WWE Royal Rumble 2012 Review

Match 1: World Heavyweight Championship - Steel Cage - Daniel Bryan © vs. The Big Show vs. Mark Henry
Awesome way to open up the show in St. Louis. The awesome Daniel Bryan taking on two of 2011’s most underrated stars of the WWE in a steel cage. The action was very minimal and understandable considering that three men were locked inside. Even still, the three men added enough drama to make things interesting as Daniel Bryan was able to escape the grip of The Big Show and fell to the floor to retain!
Winner: Daniel Bryan
Rating: **¼

Match 2: Kelly Kelly, Eve, Alicia Fox, & Tamina vs. Beth Phoenix, Natalya, Brie Bella, & Nikki Bella
As Jerry Lawler drools, the Divas go at it. I’ll admit that these matches are actually becoming much better and watching these matches don’t really seem like much of a chore anymore. Phoenix slams Kelly to pick up the win after she tagged herself in.
Winners: Beth Phoenix, Natalya, Brie Bella, & Nikki Bella
Rating: *¼

Match 3: John Cena vs. Kane
This is definitely one of the oddest feuds going on in the wacky world of wrestling as Cena defends the honor of Zack Ryder & Eve against Kane. The action was exactly what it was expected, slow and short. The contest didn’t last long as the referee counted both men out. However, the action spilled out backstage where Kane beat down Cena and then took Ryder back to the ring where he landed a Tombstone. If it wasn’t for the hot St. Louis crowd, that would have been a total disaster. This whole feud should end soon because both guys deserve better.
Winner: n/a
Rating: *¼

Match 4: Brodus Clay vs. Drew McIntyre
Basic Brodus squash match with the only difference being that this match is on PPV. McIntyre’s career has been in a spiral and salvaging it seems like a nearly impossible task.
Winner: Brodus Clay
Rating: n/a

Match 5: WWE Championship - CM Punk © vs. Dolph Ziggler
The special guest referee of the contest is John Laurinaitis who is getting his job evaluated the following night. I’m not much a fan of special guest referees but this one works well with the situation. He immediately kicks Vickie Guerrero out of the match and the match begins. Great back and fourth action from the two but maybe I was just expecting a little to much from the two. You get your usual referee bump as Punk beats Dolph three times without a referee in the ring. Punk eventually lands another GTS on Dolph and gets the win with Laurinaitis doing the count simultaneously with another referee. Good match which leads to interesting television for the next few weeks.
Winner: CM Punk
Rating: ***

Match 6: 2012 Royal Rumble
It is finally time for one of my favorite matches of the entire year, the Royal Rumble! They are going back to the smaller 30 man format instead of last year’s 40 man format which I felt was a good move. The Miz, who is a perfect fit to open the match, is in as the first entrant against Riley. This year’s match was filled with oldies, guys hanging around in the low bottom of the card, and a few stars tossed around. It really made the match feel less special and in turn, the crowd was a little turned off. There were some really dull moments throughout the course of the match where a big name could have been used but they mainly came out nearing the end. There were also a lot of missed opportunities, the eliminations came too fast and thus, nobody really got over because of it. The Rumble is a perfect chance to have someone last long throughout the match and make a name for himself. Other than maybe The Miz or Cody Rhodes, nobody had a significant part of the match. The final four came down to The Big Show, Sheamus, Chris Jericho, and St. Louis’ Randy Orton. A really cool mix because everyone has a legit reason to win. After Show and Orton were quickly eliminated, it was down to Jericho and Sheamus. The two went back and fourth until Sheamus finally kicks Jericho out to earn a main event ticket to WrestleMania XXVIII. Very cool finish and a very cool exchange between the two to cap off the show. The right man won, Sheamus is definitely on a roll and is star continues to shine. This Rumble win was kick he needed to elevate himself. The match as a whole was definitely on the weaker side but the final eliminations were really something to write home about.
Winner: Sheamus
Rating: ***½ 

Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
That was probably one of the strangest Royal Rumbles ever. The show had good pacing but everything felt rushed and the WrestleMania feel just wasn’t there. The two title matches were good and nothing more. The Royal Rumble match was also good and nothing more. However, Sheamus is definitely going to be a major player in the WWE and this big win is a great representation.
Rating: 5.75/10