Official 2011 Royal Rumble Participants

It's less than a week until the 2011 Royal Rumble takes place in Boston, MA, on January 30, 2011. On the line is the chance to headline Wrestlemania 27, by choosing to compete against the WWE or World Heavyweight Champion. It's a huge opportunity and one superstar is hoping for a big win.

So who's in so far? As of this moment, 28 of the 40 Royal Rumble participants for 2011 have been announced, and here they are in alphabetical order:

Alberto Del Rio
CM Punk
"Dashing" Cody Rhodes
Daniel Bryan
Darren Young
David Hart Smith
David Otunga
Drew McIntyre
Ezekiel Jackson
Heath Slater
Husky Harris
Jack Swagger
John Cena
John Morrison
Justin Gabriel
Mark Henry
Mason Ryan
Michael McGillicutty
Primo
R-Truth
Rey Mysterio
Sheamus
Ted DiBiase
Tyson Kidd
Wade Barrett
William Regal
Yoshi Tatsu
Zack Ryder

The list above features several first-time participants including members of The New Nexus and The Corre. Only two former winners in the mix so far, with John Cena and Rey Mysterio. Randy Orton and Edge are also recent winners, but both are competing in title matches at the Royal Rumble Pay-Per-View.

Simply by going down the list, it's easy to cross off names who don't seem likely to win, but this may be a surprise year. So far, the early favorites may be John Cena, Rey Mysterio, CM Punk, Wade Barrett and John Morrison.