WWE Royal Rumble: Top 6 Candidates to Win the Rumble in 2012

Now that Survivor Series has concluded, the next of the big four pay-per-views for the WWE is none other than WrestleMania.

The road to WrestleMania is one of the best couple of months in wrestling every year and it all starts with the Royal Rumble.

The winner of the rumble can wrestle either the WWE Champion or World Heavyweight Champion at WrestleMania, so the implications of the match are huge.

Here are my top six candidates to win the big event.

6.) Cody Rhodes

Cody Rhodes has been on a hot streak ever since he picked up the Intercontinental Championship. He is on the brink of becoming a star in the main event and there is no question that he will soon be World Heavyweight Champion.

Part of me wants to think that Rhodes should be higher on this list of candidates to win the Royal Rumble, but a different heel Superstar on SmackDown to be named later definitely has the edge over Rhodes.

Cody is on the best run of his career with the WWE and even if he doesn’t win the Rumble, he will be competing for the World Heavyweight Championship soon enough.

5.) The Miz

This past Monday on RAW I was shocked and saddened to see the Miz and R-Truth end their run as the Awesome Truth, until I heard about R-Truth’s suspension.

Miz can now return to singles action and what better way is there to get thrust back into the WWE Championship picture than to win the Rumble?

If Miz wins the Rumble, he can challenge CM Punk for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania. We have seen these two in action a couple of times over the past few months and a match at WrestleMania between them would definitely be great.

4.) Sheamus

Ever since Sheamus turned face this summer, he has greatly excelled on SmackDown. He has dominated Christian in their feud and he has proven that he is ready to enter the main event scene in the WWE.

Assuming that CM Punk holds onto the WWE Championship until WrestleMania, it wouldn’t make sense for Sheamus to challenge another face for the title and would therefore challenge the World Heavyweight Champion.

In any case, Sheamus is a legitimate threat at the Rumble, as he readies himself for another major championship push.

3.) Chris Jericho

Yes, I know that Chris Jericho has recently stated that he would never wrestle in the WWE again, but there is always the small possibility that he does make his return.

He could return at the Rumble or right before it, win the Rumble and then challenge CM Punk for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania.

Mr. Best in the World versus Mr. I’m the Best in the World at What I Do could put on a match for the ages and find out who truly is the best in the world.

2.) Wade Barrett

Wade Barrett won his Survivor Series match against Team Orton and his dominant heel presence is quickly vaulting him into a position to compete for a major title.

If Barrett wins the Rumble, he could choose to either go after CM Punk for the WWE Championship or he can compete whoever the World Heavyweight Champion is and Daniel Bryan, if he hasn’t cashed in already.

Wade Barrett is ready to have the gold around his waist, but I still think that he has only the second best chance to win the Rumble.

1.) Dolph Ziggler

Up until this past Monday night, Barrett was my top pick to win in January. But then the CM Punk versus Dolph Ziggler match happened on RAW.

What an awesome match. The two showed that they had great chemistry, the match was exciting and Ziggler proved that he can be a true main event player in the WWE.

If the WWE Executives are smart, they will realize that Ziggler and Punk could put on one hell of a match at WrestleMania and have Ziggler win the Royal Rumble.

To solve the United States Championship problem, they could have Zach Ryder win it from him at TLC (which should happen anyways), opening up the opportunity for Ziggler to compete for the WWE Championship.

There are a lot of ways the WWE could go with the Royal Rumble this January and it will certainly be interesting to see which path they choose to take.