WWE Royal Rumble 2012 Results: Grading Each Entrant's Performance

The 2012 Royal Rumble is now over and it is time to reveal who did well and who stunk up the place.

History shows us that long and impressive performances can mean great futures in the coming year. Just look at 2011's Royal Rumble, where the first two participants were CM Punk and Daniel Bryan.

Both men lasted over 20 minutes and eliminated many men. They now both sit on top of the company as world champions on their respective brands.

The 30 men in this match spread the good fortune around pretty well this year. The longest stint in the ring was 45:40 for a match that lasted only 54:54 overall. With 29 eliminated men, the most participants that one man eliminated was six.

The Miz

The Miz spent 45:40 in the ring, starting the match at No. 1. It wasn't quite a Rey Mysterio or Shawn Michaels-type of performance, but The Miz certainly impressed in a Royal Rumble match that seemed historically thin.

While that will hurt The Miz's performance in a historical aspect, it was still impressive given The Miz's slim chances going in and the slew of superstars who wanted to eliminate him.

The Miz eliminated only two men, but they were the two men who entered after him. They were also two men from his past: Alex Riley and R-Truth. It made me think that John Morrison was coming out next, but that wish would not be granted.

The Big Show finally ended up eliminating The Miz when he entered at No. 30. There aren't too many men who came in to start the match and get eliminated by the last entrant. The Miz will be in the Elimination Chamber match next month. There's no doubt about that now.

Time Lasted: 45:40 (most in Rumble)

Eliminations: 2 (Alex Riley and R-Truth)

Grade: A

Alex Riley

It wasn't an accomplishment for Alex Riley to last in the Royal Rumble match. For how his career has turned out in the last few months, Alex Riley should just be thrilled that he was there.

In a Royal Rumble that didn't have Kane or John Cena, as well as featuring all three commentators, Riley should be thanking his lucky stars for being there at all.

Time Lasted: 1:15

Eliminations: 0

Grade: C-

R-Truth

Coming in at No. 3, you wondered if R-Truth really won anything by defeating The Miz last week on RAW. His early entry and his elimination minutes later means one thing: His feud with The Miz is over.

The Miz didn't stay in the Rumble for that long just to see himself continue to feud with R-Truth. The Miz is moving on to bigger storylines. Sorry, R-Truth. Bring it up with Little Jimmy.

Time Lasted: 4:58

Eliminations: 0

Grade: C

Cody Rhodes

Talk about The Miz all you want, but the story of this Royal Rumble was Cody Rhodes. Entering at No. 4, Rhodes had an impressive six eliminations. T

hose six were the most of anyone in the Royal Rumble this year. It wasn't just any six men, either. Here are the six men that Rhodes gets credit for eliminating:

1. Mick Foley

2. Santino Marella

3. Jerry "The King" Lawler

4. The Great Khali

5. Booker T

6. "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan

The Khali and Booker T eliminations were done alongside of Dolph Ziggler. Still, those are some big names to eliminate...and Santino, too. He was so impressive and lasted until the last entrant as well. Rhodes gets a berth in the Elimination Chamber, pending some injustice.

Time Lasted: 41:57

Eliminations: 6 (Mick Foley, Santino Marella, Jerry Lawler, The Great Khali, Booker T and Jim Duggan)

Grade: A+

Justin Gabriel

Justin Gabriel at No. 5 seemed a little anticlimactic, but it was time for the bodies or, in the spirit of the awards season, seat fillers, to come into the match.

Gabriel is still one of those guys. He did get a good ovation and actually stayed around for a lot longer than he did last year.

Does this mean Gabriel will have a good 2012? Perhaps. His popularity is growing under the radar on Smackdown. He could be one of those surprise long-lasting entrants next year, but he's still one of those seat fillers for now.

Time Lasted: 6:11

Eliminations: 0

Grade: C+

Primo

When forming my opinion on Primo at No. 6, I thought it was Epico instead. I would only realize after he was eliminated and Epico came out that I completely had lost out on Primo actually being in the Royal Rumble match.

I'll get over it.

Time Lasted: 1:56

Eliminations: 0

Grade: D

Mick Foley

As referenced by Jerry Lawler during the match, Mick Foley got a "real pop" when he entered at No. 7. Foley got a nice ovation and eliminated three men in his stint in the match.

Foley isn't exactly a favorite to win a Rumble anymore, but the legendary Foley did do good to solidify his place in the Hall of Fame one day.

