WWE Royal Rumble 2015: Power Ranking Likely Rumble Winners After Jan. 12 Raw

The Jan. 12 edition of WWE Raw returned to the city where Daniel Bryan held two world titles above his head at WrestleMania 30, the company teasing that this year the bearded warrior may reprise that moment after winning the 2015 Royal Rumble.

WWE showed no slowing in its support of Roman Reigns' rise. It, however, attempted to make the Rumble result less obvious by foreshadowing a Bryan victory.

Dolph Ziggler and Ryback, meanwhile, stayed offscreen. Their "fired" status will eventually net them some huge moments, but it's unclear whether that will come before, during or after the Royal Rumble pay-per-view.

The following is a look at the most likely candidates for who wins the Rumble come Jan. 25. Current momentum, how WWE is booking them and how well they would fit into the main event picture at WrestleMania determine the rankings. 

Dark Horses

• Bray Wyatt
• Bad News Barrett
• Rusev
• Randy Orton

Last week, Wyatt had armfuls of momentum. He outlasted Dean Ambrose in an Ambulance match, wrapping up that feud as the winner.

The fact that WWE did not capitalize on Wyatt's win is surprising. On Monday's Raw, it was Ambrose who got more airtime, more spotlight. The process of building up Wyatt looks to be slow-going.

WWE has featured both Barrett and Rusev a decent amount lately. Barrett laid a beating on Sin Cara on SmackDown. Rusev forced the referee to stop the match in a clash with Ambrose on Monday's Raw.

The championships around their waists lower their chances of winning the Royal Rumble, though. No intercontinental or United States champ has emerged from that 30-man match the victor.

Orton is a big enough star to headline WrestleMania and would be an intriguing option against Brock Lesnar or Seth Rollins. It's unclear when he'll be back, however.

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Wrestle Zone) reported that he needed surgery to repair a deviated septum. 

5. Ryback

Ryback is still "fired." John Cena attempted to get him and Team Cena partners their jobs back on Monday's Raw but came up short.

The Big Guy gained no momentum as a result.

Rusev called him out in New Orleans, though. So it appears that feud is continuing once Ryback is somehow inserted into the roster once again. With Rusev now officially in the Rumble, that rivalry will play out as part of that match.

That should put Ryback in the 30-man field.

He hasn't been treated like a main eventer, though. Betting on him and Rusev eliminating each other is safe. As the Rumble winner, he's more of a long shot.

4. Dolph Ziggler

Like Ryback, Dolph Ziggler didn't appear on Monday's Raw. The fired storyline kept him offscreen, and it's unclear how WWE plans to get him his roster spot back.

The Showoff remains on the list, though, because WWE has treated him like the bigger star of the exiled trio. Cena brought more attention to Ziggler during his opening speech, for example, questioning The Authority's business strategy of keeping such a big star off the show.

The announcers mentioned Ziggler's name more often as well.

If WWE makes a huge deal out of Ziggler's reentry into WWE, his chances of winning the Rumble go up. He's been on the cusp of headliner status lately, especially after being the hero of Team Cena's win at Survivor Series. 

While he got a break at home, though, three top Superstars were busy taking swings under the spotlight.

3. Dean Ambrose

Dean Ambrose rebounded from his loss to Bray Wyatt last week. While Wyatt didn't even appear on Monday's Raw, The Lunatic Fringe was featured often.

In a multi-part segment, he underwent a psychological evaluation. Its funny moments came as often as its corny ones, but WWE was highlighting him regardless. Passing the evaluation earned him entry into the Royal Rumble. 

Later in the night, he battled Rusev. While he officially added another loss to his record (via referee stoppage), he looked gutsy in the process. He hobbled on an injured knee, refusing to give in, even as the beastly Russian came charging at him.

That's an improvement over Wyatt throwing his limp body into an ambulance but not as much of a momentum boost as Daniel Bryan received. 

2. Daniel Bryan

Maybe it's just WWE attempting sleight of hand, but the company laid the foreshadowing of Daniel Bryan winning the Royal Rumble on thick.

The company made sure to remind us that New Orleans was the site of Bryan's WrestleMania title win last year. He told fans he planned on making it to that match for the second straight time. There was even a feeling of WWE restarting the story it had going before Bryan's surgery.

Kane attacked Bryan, just as he did last year.

This time, though, Bryan fought out of his grip and had the big man falling backward. WWE announced Bryan's first match back would be on Thursday's SmackDown against his old rival and former partner.

In terms of momentum, Bryan is closing in on Roman Reigns. Should he defeat Kane, though, it won't have the same impact that Reigns toppling Big Show will.

The former giant has been beaten often as of late. WWE is presenting the latter one as more of a current threat.

1. Roman Reigns

While WWE's writers are leaning too much on goofy material for Roman Reigns' rise, it's clear that his trajectory is an upward one.

He stared Big Show down on Monday's Raw, dissing him during a promo centered on fairy tales. Even with as much as Reigns is struggling with a mic, WWE keeps handing him opportunities like that. That alone speaks to the company's confidence in him. 

As the Royal Rumble draws closer, Reigns continues to pick up momentum.

He did so this week by pinning Seth Rollins on SmackDown and knocking off Luke Harper. After the latter match, Reigns suffered a KO punch from Big Show, having him see stars and setting up a big showdown in the near future.

The attention WWE is paying to that feud suggests it is meant to be a way to boost Reigns forward—just what he would need before outlasting 29 men at the Rumble.