5. The Marathon Man
Someone is going to have to carry this Rumble for everyone else to do their spots, while a real ring leader keeps the pace and action flowing. If the winner of the Rumble is like Edmund Hillary conquering Everest then this wrestler is Tenzing Norgay. He might not make the history books, but is just as important as the eventual winner.
The Must Happen: Daniel Bryan. Recent events have maybe placed this in more doubt, but this is surely a no-brainer for this years Rumble. Bryan has been playing the perfect underdog for a lot of this year, with his fight against the Authority seemingly slipping into reality with the apparent undercut of his mega-push. However that shouldn't stop his run at the Rumble. As much as he's a very different character to Stone Cold, this fight against an oppressive regime has a lot of elements that hark back to the Texas Rattlesnake at his best. Bryan should last the whole Rumble, eliminating every agent that the Authority throws at him. Unfortunately his story with the Wyatt's could override this whole quest for the Title which has eluded him, but we must hope. Always hope. And then accept our disappointment with dignity, certainly not crying on the bus on the way to work. Not again.
The Could Happen: CM Punk. Punk hasn't done one of the top twenty longest times in the Rumble in any of his 5 outings. That is quite a surprise as he is more than capable of taking the Rumble to the limit. He's not been in the running for the Title recently, since his 434 day reign was ended a year ago, and since his feud with Heyman he's been a little aimless considering Punks ability. Punk going from number 1 or 2 and lasting until the final 4 would not be a surprise to anyone, especially if he was taken out by a member of the Shield at the end. Punk has based his entire WWE run on being anti-authority, so being taken out by a Triple H lackey would seem appropriate, and will hopefully give Punk some real fire going into Wrestlemania season.