It would be interesting to see it happen this year, alongside of The Rock, as WWE would induct The Rock N' Sock Connection together. However, I think Foley won't disappear just yet and will get his own Hall of Fame class.

Time Lasted: 6:32

Eliminations: 3 (Justin Gabriel, Primo and Epico)

Grade: B-

Ricardo Rodriguez

I jumped the gun a bit last night, believing that it was Alberto Del Rio at No. 8. I would later be corrected when Ricardo Rodriguez came out instead.

It was hilarious to see Rodriguez in the ring. What was shocking was that he actually helped in an elimination of Justin Gabriel. He also actually lasted more than three and a half seconds.

Still, it's Ricardo Rodriguez. He gets a grade that matches his beat-up ride.

Time Lasted: 2:18

Eliminations: 1 (Justin Gabriel)

Grade: D+

Santino Marella

Santino Marella is worth seeing in the Royal Rumble match for his great antics. It's a little disheartening that he will be remembered as a runner-up last year, but beggers can't be choosers.

With that said, Santino had a nice Rumble. His moment with Mick Foley as Mr. Socko faced off with The Cobra was a fun moment of worlds colliding. The poster boy of the event eliminated Ricardo Rodriguez, which was absolutely necessary.

Time Lasted: 2:30

Eliminations: 1 (Ricardo Rodriguez)

Grade: C

Epico

Oh, look! Epico is in his first Royal Rumble match. That's very cool because Epico...

Oh, look! Epico has been eliminated from the Royal Rumble match.

Time Lasted: 0:11

Eliminations: 0

Grade: F

Kofi Kingston

Congratulations to Kofi Kingston for becoming the new spot monkey in the Royal Rumble.

Now that John Morrison is no longer with WWE, leave it to Kingston to find a new way to keep himself alive. You can only be eliminated in the match by having both feet hit the floor. For Kingston, he let his hands hit the floor and did a handstand, walking to the steps on his palms before entering back into the match.

It is still what people are talking about after the Royal Rumble match. But spots like that rarely yield success. All that this tells me is that when the next Money in the Bank match comes along, we should be looking for Kofi Kingston to have an incredible moment.

Will he win the match, though? Probably not. That's the plight of the high-flyer many times.

He stayed in a while and got eliminated by eventual winner Sheamus, but he never eliminated anyone, and nobody wins anything by doing that. His headstand spot helps his grade, but doesn't save him.

Time Lasted: 17:57

Eliminations: 0

Grade: B

Jerry Lawler

It was such an original idea for WWE to have Jerry Lawler commentate and participate in the Royal Rumble. It was also an original idea in 1997, when Lawler did the exact same thing.

This time around, Lawler lasted a heck of a lot longer than that last time. It was a whopping 39 seconds more than 14 years earlier. Time flies when you are still wrestling in your 60s for some reason.

Time Lasted: 0:43

Eliminations: 1 (Michael Cole)

Grade: F

Ezekiel Jackson

Is that an Ezekiel Jackson sighting on a pay-per-view? It surely is.

Jackson wasn't nearly as dominant this year as he was in 2011, when he was involved with the short-lived group The Corre. Still, it was nice to see Jackson, who didn't do much of anything except garner some Ahmed Johnson chants.

Translation: Give this guy some direction or cut your losses.

Time Lasted: 3:46

Eliminations: 0

Grade: D+

Jinder Mahal

Jinder Mahal was No. 14 and played his role well. That role, of course, is the ethnically confused foreign heel who speaks another language and gets beaten up by a babyface.

After a short stint, out came Mahal's brother-in-law to launch him out of the match. Mission accomplished.

Time Lasted: 1:15

Eliminations: 0

Grade: D

The Great Khali

The Great Khali likes to come in randomly into Royal Rumble matches. However, this may have been the best performance by Khali in his Rumble history.

He also was out in less than 10 minutes, so everyone won. Now, if you excuse me, I think I need to stop here since this is as about as positive as I, or anyone else for that matter, could get about The Great Khali.

Time Lasted: 7:31

Eliminations: 2 (Ezekiel Jackson and Jinder Mahal)

Grade: C

Hunico

At least for me, this was the tell-tale sign for how WWE really felt about Hunico.

Over the summer, he was the understudy to Sin Cara and has actually ended up outshining the lucha libre star. Hunico now has a fresh gimmick, rather regular TV time, and a steady spot in the company.

