10 Most Exciting WWE Royal Rumble Finishes
3. Chris Jericho Vs. Sheamus - 2012
There was no clear favorite heading into the 2012 Royal Rumble, but most of the attention was being given to two men - Chris Jericho, who had made a surprise return to WWE after weeks of vignettes and promised to deliver "The end of the world as you know it," and Randy Orton, who was returning to action in his hometown after a brief injury.
The not-very-star-studded Rumble came down to those two men and Sheamus. Jericho managed to toss Orton out of the ring, leaving just the two finalists - and what followed was a several-minutes-long sequence that saw both men tease elimination and fight tooth and nail for the WrestleMania slot.
For five minutes, Jericho and Sheamus went back and forth, each man narrowly avoiding elimination over and over. At one point, Sheamus lifted Jericho up for a High Cross and seemed to be looking to toss him out, but Jericho slid out and gave Sheamus a Codebreaker. It wasn't enough to put the former King of the Ring down, though, and he soon deposited Jericho on the apron and knocked him out of the match with a Brogue Kick.