Monday Night Raw Preview 1/20/14: Batista returns to WWE on Royal Rumble go-home show, but will Daniel Bryan appear?

The Jan. 20, 2014 edition of WWE's Monday Night Raw will emanate live from the EJ Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio and will serve as the go-home show for the Royal Rumble pay-per-view on Sunday. The biggest news, of course, is the return of Dave "The Animal" Batista to WWE.

Batista last appeared on the May 24, 2010 edition of Raw when he quit the company (in storyline). But The Animal comes back tonight and WWE has already confirmed that he would be one of the 30 participants in the Royal Rumble match on Sunday. Furthermore, Batista has exchanged words with Alberto Del Rio, who cut some promos on The Animal in the ring during the past few weeks. Batista fired back on Twitter. Will the two ignite their feud immediately tonight, or will WWE bring Batista back in some other way?

Daniel Bryan suffered what is being described as a fairly serous discussion on last week's episode of Raw, and his planned match with Bray Wyatt at Royal Rumble might be canceled. So where does that leave WWE now? The Yes! chants at the end of last week's show gave Bryan even more momentum, but if his concussion is truly serious, then WWE would likely not let him compete. Will he appear on tonight's broadcast at all?

Finally, about half of the participants in the 30-man Royal Rumble match have been confirmed thus far. WWE likes to keep a few slots open for surprises such as Superstars returning from injury or Legends appearances, but will the company reveal any more competitors tonight?

As always, check back with MStars immediately after the show for a full recap of all the action.