After nine minutes of nothing, Hunico was out. Expect Hunico in a match to qualify for an Elimination Chamber or WrestleMania match, but not actually appear there.

This could be the last time Hunico is on pay-per-view for a while. It isn't his fault, but rather that Hunico had a feud with Sin Cara that was ruined with Sin Cara's Survivor Series injury.

Time Lasted: 9:03

Eliminations: 0

Grade: C

Booker T

One year after his return to WWE via the Rumble match, Booker T got up from the commentary desk and pulled a Jerry Lawler, entering the Royal Rumble match.

Booker can still go a little bit, cited by his feud with Cody Rhodes from late last year. However, Booker T has never been successful in Royal Rumble matches and wasn't faring any better this time around.

An elimination of Michael Cole after Booker was already eliminated is the only thing that helped Booker's stock, which barely did anything.

Time Lasted: 4:42

Eliminations: 1 (Michael Cole)

Grade: D+

Dolph Ziggler

Leave it to The Show-Off to outwork nearly anybody.

After his WWE Championship match, Ziggler had little time to breathe before entering the Royal Rumble match at No. 18. Forget the fact that Ziggler could have lost his match to CM Punk on multiple occasions before actually being pinned.

Ziggler looked good doing it and then came back out to eliminate three entrants. In almost 20 minutes of action, Ziggler lasted until the final five men before being eliminated by Big Show.

It may seem like a failure, but Ziggler had a great night. There is enough there to merit seeing more of Ziggler in the main event. He has at least earned that much.

Time Lasted: 19:48

Eliminations: 3 (The Great Khali, Booker T, Kharma)

Grade: B+

Jim Duggan

HOOOOOO!!!!!

You had to believe that in a company that likes bringing back old stars during the Royal Rumble, bringing in the original Royal Rumble winner for their silver anniversary made sense.

He got the crowd in St. Louis excited, only to be eliminated quickly by Cody Rhodes. It was a cameo appearance, a huge babyface moment and a way to get a young heel some more heat.

Well, done, sir. Hall of Fame performance.

Time Lasted: 0:57

Eliminations: 0

Grade: C

Michael Cole

Ugh. I knew this was going to happen.

My Twitter wall was flooded with people predicting this once Lawler and Booker went into the match. It's like when your friends tell you that eating food with E. Coli is going to get you sick, but you're already eating it and too hungry to stop eating it.

Cole stood around and was eliminated by two men who weren't in the match anymore. Should I care that there is controversy? Sure. Do I? Absolutely not. Besides, he preached about staying in almost as long as Booker T, but wasn't even close to that.

Time Lasted: 1:24

Eliminations: 0

Grade: F

Kharma

It was unexpected to see Kharma back from her pregnancy for the Royal Rumble. I hadn't heard that Kharma was back to training or that she had given birth, but the coming weeks will likely have details about just that. I hope that we don't find out that Kharma lost the reported high-risk pregnancy.

Her return was great, but her first opponent when she returned was Michael Cole. I guess that's as close to a Diva as you'll get in the Royal Rumble. Her return was reason enough to put her into the match. Now, let's get ready for a Kharma/Beth Phoenix clash at WrestleMania.

Time Lasted: 1:00

Eliminated: 1 (Hunico)

Grade: C+

Sheamus

I'll go on record by saying that Sheamus was my pick to win the Royal Rumble, as by my article about him. I also had selected No. 25 as the winning number. I was three numbers off from being entirely right.

Sheamus won the 25th royal Rumble to earn a spot in the main event of WrestleMania. Leave the speculation out of it. Sheamus will take on Daniel Bryan by all initial beliefs. It will be the U.S. Championship match they never had on the card last year.

As for his Rumble performance, Sheamus did better than many would expect because not a lot thought he would win. His pop was great, his in-ring work was great and the swerve to give him the match was enough to keep people talking.

Time Lasted: 22:20

Eliminations: 2 (Kofi Kingston and Chris Jericho)

Grade: A-

Road Dogg

Oh, you didn't know that Road Dogg would be in the Royal Rumble? Mike Chiari told you, people.

His reaction was great, his job in the ring was as if he had never left and his "you still got it" chant was one of the most heartfelt reactions by that St. Louis crowd.

After this and his appearance at the Slammy Awards, how long will we need to wait for Road Dogg to go in as a Hall of Famer? Maybe not too long. I just hope that him and R-Truth have a moment first.

