Every WWE Royal Rumble's Best Performer

2012 €“ Cody Rhodes

The 2012 Royal Rumble match was a so-so affair at best, including a winner in Sheamus that nobody really cared about. In terms of stand out performers, there were only a few of note. Sheamus did a solid job on his way to the win, and Chris Jericho was brilliant in his 11-minute appearance as he was eliminated last by the Celtic Warrior, but it was Cody Rhodes who had the best showing, coming in at #4 and lasting 41 minutes before being eliminated by The Big Show. Along the way, Rhodes would rack up an impressive 6 eliminations, the most of anyone in the match that year, and his outing here suggested that huge things were ahead for Cody. A WrestleMania match against Big Show followed and we Cody Rhodes fans are still waiting for the undeniably-talented grandson of a plumber to be given a shot at the big time.
Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.