6 Times Dolph Ziggler Got Screwed By WWE Creative

This latest example of Dolph Ziggler being screwed is perhaps the most egregious of them all. Unless WWE officials were originally planning to have the 37-year-old to win the Rumble before getting cold feet at the last second, we can only surmise that their motivations here were mischievous.

Don't forget that Dolph wasn't in a terrible position prior to his decision to quit last month. He had just captured the United States Championship in a triple threat match involving Baron Corbin and Robin Roode - a result that gave fans reason to be cautiously optimistic about his prospects in 2018.

But that all seems a long time ago now. Sunday's Royal Rumble cameo - where the ex-Spirit Squad member made a triumphant return at number 30 before being unceremoniously dumped out the match after less than two minutes - has confirmed all of our worst fears.

The only thing they succeeded in doing was giving us a cool moment at the end of the match (though, obviously, not as cool as it would have been if Daniel Bryan had walked out). In a lot of ways, that's praiseworthy - but couldn't they at least have left him in until the final four?