Royal Rumble 2012 Predictions: Dolph Ziggler Will Steal the Show Despite Loss

I don't think there is any doubt that Dolph Ziggler will fall short in his bid to beat CM Punk for his WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble, but the night will still belong to the showoff.

Ziggler has received a well-deserved main-event push over the past several weeks that will culminate in a title match at the Rumble. John Laurinaitis will be the special guest referee for the match and has already announced his intentions to screw Punk. With the odds firmly stacked against Punk, I don't envision any way Ziggler can actually win.

Punk was literally handcuffed twice at TLC and he still found a way to retain the WWE Championship, so I highly doubt Laurinaitis will stop him. Based on the fact that Laurinaitis beat down Mick Foley a couple weeks ago and then readmitted him into the Rumble this week, I have to believe Foley will get involved in the match.

With Laurinaitis about to screw Punk over, Foley will interfere and ultimately help Punk score the win after a great 20-minute match. While Ziggler won't win, I think he could come out looking almost as good simply by being made to look like Punk's equal. That certainly isn't a stretch since Ziggler is probably the best worker in the business right now.

Since Ziggler will feel like Foley screwed him out of the title, he will find a way to enter the Rumble in an attempt to get his hands on the hardcore legend. I can easily see an exchange where Ziggler goes to the back, assaults Hornswoggle and steals his number. The two wrestled on SmackDown in the past and it would give Ziggler good heat.

Unfortunately for Ziggler, he will likely draw a terrible number like two or three. This will force him to last for a long period of time in order to confront Foley. Ziggler will stay in long enough and he will get his revenge on Foley. Once that happens, though, he will come to the realization that a Rumble win is a real possibility.

By some means Ziggler will ultimately win the Rumble and earn a title shot at WrestleMania. The best part about it is that Ziggler wrestling a grueling match and still winning the Rumble would be believable because he has been pulling double duty at the past several pay-per-views.

There may be some confusion with regards to what Ziggler might do with his title shot since the overwhelming sentiment is that Chris Jericho will enter into a program with Punk. Perhaps Ziggler, Jericho and Punk could compete in a triple threat at WrestleMania.

Failing that, it isn't incomprehensible to think that Ziggler could challenge Daniel Bryan for the World Heavyweight Championship. I understand that Bryan seems very clearly to be turning heel, but I think that we, as fans, put too much stock into heels and faces.

Come WrestleMania, Ziggler could be a full-fledged heel and Bryan a pseudo-heel, and I think it could still work. The match itself would obviously be a classic, and both men are doing great work on the mic right now as well. Bryan is desperate to keep the title at any costs and Ziggler wants to win it at any costs, so I think a feud between the two can work.

I understand the value in having a veteran like Jericho or Randy Orton win, but I prefer the idea of pushing up-and-coming talent instead, much like Alberto Del Rio last year. Jericho and Orton are established main eventers and have no need for a Rumble win, while winning the match could propel Ziggler to new heights.

Ziggler has proven over the past few months that he is an all-around performer who is deserving of main-event status. If the creative team understands what it has on its hands right now, and I believe it does, Ziggler will get the surprise Rumble win just over an hour after losing to Punk.