WWE Royal Rumble 2012 Results: Did Dolph Ziggler Make Himself a Star Tonight?

Dolph Ziggler went into Royal Rumble with a few chances to possibly gain a spot in the main event of WrestleMania XXVIII. Ziggler challenged CM Punk for the WWE Championship and also entered the Royal Rumble match at No. 18.

Ziggler squandered both chances, ending up without a world title, a world title shot, or a definite place in RAW's title picture.

Despite all that sounds terrible, did Dolph Ziggler become a star at the Royal Rumble? In a word, yes.

How in the world would I believe that? Because it is much more important to learn how to lose than to just keep winning. It is a lesson that Ziggler has learned throughout his career. As he has completed each rung up the ladder, Ziggler has lost before he could actually win.

Look at a guy like Sheamus, who won the Royal Rumble match. He was put on the fast track to winning world championships and accolades very quickly. Because of that, it was hard for Sheamus to actually enjoy any of it and grow popularity with the fans.

First gaining popularity as the young guy beating John Cena, Sheamus' fanbase never actually grew. Eventually, some were calling for Sheamus to just go away.

Even against the ultra-popular CM Punk, Ziggler still earned some cheers. Ziggler did what any good heel does in a match with a referee bump: gets defeated while the referee is still knocked out. On three occasions, Ziggler was defeated by Punk.

This didn't stop Ziggler from still rolling up Punk for many close near falls. Ziggler would leave St. Louis without the WWE Championship, but his momentum put Ziggler in a better position now than he was in a year ago, when he lost to Edge and limped to a short world title reign.

At No. 18 in the Royal Rumble match, Dolph Ziggler was already pretty tired out from his grueling match earlier, which lasted nearly 15 minutes. Upon entering, Ziggler would eventually have to deal with his only elimination of the match: the returning Kharma.

Kharma became just the third woman to appear in the Royal Rumble match, but would get shown up by the Show-Off. It was Ziggler who would end up eliminating the large Kharma. Outside of men like Big Show and The Great Khali, few were bigger than Kharma in this match.

When all is said and done, Ziggler competed twice, didn't win either, but looked rather strong in each match. Before his performance at Royal Rumble, Ziggler could have been written off. Now, it's hard to not consider Dolph Ziggler a participant in the Elimination Chamber.

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