Time Lasted: 4:56

Eliminations: 0

Grade: C

Jey Uso

I guess that Jey Uso won a coin toss between brothers to get the Royal Rumble nod over his brother, Jimmy. It isn't like anyone would know the difference between the two, except Josh Mathews, who is the only one who notices the tattoo on Jimmy's chest.

Here's an interesting fact: Jey Uso lasted longer than Wade Barrett and Big Show...combined! He lasted longer than hometown favorite Randy Orton did. Jey Uso is going to be a huge player in 2012!

OK, maybe not, but it is a heck of a showing for one of The Usos. Without Air Boom, The Usos could have a chance to be the new contenders for tag team gold come WrestleMania time.

Time Lasted: 7:03

Eliminations: 0

Grade: B-

Jack Swagger

At 25, Jack Swagger had a decent chance to make a play at a finalist position in the Royal Rumble.

Would the United States Champion win the Royal Rumble? No, and that didn't shock anyone. It also didn't shock anyone that Swagger didn't eliminate anyone and was out rather quickly after Big Show entered the contest.

Swagger isn't shocking anyone and he needs a new challenger for his United States Championship. Anyone want a mid-card title? We promise that it will do something for your career...sorta.

Time Lasted: 7:59

Eliminations: 0

Grade: C+

Wade Barrett

Wade Barrett was 2012's Royal Rumble entrant that had even his fans be full of groans.

What do you mean he has new music again?

Why are his trunks still the color of geese poop?

They're having him eliminate Road Dogg?

Randy Orton is coming out two men later?

He was a favorite to win and didn't last four minutes?

Groans were had by many. Wade Barrett is the kind of guy who was set up to gain so much heat for injuring the hometown favorite, Randy Orton. they gave Barrett nothing to do productive, never looked dominant, and the pop for Orton to return was wasted on a taped Smackdown a few days before.

Groan, indeed.

Time Lasted: 3:55

Eliminations: 1 (Road Dogg)

Grade: C+

David Otunga

How much did we hear about 27 being a lucky number in the Royal Rumble?

WWE decided that it wasn't lucky enough for the undefeated lawyer and often-losing wrestler David Otunga to keep the destiny going. After a few minutes of mainly waiting to make a main eventer look good, off went Otunga. Objection denied.

Time Lasted: 3:15

Eliminations: 0

Grade: C

Randy Orton

What a wasted moment here. Orton returns to pay-per-view in his hometown and nobody seems to care.

At 28, Orton eliminated three men, including Big Show and rival Wade Barrett. But Orton couldn't hang around beyond the final three, getting eliminated by Chris Jericho prior to the final two.

If you wanted Orton to have a better showing, which you always do, move his slot down a little bit. The air was just let out of the sails of this storyline arc. Now, I have no idea what Orton is in store for at WrestleMania.

Time Lasted: 5:46

Eliminations: 3 (Wade Barrett, Jey Uso, Big Show)

Grade: B-

Chris Jericho

Jericho came in with his stupid jacket, threw it off quickly, and went to work in the ring. He was actually fighting people this time, prompting beliefs that Jericho only works for big paychecks at pay-per-views.

Weeks of promos for his return and multiple segments of him doing nothing all led to this. Fans across the world thought this was finally Jericho's night.

Jericho's event has always been Royal Rumble, as he is undefeated in non-Rumble matches. This would have been the first Rumble win for Jericho in what might be his last real chance.

Even still, Jericho made sure to pass the baton, something that not every wrestler in his 40s is willing to do. Jericho understands the business and will get to WrestleMania just fine without it.

Time Lasted: 11:34

Eliminations: 2 (David Otunga and Randy Orton)

Grade: B+

Big Show

Big Show did not waste much time, especially because he didn't have much time at No. 30.

Eliminating four great young heels, Big Show was the embodiment of the "over-the-hill, babyface for the rest of his career" stereotype seen across the wrestling landscape constantly.

Big Show was in the final four, which is hard to not do when you are No. 30. He was clearly the biggest man of the four and the only to be so close to winning a Rumble so much, only to come up close on multiple occasions.

Even with all of that, Big Show was sent back to the locker room. All of this happened in less than two minutes. Big Show must have had dinner reservations.

Time Lasted: 1:52

Eliminations: 4 (The Miz, Cody Rhodes, Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger)

Grade: B-

Follow @RobertAitkenBR