10 WWE Stars Most Likely To Win The Royal Rumble (And Why)

5. Ryback

The trajectory of Ryback's career has been up, then down, then up again. After spending a long time wallowing in the midcard, he finally clawed his way back up into the main event scene in the weeks leading up to Survivor Series, where he was depicted as a hot commodity to be fought over by The Authority and John Cena. Ultimately, he ended up on the good guy's side, pitting himself against Team Authority at the PPV. He was eliminated by Rusev, which set up a budding feud between them in the weeks following Survivor Series, but when The Authority returned, he was fired alongside Erick Rowan and Dolph Ziggler as part of the storyline. Now reinstated, he has an axe to grind with them, and what better way to do that than entering the Rumble and winning? Ryback first entered the Royal Rumble in 2013, in the coveted number 30 spot. He managed to eliminate 5 people, and was the last to be eliminated from the match. It was an impressive showing for the powerhouse, and it's not hard to picture him entering the Rumble and cleaning house once again. The potential matches at Wrestlemania are also strong options. Cena and Ryback have a good history together, with vicious matches at Extreme Rules and Payback in 2013. A match against Seth Rollins would also be a good option, since it would allow Rollins to play the cowardly heel to the maximum next to the bigger, more powerful Las Vegas native. And a babyface Ryback against Brock Lesnar? They could tear the house down. That's not speaking metaphorically, those two giants could feasibly render the Levis Stadium to bricks and mortar, and it would be awesome. The Big Guy arguably has more babyface sympathy than ever before, recently opening his heart to the fans during a Raw promo about how he dreamed of being a wrestler since he was a child. It could be argued that the time to capitalize on this is now, before the angle goes cold. Ryback could be an excellent choice to win the Rumble on Sunday