7. Sheamus - 2012
For the 25th edition of the Royal Rumble, WWE presented one of the best title matches and Rumble matches in recent history. Dolph Ziggler challenged CM Punk for the WWE title in a fantastic match that had the crowd absolutely rabid and showcased both men's talents in a very positive manner. It was the first real tease of Dolph being in the main event and Punk made him look like a million dollars. However, as for the Rumble match itself, it was one of the better booked in recently memory and featured a number of entertaining segments and effective use of the participants. Kofi Kingston stood out for his ability to avoid elimination by walking on his hands and all three ringside announcers participated as well. The final four of the match consisted of Sheamus, Randy Orton, Chris Jericho, and the Big Show. Since no one has bought show as a threat to any world title since about 2000, he was eliminated followed by Randy Orton. Jericho and Sheamus proceeded to have a very good five minute mini-match where both guys teased eliminations on multiple occasions. Eventually, Sheamus eliminated Jericho and won his first Royal Rumble. However, as good as the match was, the winner was less than stellar. Sheamus did not go on to headline Wrestlemania as stated in the advertisements and, as a matter of fact, his match was actually the very first on the show as he defeated Daniel Bryan in less than 20 seconds for the world heavyweight championship. This managed to upset fans because Bryan was a crowd favorite despite being booked as a heel. His Randy Savage-like relationship with AJ Lee had entertained crowds for months and being squashed by Sheamus only made him a bigger babyface in the eyes of the fans. Overall, it wasn't a very effective use of the Rumble winner even if he was success in his title quest.