Ranking Every WWE Title Match At Royal Rumble - From Worst To Best

15. Royal Rumble 2012 - CM Punk Vs. Dolph Ziggler

WWE Royal Rumble 2012 CM Punk Dolph Ziggler
WWE

A little overlooked when recollecting Royal Rumble PPVs, WWE Champion CM Punk and Dolph Ziggler crafted a fun, exciting match back in 2012.

While the annoyingly ever-present presence of John Laurinaitis threatened to overshadow Ziggler here, the two in-ring opponents did enough with the time they were given to keep you constantly engaged. Sure, this wasn't part of any long-standing Punk vs. Ziggler feud, but the match worked so well simply due to how talented both competitors are.

Of course, Punk got the obvious win that we all knew would happen, but that didn't stop this from being a solid slice of in-ring action between two of the best workers in the company at the time.

The Second City Saint may often be regaled as one of the great workers of his generation, but this Rumble 2012 effort stands up as yet another example of how much of a phenomenal in-ring talent Dolph Ziggler - nowadays TNA's Nic Nemeth - was and is when afforded the chance to showcase his skills. Likewise, this match is a further reminder of how WWE should have done far more with Ziggler across his lengthy tenure with the market leader.

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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 day job, 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/Saints, Jamie Hayter, 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. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.