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

30. Royal Rumble 2010 - Sheamus Vs. Randy Orton

WWE Royal Rumble 2010 Sheamus Randy Orton
WWE

He may have been putting on banger after banger in more recent years, but that was sadly far from the case for Sheamus back in 2010.

While he was the WWE Champion here, there was still minimal real interest in seeing Sheamus as a top guy when he took on Randy Orton at the 2010 Royal Rumble. This was a Sheamus who was fresh off beating John Cena for that title, with a PLE match against Orton used as another way to further indicate how WWE viewed the Celtic Warrior as a bona fide top talent. 

Unfortunately, the heel Sheamus had yet to fully click with fans. Added to that, the Viper himself was still pretty much a heel, and fans were more interested in the brewing troubles within Orton's Legacy group at this time, with the cracks starting to show between Randal Keith, Ted DiBiase Jr., and Cody Rhodes.

The match itself was adequate, but there was zero connection to the audience. A Rhodes forearm to Sheamus caused a DQ finish, with the WWE Champion a background player here to the stewing dissension that was starting to show in Legacy.

Of course, those issues would come to a head later that year at WrestleMania 26, where Orton emerged victorious in a triple-threat bout against his two protégés.

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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 and Presenter, 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 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 and Eli Roth to Kevin Smith and the Russo Brothers, to Kevin Conroy and Frank Miller, to Bret Hart and Sting, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, and Brian Flynn, to many, many more. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is a long-standing season ticket holder and an FSA Award-winner for his time co-hosting the Fearless in Devotion podcast.