10 Most Surprising WWE Royal Rumble Winners Ever

5. Sheamus (2012)

The 2011 Royal Rumble put the match on a downward descent and the 2012 Royal Rumble saw the bottom drop out. Taking nothing away from what he has accomplished throughout his WWE career, but giving Sheamus the Royal Rumble victory in 2012 just reeked of desperation on WWE's part on many levels. The company was desperate to try and get Sheamus over as babyface, they were desperate to try and swerve the fans by changing the winner at the last minute from the recently-returned Chris Jericho, and they were desperate to try and make the Royal Rumble some sort of fail-safe, bail-out plan where one victory could get a superstar over. Like WrestleMania XXVII, WrestleMania XXVIII in 2012 also featured the Royal Rumble winner jerking the curtain when Sheamus defeated Daniel Bryan in their infamous opening contest that lasted 18 seconds. WWE was clearly misguided in their thinking that by simply awarding any talent the Royal Rumble victory, they would be seen as an instantly over, credible, bonafide main event superstar. The company seems to have learned its lesson since then. Say what you will about the predictability of some of the recent Royal Rumble winners, but since 2013, they have all competed in the true main event of WrestleMania.