WWE Royal Rumble 2012: Thoughts on the Main Event

So, the Royal Rumble is behind us, and the road to WrestleMania beckons. I thought it was an entertaining Pay-Per-View, but, apart from the final four superstars, the main event was lacklustre.

Sheamus is the first European winner of the Royal Rumble and I think he deserved it.  The choice of a lot of the entrants, however, was surprising and quite disappointing. Let's examine a few aspects of the main event:

WWE wasted Wade Barrett. He could have lasted until near the end and generated some great heel heat. They didn't even have enough build-up to validate a feud in the coming weeks, or at the Elimination Chamber.

Barrett is good in the ring. He's confident and reliable. He has improved on the mic and picked up some steam as a heel. Let’s hope they keep this going and give him someone to work with or to team up with.

I said I had a feeling The Great Khali and Kharma would make an appearance in my early predictions article.

Khali’s return was probably just a one-off. I can’t really see him staying with the company.

Kharma, on the other hand, could have a good run when she comes back properly. The WWE shouldn't waste her in the Divas division, because it is terrible. Just terrible. It needs a massive overhaul because currently there is very little point in it being on television. The storylines are practically non-existent and the wrestling is a struggle to watch.

Dolph Ziggler lost pretty badly tonight. He must be getting bumped back down the card so that Seamus can get the title shot.

I’m still not entirely convinced of Ziggler's ability, to be honest. I think he is a very good athlete (he was a record-setting collegiate wrestler), but I still don’t think he is World Champion material. Maybe he needs to get more experience. I think a feud with Mick Foley would have been a great boost for him.

I’m glad The Miz didn't win from his top-ranked entry slot. I like him.  He's a pretty good wrestler, but that feat was only achieved by Shawn Michaels and Chris Benoit. The Miz is not in their league.

The WWE needs a new Tag Team division. Oh wait, it just needs to pay attention to the Tag Team talent it has.

Really though, there are so many wrestlers who would fit well in the Tag Team division, if it was actually given some  thought and consideration. There is potential for some high-calibre matches but the division is consistently ignored. I think if the Tag Team Championship made a resurgence, it would get some good cross-brand action going.

I predicted here that Ricardo Rodriguez would be wrestling on his own soon. It was great to see him come out. However, I think he was very badly used. His elimination by Santino Marella was a bit of a disappointment. Rodriguez is a good wrestler with great charisma and promo skills. He could do very well without Del Rio cramping his style.

I miss Jim Ross and Earl Hebner. Speaking of announcers, there was no need for all three of them to be in the Rumble. Booker T deserved to enter and maybe Jerry Lawler for a heel spot. But, Michael Cole? Please.

As well as the above ruminations, the following also popped into my head, but they are too short to get a paragraph each:

-         I know nothing about Twitter. As much as the WWE tries to stick it down my throat, I still have no interest in using it and wish they would give it a rest.

-         Kane’s pyro is still awesome.

-         Did you know that Perry Saturn went missing for a few years?

Finally, some questions. Answer in the comments!

-         If Stone Cold came back for an Undertaker Streak match, who would you go for?

-         Did Ziggler make a mistake in one of the near-pins or am I imagining things?

-         Does anyone know what all of CM Punk’s tattoos are?

-         Should I get Twitter? Am I missing out by not reading it? Am I missing out by not tweeting?

Thanks for reading!