here is a look at the four men most likely to make up the final four Superstars in the 2014 Royal Rumble match.

Photo Credit: WWE.com

Batista

This one seems like a given, should Batista actually announce his entry into the Royal Rumble.

The Animal did not choose to return to WWE knowing that there would not be big plans in place for him upon his arrival. Those big plans do not necessarily include him winning the Rumble match, but they most certainly should see him put in an impressive performance en route to a place in the final four.

Arguably the biggest star to appear in this year's Rumble, Batista is the safest bet in these projections based solely on the fact that his return is being made such a big deal and that anything less would be a major letdown.

Photo Credit: WWE.com

CM Punk

The Best in the World, for all of his accomplishments, has never given that one definitive Royal Rumble performance that competitors of comparable stardom have.

Yes, his 2010 performance was wildly entertaining and nearly stole the match, but he was still eliminated relatively early. In 2011, as the leader of the New Nexus, he once again put in a solid performance but was assisted by the members of the young faction while doing so.

2014 appears to be the best opportunity Punk has had to be a major force in the Rumble bout in his career. There is no Cena, Orton, Triple H, Shawn Michaels or Undertaker to really steal the spotlight. Thus, Punk will be relied upon heavily to boost the star power in the match.

Expect interactions with The Shield and maybe the Wyatt Family before Punk settles in, amasses an impressive string of eliminations and lasts until the final moments of the match.

Photo Credit: WWE.com

Alberto Del Rio

The former World Heavyweight champion has been a work horse for WWE for the last year, and this year's Royal Rumble should be no different.

The Mexican-born Superstar has the potential to be one of the Rumble's great marathon men. A great technical wrestler whose in-ring skill and conditioning have never been questioned, Del Rio has all of the tools to enter the match very early on and make it all the way to the end.

As a sneaky, opportunistic star and former winner, Del Rio could thrive as the heel who survives by picking his spots and dumping the opposition over the top rope before finally getting what is coming to him when confronted by three other Superstars in the final four.

He is not a favorite to win this year's match as much as he would have been in years past, but by the following Monday morning, he could very well be the Superstar whose performance is the talk of the wrestling world.

Photo Credit: WWE.com

Seth Rollins

It would seem safer to pick Dean Ambrose or Roman Reigns to make it to this spot in the match, but Seth Rollins has been spectacular in recent matches against John Cena and CM Punk and appears to have a great deal of momentum behind him at this point.

He is a dynamic, explosive performer who could be one of the bigger stories of the Rumble match if he fends of elimination and manages to stick around until the end.

While Ambrose could easily start the match and go on a nice little run and Reigns could dominate in one big spurt—reminiscent of Diesel in 1994—the Superstar most likely to do just enough to survive until the end, to put himself in position to win, is Rollins.

Just as he had been for The Shield throughout its impressive 2013.