Alexa Bliss remains hugely popular despite having been sidelined with injury and could return to the title picture with a Royal Rumble win

According to the majority of WWE fans, only one woman is walking out of the Royal Rumble with the win on her record and a WrestleMania title match to come: Charlotte Flair.

And it is true that arguing against Flair winning the second all-female elimination extravaganza is something of a fool's errand.

There are seven former world champions in the Rumble - it's eight if you include Alicia Fox's run with the Divas title - but the stand-out is Flair.

She has been involved in a program with the two stars of the WWE's women's division for the past month - Becky Lynch and Ronda Rousey - and their presence in title matches elsewhere means the spotlight is firmly on the Queen.

But WWE does look to spring a surprise. It's a cliche that one should always expect the unexpected in the squared circle world of sports entertainment.

So who, other than Flair, could win the Rumble and go on to a WrestleMania mega match for one of the championships? We took a look at five contenders...


Nia Jax remains a dominant force in WWE and is likely to carry a major threat in the Royal Rumble
Nia Jax

Jax was a dominant force in the women's division for 2018, and even had a brief title run with the Raw championship.

These days she seems more concerned with her partnership with Tamina and a potential crack at the women's tag-titles, which will be on the line for the first time at the Elimination Chamber next month.

Given her size, Jax will - in the style of Andre the Giant - be both a target and a threat in the Rumble, and her presence is impossible to ignore.


Bayley's main focus in recent weeks has been her tag-team partnership with Sasha Banks
Bayley

Like Jax, Bayley's main focus is seemingly the tag-team titles, but with her partner Sasha Banks involved in a title match of her own, the Hugger could be forced to find a new target.

If Banks somehow dethrones Rousey and takes the Raw title, could we see a situation unfold where Bayley, denied the chance to go for the tag belts, seeks to take on her old friend?

Or will Bayley benefit from the need to have all of the Four Horsewomen in strong positions should WWE pull the trigger on the long-mooted program with Rousey's MMA faction of the same name?


Bliss lost the Raw women's title to Ronda Rousey at SummerSlam and has been somewhat on the slide since

Alexa Bliss

WWE's decision to announce Bliss' return at the Royal Rumble was criticised by some, who felt they should have waited and made it one of the night's surprises.

Revealing it ahead of time is an interesting strategy which obviously has its roots in securing more interest in the event - Bliss remains one of the company's key performers despite a spell out with injury.

Can she get up to the level of Lynch and Rousey? It's possible - and a Royal Rumble victory would be a major step forward in achieving that.

If WWE want to give a major push to an emerging star at the Royal Rumble, they may look to Mandy Rose

Mandy Rose

While it feels a little early for Rose to win the Royal Rumble outright at this stage of her career, it would certainly send out a message that she is a competitor in which the WWE have a huge amount of faith.

Previously, Rumbles have acted as launching pads for burgeoning careers, and Rose would find herself with enormous momentum if she was given the win on Sunday night.

As with other challengers, her partnership with Sonya Deville seems to come first, but Rose does seem to be the stand-out candidate in the ranks of competitors beneath the main-event players.

Shayna Baszler has risen to become a superb heel on NXT - could her main-roster time be now?

Shayna Baszler

If you want a candidate straight out of left field, how about Baszler, who isn't even on the main roster yet?

The former MMA competitor - and Rousey associate - has been brutally brilliant and brilliantly brutal during her run in NXT, which could come to an end if she drops the title to Bianca Belair at TakeOver the night before the Rumble.

If Rousey needs back-up for her war with Lynch and Flair, she could find it in the form of Baszler, who would be instantly established as a top-level star were she to win the Rumble.