- Royal Rumble 2012 took place on January 29, 2012, at the Scottrade Center in St Louis, Missouri. The announcers for this show were Jerry Lawler, Booker T, and Michael Cole.

Steel Cage Match for the World Heavyweight Championship: Champion Daniel Bryan vs. Big Show vs. Mark Henry - This match could only be won via pin fall, submission, or by escaping the cage. When Mark Henry had Daniel Bryan set up for the World's Strongest Slam, Big Show hit Mark Henry with the Knockout Punch.

Big Show tried to pin Mark Henry but Daniel Bryan broke up the pin fall. The champion then tried to climb out of the cage but was caught by the Big Show. Big Show was straddling the top of the cage while holding onto Daniel Bryan's wrist. The champion was able to escape the clutches of the Big Show and fell to the arena floor to get the win. Winner: Daniel Bryan

Beth Phoenix, Natalya, Nikki Bella, & Brie Bella vs. Kelly Kelly, Eve, Alicia Fox, & Tamina - When seven of the Divas were fighting outside of the ring, Kelly Kelly jumped off the top rope and caused them all to fall to the ground. Kelly Kelly rolled one of the Bella Twins back into the ring but Beth Phoenix forcefully tagged herself in and screamed at her partner to "Get out of my ring". She then hit Kelly Kelly with the Glam Slam to get the win for her team. Winners: Beth Phoenix, Natalya, and The Bella Twins

- Zack Ryder, who was in a wheel chair, was wheeled into the backstage area where John Laurinaitis set up a private dressing room for him.

Zack's girlfriend, Eve, showed up and insulted the Executive Vice President of Talent Relations and Interim General Manager of RAW.

John Cena vs. Kane - When Kane tried to suffocate John Cena with his hand, John turned the move into the STF which Kane was able to power out of. A few minutes later, John hit the Five Knuckle Shuffle from the top rope and then tried for the Attitude Adjustment which Kane was able to get out of. The fight then went outside of the ring and into the back of the arena. Kane destroyed John Cena with a chair and then took notice of Zack Ryder's locker room. He kicked the door down and suffocated Zack before wheeling him to the ringside area. He gave Zack a Tomstone Piledriver despite the pleas of Eve, who had entered the ring to save her boyfriend. He turned his attention to Eve but before he could get to her John Cena returned. Kane gave Cena a choke slam before leaving the ring. After Kane left, the paramedics came out to take Zack Ryder out on a stretcher. Winner: Double Count Out

Drew McIntyre vs. Brodus Clay - Brodus Clay easily beat Drew McIntyre in about a minute. He followed a splash in the corner with the What the Funk to get the win. Winner: Brodus Clay

WWE Championship Match Featuring John Laurinaitis as the Special Guest Referee: Champion CM Punk vs. Dolph Ziggler - John Laurinitis had previously stated that he would screw CM Punk during this bout but tomorrow night his job performance will be reviewed by WWE COO Triple H. Prior to the start of the match, John Laurinaitis announced that he would oversee the refereeing of this bout from outside of the ring while an official WWE referee was inside of the ring. Vickie Guerrero escorted Dolph Ziggler to the ring. Before the bell rang, John Laurinaitis tossed Vickie from ringside because she lost the right to be there when Punk beat Jack Swagger a few weeks ago. During the bout, Dolph accidentally pushed CM Punk into the referee. Punk then trapped Ziggler in the Anaconda Vice. John Laurinaitis didn't see Ziggler tap out because he was outside of the ring checking on the condition of the referee. The Interim GM of RAW then missed a 3-count for Punk before tossing the unconscious referee back into the ring. Punk gave Ziggler the Go To Sleep but Laurinaitis refused to make the count because he was hit by Dolph's leg and then stumbled out of the ring. A few moments later, Punk gave Ziggler another Go to Sleep and John Laurinaitis joined the original referee to make the 3-count. However, Laurinaitis only made the last 2 slaps of the mat and left the ringside area with a big smirk on his face. Winner: CM Punk

