The main story heading into the WWE Title match at the 2012 Royal Rumble involved CM Punk and John Laurinaitis. Playing the heel, Dolph Ziggler was effectively called on to be 'Big Johnny's' puppet, because the villainous authority figure wanted the belt away from Punk. The story felt formulaic, though, and was a watered-down version of the Austin Vs. McMahon story fans had already witnessed many times. Thankfully, the predictable nature of the angle surrounding it didn't hurt the match when push came to shove. When motivated, both Punk and Ziggler have always been capable of producing wonderful performances, and they didn't let the live crowd down here. Even with the distraction of Laurinaitis at ringside as a 'Special Guest Enforcer', the action was captivating and all the attention was on the water tight ring work. Ziggler was being talked about as someone on the cusp of lighting up the main event scene, which is (incredibly) a position he still finds himself in today. Punk's historic 434 day WWE Title reign was still in its infancy at the Rumble and, even though the title never truly seemed under threat, fans loved the match.
