WWE Royal Rumble 2012: 9 Reasons This Was a Great Pay-Per-View

The Royal Rumble is now in the rear-view mirror, and the WWE has taken its first official step on the road to WrestleMania.

CM Punk is still holding the WWE Championship, ditto for Daniel Bryan and the World Heavyweight Championship, and Sheamus is headed to WrestleMania 28 as the 2012 Royal Rumble winner.

While this pay-per-view probably wasn't everyone's cup of tea, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

It may not have been Money in the Bank 2011 great, I still thought it was a great show, nonetheless.

And here are nine reasons why.

9. Daniel Bryan Retains

When Daniel Bryan first won the World Heavyweight Championship, many of us assumed that he would lose it within a month.

But Bryan retained his title tonight in a Triple Threat Steel Cage match, and he did it clean fashion.

While he didn't look overly strong in his match with The Big Show and Mark Henry, Bryan did come out on top, and it's almost a given that he will be holding the title until Elimination Chamber.

A two-month title reign may not seem like much, but given that very few people expected Bryan to even become World Champion and the fact that titles change hands all the times these days, I'd say this was a big night for Bryan.

He can still call himself World Heavyweight Champion, and we can still be happy.

8. An Enjoyable Divas Match

Surprise, surprise—the WWE put on a Divas match tonight that didn't suck.

Now, don't get confused and think that I'm saying we witnessed the greatest Divas match ever, but it was much better than anything we've gotten out of them recently.

I honestly can't remember the last time I started to watch a Divas match and didn't turn it into a bathroom break.

Before tonight, that is.

While the four-on-four match wasn't an instant classic, I'll give the Divas props for keeping me somewhat entertained, especially Kelly Kelly for hitting that crossbody on all the other girls on the outside. 

7. The Royal Rumble Surprises

The 2012 Royal Rumble match was full of surprises.

We saw Ricardo Rodriguez back for the first time since WWE TLC, one-off appearances from "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan and Road Dogg, and the shocking return of Kharma.

Although we may not have gotten the major surprise we wanted (like the return of Brock Lesnar or something along those lines), I was happy with what we did get.

It's always fun seeing Hacksaw, the crowd popped big for Road Dogg, and even the appearances by the WWE announcers went over well.

I could criticize the WWE for who didn't come back if I really wanted to, but honestly, the surprises we did get were just fine because they added to the match without taking away from the current crop of superstars.

6. John Cena Didn't Win

I know, I know—John Cena's match with Kane ended in a double countout, so he technically didn't lose.

But he didn't win, either, and I'd rather be saying "Cena didn't win tonight" than saying "Cena won again."

While I'm not necessarily a fan of of the lame double countout finish, I at least have to give the WWE credit for not having Cena beat Kane and killing all of his momentum in the process.

That would have enraged me.  

5. The Booking of Kane

Kane was booked like a certifiable animal tonight.

He took John Cena to the woodshed, did the same to Zack Ryder and then left both of their lifeless bodies lying in the middle of the ring.

This was like the 1997-98 version of Kane, when he really was The Big Red Monster and struck fear into the hearts of everyone in the WWE.

Kane definitely looked like the Kane of old tonight, and it was awesome to see him booked exactly how he should be.

4. It Was Hilarious

Tonight legitimately made me feel like a little kid.

There were a number of times that I found myself laughing uncontrollably at the ridiculous shenanigans during the Royal Rumble match.

Ricardo Rodriguez's impression of Alberto Del Rio was priceless, all the stuff between Ricardo, Santino and Mick Foley was equally as awesome...and heck, even Michael Cole made me chuckle.

Of course, this wasn't the type of comedy that most people my age would enjoy, but—what can I say?—I'm a wrestling fan, and I really do like this stuff.

Ricardo and Santino are outrageously funny, and they made the Royal Rumble match incredibly entertaining to watch.

3. Dolph Ziggler vs. CM Punk

Tonight's match between CM Punk and Dolph Ziggler wasn't as good as their bout on Raw back in November, and it should have gotten at least five more minutes.

But the match itself was still great.

It featured some excellent wrestling at the beginning, Punk and Ziggler were their usual awesome selves throughout, and we witnessed one of the greatest counters ever when Ziggler countered the GTS into a Fameasser.

That was simply an amazing spot.

Sure, Punk vs. Ziggler wasn't a classic, and it probably didn't mean some of your expectations, but I was incredibly impressed with the chemistry these guys have and Ziggler's ridiculous athleticism.

I'd take that match any day of the week.

2. The New Stars Shined

CM Punk held onto the WWE title, Daniel Bryan retained his World Heavyweight Championship, and Sheamus won the Royal Rumble match.

Plus, Cody Rhodes eliminated the most competitors (six), and The Miz lasted more than 45 minutes.

We want new stars to get the spotlight, and that's exactly what happened tonight.

There was no Undertaker or Triple H whatsoever, no Cena or Kane in the Royal Rumble match and no Cena or Orton in the World title matches.

Tonight was all about highlighting new and up-and-coming talent, which is precisely how it should be. 

1. The Shocking Conclusion

For those who complain that the WWE is "too predictable," tonight was your night.

While seemingly 90 percent of us expected to see Randy Orton or Chris Jericho win the Royal Rumble match, the creative team swerved us by having Sheamus emerge victorious.

I have no complains about that, either.

I would rather see an ending that not many people expected than to see some predictable finish that we already read about on a dirt sheet three weeks ago.

It's these types of shockers that make professional wrestling what it is, so I'm going to give the WWE credit once again for doing something a little different with this year's Royal Rumble match.