The Royal Rumble - The list is in the order of entrance. Anyone eliminated during that wrestler's time interval will be listed in italics. This year, there is a 90-second interval.
1: The Miz
2: Alex Riley - (Alex Riley)
3: R-Truth
4: Cody Rhodes
5: Justin Gabriel
6: Primo - (R-Truth) After R-Truth was eliminated, he grabbed the Miz and knocked him out on the ring floor.
7: Mick Foley - (Primo)
8: Ricardo Rodriguez - (Justin Gabriel)
9: Santino Marella - (Ricardo Rodriguez)
10: Epico - (Epico, Santino Marella, & Mick Foley) - The Miz returned to the match during this interval
11: Kofi Kingston
12: Jerry Lawler - (Jerry Lawler)
13: Ezekiel Jackson
14: Jinder Mahal
15: The Great Khali - (Jinder Mahal & Ezekiel Jackson)
16: Hunico
17: Booker T
18: Dolph Ziggler
19: "Hacksaw Jim Duggan" - (Jim Duggan, Great Khali, & Booker T)
20: Michael Cole
21: Kharma - (Michael Cole, Hunico, & Kharma)
22: Sheamus - (Kofi Kingston)
23: Road Dogg
24: Jey Uso
25: Jack Swagger
26: Wade Barrett - (Road Dogg)
27: David Otunga
28: Randy Orton - (Jey Uso & Wade Barrett)
29: Chris Jericho - (David Otunga)
30: Big Show
Left in the ring once everyone had entered the match: Miz (1), Cody Rhodes (4), Dolph Ziggler (18), Sheamus (22), Jack Swagger (25), Randy Orton (28), Chris Jericho (29), & Big Show (30)
Final Four: Randy Orton, Chris Jericho, Sheamus, & Big Show
- Randy Orton hit Big Show with an RKO and tossed him out of the ring
- Chris Jericho eliminated Orton immediately after he tossed Big Show out of the ring
Final Two: Chris Jericho & Sheamus
- Chris went for a Code Breaker but Sheamus powered out of it and tossed Chris over the top ropes. While Chris was teetering on the ring apron, Sheamus hit him with a Brogue Kick to knock him to the floor and win the Rumble
Winner:Sheamus

What does this event mean for the future?
The big news is that Sheamus is going to WrestleMania XXVIII and be in a main event title match. He can choose to fight for either the WWE Championship or the World Heavyweight Championship. The other storyline coming out of this show is John Laurinaitis and his job as Interim General Manager of RAW. WWE COO Triple H will evaluate his performance tomorrow night. I have a bad feeling for CM Punk that if John keeps his job then Laurinaitis has already plotted something against him. As the official referee for the title match, he only slapped the mat twice and that might come back to haunt CM Punk.

Overall Thoughts
I wasn't a fan of this show. With the exception of the WWE Championship match, the undercard felt like a regular edition of either RAW or SmackDown. As far as the Rumble match goes, it usually features a mixture of comedy, cool spots, and a little bit of nostalgia all while keeping in mind the importance of winning the Rumble match and going to the main event of WrestleMania. I felt that the comedy went too overboard this year at the expense of making the match seem important. It wasn't until Orton entered the match at #28 when the match got that special WrestleMania vibe to it. The 25th anniversary of the Royal Rumble resulted in one of the weaker Rumble matches in history. Between the weak undercard and poor Rumble, if you decided not to order this show I think you made the right decision and you saved yourself some money and disappointment.

Match Results

• Steel Cage Match for the World Heavyweight Championship: Champion Daniel Bryan beat Mark Henry and Big Show
• Beth Phoenix, Natalya, Nikki Bella, & Brie Bella beat Kelly Kelly, Eve, Alicia Fox, and Tamina
• John Cena and Kane fought to a double count out
• Brodus Clay beat Drew McIntyre
• WWE Championship Match with John Laurinaitis as Special Guest Referee: Champion CM Punk beat Dolph Ziggler
• Sheamus won the Royal Rumble by last eliminating Chris Jericho