Jim Ross on the early WWE Royal Rumble favorite, the Royal Rumble match build, and Daniel Bryan and The Wyatt Family

WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross updated the blog section of JRsbarbq.com. The following items are among the highlights. To order J.R.'s BBQ products, visit WWEShop.com.

-Ross on the Royal Rumble favorite: "I assume because they are involved in one on one bouts that Cena, Orton, Show and Lesnar will not be in the Rumble match but that's merely speculation. If that statement is true, I'd not be too far out on a limb to predict Batista as the early Rumble favorite."

Powell's POV: I hope the Lesnar and Big Show match somehow spills over into the actual Rumble match. it seems so bizarre to me that Brock has simply declared himself No. 1 contender coming out of the Rumble when he has a chance to enter the match and become the No. 1 contender going into WrestleMania 30. I agree with the Batista prediction if the big guns that Ross mentioned are not in the match.

-Ross on the Royal Rumble hype: "Big night for WWE to deliver a major hit on Monday Night Raw. The Royal Rumble is slowly creeping up on everyone. There is still no bigger match than the Rumble match itself at this event. As many of the 30 entrants need to be talking about it."

Powell's POV: We're less than two weeks away from the Rumble and we know two entrants. I don't expect them to announce all 30 men because they should leave the door open for some surprises, but I have been disappointed by the build to the match thus far. The match sells the pay-per-view more than even Randy Orton vs. John Cena does, so WWE really needs to focus heavily on the Rumble on television the next two weeks.

-Ross on Daniel Bryan and The Wyatt Family: "As a fan, I need to hear and see more applicable content on the Daniel Bryan/Wyatt Family storyline. I know that particular entity is seemingly being depended upon within WWE in a big way but their storyline needs a timely update and some new info. I am interested in their story but facets of it are not moving the needle for me just yet. Please tell me why these TV persona's hooked up. It's got to be more than the beards or the Duck Dynasty dudes would be involved, right?"

Powell's POV: At this time last week, it seemed like everyone was anxious to see Bryan's first television appearance as a member of The Wyatt Family. A clunky loss on Raw later, and I don't sense nearly the same level of enthusiasm heading into tonight's Bryan and Bray Wyatt vs. The Uso Brothers followup. WWE really needs to get this going to justify turning one of their most popular babyfaces. Heck, even if it's a short-term deal, they need to get people buzzing about it again.

Other topics include more on the WWE Royal Rumble, a Jerry Lawler cliffhanger, Anderson Silva and UFC, Big E Langston, NFL Playoff predictions, more details about the Ross shows during WrestleMania weekend could be available later today.