As the end of 2024 draws near, the attention of the wrestling world turns to 2025 and the impending Road to WrestleMania 41 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on April 19-20.

The annual Royal Rumble premium live event kicks off that road on February 1 and will give fans their first look at the main events they can expect to see at The Showcase of the Immortals.

One half of those contests will be the winners of the men's and women's Royal Rumble matches. Just short of three months out from the PLE, let's see who ranks most likely to win the 30-person, over-the-top-rope contests with this way-too-early preview.

Women's Rankings: Nos. 5 To 2

It's possible the winner of the 2025 women's Royal Rumble match is not currently competing on television every week, either due to injury, hiatus or because they are dominating NXT.

5. Roxanne Perez

The NXT women's champion has accomplished just about all there is to do with the brand beyond losing the title she won at Stand and Deliver in April.

With talent such as Giulia, Stephanie Vaquer and Zaria all ready to pick up the ball and carry NXT forward, it feels like The Prodigy's days as champion could be numbered.

If so, it would only be a matter of time before Perez made the jump to the main roster, and there are few more meaningful ways to introduce her to the WWE Universe than by having her outlast her opponents and cash her ticket to WrestleMania 41.

That the two women atop Raw and SmackDown are heels makes this a less likely scenario, but given the effort that has gone into presenting the 23-year-old as one of the faces of the future, this feels like one of the most effective ways of calling her up.

4. Bianca Belair

Belair may be a women's tag team champion but after the seeds of a potential breakup with partner Jade Cargill were planted on Monday's Raw, you cannot discount The EST of WWE as a candidate to become the first to win two women's Royal Rumble matches.

Add to that her desire to square off with fellow NXT alumnus Rhea Ripley, and you have a ready-made main event-worthy matchup waiting for WWE.

However, considering Belair has yet to split with Cargill, it may be too quick a turnaround for that to happen and for Ripley to return from injury and regain the women's title from Liv Morgan.

3. Becky Lynch

This one is obviously dependent upon Lynch re-signing with WWE and returning to the squared circle in time for the women's Rumble.

Presuming she does, The Man is as good a choice as any to win her second women's Rumble match and compete for the Women's World Championship.

There is a ready-made matchup with Morgan. The heel champion defeated Lynch for the gold with the assistance of Dominik Mysterio and retained it against her in a steel cage, the last match the 37-year-old competed in before her current hiatus.

A showdown with either of Lynch's other rivals, Nia Jax or Tiffany Stratton, for the WWE Women's Championship would also make sense given their respective histories.

2. Charlotte Flair

Fans have not seen Flair on WWE programming since she suffered a serious knee injury during a match with Asuka in December 2023.

Assuming she is cleared and ready to return to the squared circle, The Queen should always be considered a candidate to win a high-stakes match and be in title contention.

While there is no obvious path for her, Flair is the most decorated woman of her generation and a Superstar who can legitimately headline any show, especially WrestleMania.

Flair also has a loss at The Showcase of the Immortals to Ripley that she has yet to avenge if Triple H and the creative team want to go back down that road.

If The Queen is back in action, though, she jumps the rest of the runners-up to come in here at the No. 2 spot...just behind a familiar foe.

Women's No. 1: Rhea Ripley

Ripley is out of action after suffering a broken orbital bone, but she will hopefully be back in action sometime before the Royal Rumble.

The most obvious story upon her return is the resumption of her rivalry with Morgan and pursuit of the women's world title. It's a story we are already several months into and one that likely would have wrapped up ahead of WrestleMania 41.

However, her latest injury has delayed that and left Morgan to dominate atop Raw, flanked by bodyguard Raquel Rodriguez.

Mami's return and victory in the women's Rumble match would set her up to conquer Rodriguez and battle Morgan one-on-one on The Grandest Stage of Them All.

Given the time and energy that has been put into this story, it's the most logical outcome and the one the fans who have invested in it deserve.

Men's Rankings: Nos. 5 to 2

The five names most likely to win the men's Royal Rumble match are a Who's Who of legends and future Hall of Famers, some of whom are on television regularly and others whose returns will help define 2025.

5. John Cena

Cena will embark on his retirement tour in 2025, and there would be no better or more significant way to kick it off than a historic third Rumble win, tying "Stone Cold" Steve Austin for the most ever.

The win would set the veteran on the Road to WrestleMania 41, where he can challenge for a historic 17th world title.

A Rumble win would immediately introduce stakes to a final series of matches that would otherwise have been played for nostalgia purposes for one of the top stars the industry has ever produced.

Adding gravity to it by way of a title chase would make for an interesting reintroduction for Cena, especially if he was to challenge Gunther for the World Heavyweight Championship.

4. Seth Rollins

Rollins was the MVP of last year's 'Mania and since losing the World Heavyweight Championship on Night 2, he has scratched and clawed his way back into contention.

While he has been sidetracked by Bronson Reed of late, The Visionary is still one of the top stars on Raw and someone who figures to be right in the middle of the world title scene come February.

Assuming CM Punk is, too, that long-teased rivalry could manifest itself into a program over the championship.

Punk dethroning Gunther and entering Las Vegas as the champion to defend against a Rumble-winning Rollins is one path WWE officials could take, but it feels very much like the wrong one.

More on that in a moment.

3. The Rock

This is the most interesting potential choice because the idea of The Rock flexing his power as a TKO director to enter the men's Rumble at No. 30 would grant him even more hate from the fans.

It would also play into the Undisputed WWE Championship picture, which almost certainly will have Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns firmly entrenched in it.

If The Final Boss returns and levers his way into the Rumble and wins it, WWE has a scenario in which multiple stories will intersect in the form of a Triple Threat match for Night 2 of WrestleMania 41.

There aren't many bigger blockbuster matches than that.

With the exception of Rock vs. Reigns, of course, but that would come after each man fights for the seat at the head of the table in The Bloodline.

2. CM Punk

The top two spots on this list could go either way.

It would mean more for Punk to cross off another accomplishment by winning the men's Rumble and cashing his ticket to one of the two main events at WrestleMania 41.

The Best in the World fell just short a year ago and suffered a triceps injury that cost him a dance on the grandest stage completely.

While Punk is currently on hiatus, he has already revealed his intentions to challenge for the World Heavyweight Championship. He has also run into Rollins more than once.

The two Superstars were originally slated to clash in Philadelphia in April before Punk was injured.

With tension now even higher after Punk cost Rollins the world title at Money in the Bank and The Visionary returned the favor by causing the Chicago-born competitor to lose to Drew McIntyre at SummerSlam, the path to that match is set.

That is, if Rollins can unseat Gunther along the way.

Men's No. 1: Roman Reigns

If there was ever a time for Roman Reigns to win his second men's Royal Rumble match and stamp his ticket to WrestleMania, it's now.

The OTC is fresh off a babyface turn and as popular as ever. With the ongoing Bloodline saga, the tensions between him and undisputed WWE champion Cody Rhodes and the specter of The Rock hanging overhead, there are enough moving pieces for him to enter Vegas on one of the hottest runs of his career and a clear favorite to regain the top prize in the industry.

Would a Rumble win mean as much to him as it would Punk, who has never won the men's match? No, but that hasn't stopped WWE before when it comes to highlighting its top star, especially on the way to the biggest show of the year.

Plus, a potential face-to-face with Rhodes, or a three-way staredown that also involves The Final Boss, would make for a buzzworthy way to end the Rumble and set in motion the events that will culminate in one of the biggest matches in WrestleMania history.