WWE Royal Rumble 2012 Results: 7 Things We Can Look Forward to After Tonight?

For better or worse, the 2012 Royal Rumble is over and tomorrow night RAW will resume.

There were shocks and shrugs, winners, losers and storylines that matured and changed as the night went on.

So what moments stuck out during the night?

Most revolved around the championships and the Rumble itself, but not all of them involved the ending of the match.

Fans will have to wait until tomorrow night for the answers to their questions, but here are some guesses as to what fans should look for.

Daniel Bryan Isn't Going the Normal Heel Route

Daniel Bryan won his match against the Big Show and Mark Henry fair and square. He didn't look dominant while he did it and there is not much to be said for his technique in how he won, but he did it within the rules.

There were no questionable tactics and there wasn't a moment where he tried to get out of the match except by escaping the steel cage.

Most heels in the WWE are cowards who will break any rules they need to to keep the belt, but Bryan seems to be steering clear of that. He isn't getting a massive push as a submission wrestler who can trap anyone's joints and make them tap, but he isn't getting railroaded into a box either.

At first I'll admit I wasn't a fan of the character, but the more ambiguous the WWE makes him, the more intriguing it gets.

What Will Happen to Zack Ryder?

Zack Ryder just can't catch a break.

He wasn't even cleared for the Royal Rumble, but that didn't stop Kane from attacking him and beating an already "injured" Ryder. The damage may not be real, but the time out of the ring is and how it will affect Ryder's career is uncertain.

He is getting beaten on and while a little bit of unfair brutality is good for him, he will not be an underdog, but a punching bag.

What the WWE is going to do with him now that Kane has beaten him even worse is debatable.

They might take him off the air or they might make him a useless cheerleader.

How they are going to use it to improve his career is the only thing that is muddled, but the WWE is still giving him screen time so they haven't given up on him yet.

What Happens Next Between Kane and John Cena

No one really won their match tonight, but it is obvious that Kane got the better of John Cena.

Kane is intent on making Cena suffer and will do anything to hurt him. With Ryder now out of commission, he is going to have to pick a new victim if he wants to keep on terrorizing the WWE's go-to guy.

Ryder was the weak point that got Cena riled up and made him lose control of his emotional compass. Without the WWE's plucky underdog to beat up on, it is going to be harder to make Cena lose focus again.

Who Kane decides to pick on and what character the WWE decides to highlight will probably be seen on Raw tomorrow.

Brodus Clay Is Getting Put on the Fast Track to Stardom

Brodus Clay wasn't a part of the Royal Rumble, but he still got a spot on the card having a quick squash match with Drew McIntyre.

While it is a shame to see a talented wrestler like McIntyre get put in a position like he was tonight, it was exciting and interesting to see Clay be given a slot in the Rumble for a singles match.

It might have been something that was made on the fly or it might have been arranged beforehand. Whatever the reason, the match showed McIntyre's current status and how much faith the WWE is putting in Clay.

What the WWE does with Clay will be something to watch in the weeks to come while the same can be said for McIntyre.

CM Punk Retained His Title

This one is a bit of a shock. For all the talk that John Laurinaitis was going to screw CM Punk out of his belt, there was only a modicum of moments where he was allowed to favor Dolph Ziggler. At no point did it seem that Punk was really going to lose his title.

Sure, there were some close moments, but it never got to the point where Punk was in over his head. As long as Ziggler was the only person he was facing, it was almost a given he was going to win.

Punk is at his best when he is fighting the man, not being the champ, so where RAW is going to take his feud with Laurinaitis is yet to be seen. Did Laurinaitis do enough to keep his job or is he done being the interim general manager of Raw?

Kharma Is Back

Kharma entered the Rumble and the second she did, she brought real competition back to the division.

Many felt that Beth Phoenix didn't have an real opponents with many of the divas looking like models. With Kharma in the mix that has changed.

Phoenix now has somebody she can go toe-to-toe with and as long as the WWE doesn't decide to postpone the momentum Kharma had going last year, everything should leave off where it once was.

Sheamus Won the Rumble

Who will Sheamus go for when it comes to fighting for the championship.

Will he face Daniel Bryan for the world heavyweight title or CM Punk for the WWE championship?

Fans should't have to wait long to find out find out, as Sheamus will most likely announce his choice on Raw Monday night.

What he will do moving forward can't be sure, but where the WWE places the Rumble winner is something that everyone should pay attention to. It may just dictate who holds the crown after WrestleMania. 

Matthew Hemphill writes for the MMA and professional wrestling portion of Bleacher Report.  He also hosts a blog elbaexiled.blogspot.com which focuses on books, music, comic books, video games, film, and generally anything that could be related to the realms of nerdom.