Ranking EVERY Royal Rumble WWE Championship Match From Worst To Best

14. CM Punk Vs Dolph Ziggler - 2012 (WWE Championship)

Royal Rumble
WWE.com

An absorbing battle and fitting sequel to Dolph Ziggler's effort the prior year (more on that later), CM Punk's ongoing rivalry with John Laurinaitis didn't overwhelm an exhilarating singles clash that exploited what can be so good about one-off WWE Championship battles.

A Royal Rumble setting afforded Punk his win with minimal collateral damage done to Dolph, though it would take another year before the 'Show Off' was finally given the chance to (albeit briefly) ascend for real.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett