The following results courtesy of WWE’s official website are from a recent WWE pay-per-view event. WWE Royal Rumble took place at the Scottrade Center on January 28th, 2012 in St. Louis, Missouri and aired live at 8pm Eastern on pay-per-view.

Sheamus won the 30-Man Royal Rumble Match
WWE fans are going to see a fight at this year’s WrestleMania. Using his brute strength to triumph over 29 other Superstars, the mighty Sheamus was victorious in the Royal Rumble Match, dumping Chris Jericho to earn a World Title opportunity against a champion of his choosing at WrestleMania XXVII on April 1. It was a grueling battle for the powerhouse who drew No. 22. Entering before a sold-out crowd that had already witnessed Ricardo Rodriguez rolling to the ring in an ’85 Datsun, Kofi Kingston walking on his hands to avoid elimination and Michael Cole jumping over the top rope to escape the wrath of Kharma, The Celtic Warrior immediately made his presence felt by launching Kingston out of the ring.From there, the Rumble became a demolition derby of battered bodies and unpredictable arrivals. Booker T, Jerry “The King” Lawler and Michael Cole all left the broadcast booth at one point to try their luck in the bout, but were quickly sent back to their announce table with damaged egos. Old school fan favorites like Mick Foley, “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan and Road Dogg returned to rousing ovations — only to be chucked from the squared circle by dangerous upstarts like Cody Rhodes, Dolph Ziggler and Wade Barrett. Big Show, twice a runner-up in the Rumble, made a huge impact from the 30 spot, tossing Jack Swagger, Rhodes, The Miz and Ziggler in rapid succession.

When the Royal Rumble Match came down to the all-important final four, it was Big Show, Sheamus, Chris Jericho and Randy Orton left standing in the ring. Quickly, though, the 30-man melee was left to two men as The Viper heaved The World’s Largest Athlete only to be immediately eliminated by Jericho. WWE fans, knowing they would see a first time Royal Rumble Match winner tonight, began to shake the Scottrade Center as Y2J and The Great White waged a dramatic battle for supremacy. When Jericho sent Sheamus over the top rope, the big man hung on and came right back. When The Celtic Warrior dismissed his opponent, Jericho would find a way to return. The back-and-forth brawl pushed both men to their physical limit before the nefarious Superstar made the mistake of going for his patened Codebreaker. Snatching Jericho in midair, Sheamus deposited the man who promised “the end of the world” over the top rope and then blasted him with The Brogue Kick to make sure he was gone for good. It was an important victory for the SmackDown Superstar. A year ago, The Celtic Warrior’s WrestleMania XXVI bout against Daniel Bryan was bumped from the card at the last minute. This year, he’ll be competing for a World Title. Don’t expect The Great White to let this opportunity slip through his fingers.

WWE Champion CM Punk def. Dolph Ziggler (Special Guest Referee John Laurinaitis)
Whether Interim Raw General Manager and Executive Vice President of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis intended it or not – CM Punk stood tall over Dolph Ziggler in the WWE Championship Match at Royal Rumble, proudly showing off the most coveted prize in WWE. Rather than risk seeming biased in light of his upcoming performance appraisal by WWE COO Triple H, Mr. Laurinaitis excused himself from officiating duties in the WWE Championship Match. This ultimately allowed Punk and Ziggler to do what they do best in an evenly-officiated contest. The sold-out WWE Universe inside St. Louis’ Scottrade Center witnessed the two Superstars lay everything on the line, highlighting the importance of the WWE Championship and The Grandest Stage of Them All waiting on the horizon in Miami.

The contest began with each Superstar trying to get a feel for each other’s in-ring abilities. Momentum swings were fairly even, both ring warriors trading blows and trying to make each other tap out. There were unforgettable moments and near-pinfalls that could have crowned a new champion, but ultimately these did not seal the deal for either competitor. At one point, Ziggler lined up Punk for his signature face-crusher, but Punk countered with a sit-down powerbomb. Although CM Punk had Ziggler defeated on a few separate occasions, the referee was knocked out for two of those moments and Mr. Laurinaitis was checking on the official’s condition, leaving no one call the match. Finally, The Voice of the Voiceless took control of the match, hoisted Dolph Ziggler over his shoulders and put him to sleep. As the referee made the count, Mr. Laurinaitis slipped inside the ring and joined in on the three-count. Leading up to the official start of The Road to WrestleMania, Dolph Ziggler had built a fair share of momentum against the WWE Champion. Although CM Punk managed to have The Show-Off’s cohorts, U.S. Champion Jack Swagger and Vickie Guerrero, banned from ringside, Ziggler had the potential to capture the title with Mr. Laurinaitis as special referee. But when Raw’s Interim General Manager announced he would not be in that role, the news seemed to have served a crucial blow to all of the momentum Ziggler had built heading into Royal Rumble. However, with the battle underway, The Show-Off proved he did not need the screeching sounds of Vickie Guerrero’s voice, nor the extra muscle in the form of U.S. Champion Jack Swagger. Perhaps the prospect of going into WWE Elimination Chamber, and ultimately, WrestleMania as WWE Champion helped light a fire inside of Ziggler, giving CM Punk one of the greatest challenges of his championship reign. The Voice of the Voiceless leaves St. Louis with the WWE Championship intact, but has to get through WWE Elimination Chamber to remain on top heading to WrestleMania. Watch all the fallout on Monday Night Raw.

Brodus Clay def. Drew McIntyre
The embattled “Chosen One,” who has been ostensibly on the verge of termination for weeks, fell victim to the surging Brodus Clay at the 25th anniversary of Royal Rumble in yet another match with his career at stake. Over the last couple of months, McIntyre has fielded several opportunities from SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long to save his job, but has come up short each time. At the Rumble, McIntyre – who was not entered into this year’s Royal Rumble Match – employed yet another last-ditch effort to salvage his roster spot by asking Mr. Long for another match to prove his worth. The General Manager obliged, setting up a match against a mystery opponent at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view.Enter Brodus Clay, who McIntyre screamed was “a disgrace” as he boogied down to the ring to do battle. The Scottish Superstar would eat his words quickly though. Despite mounting an early offensive that pinned Clay into the corner of the ring, McIntyre soon felt the wrath of The Funkasaurus and fell victim to Clay’s “What the Funk” crossbody for the three-count. And McIntyre’s woes go on.

John Cena vs. Kane (Double Count-out)
In front of more than 18,000 members of the WWE Universe, The Big Red Monster Kane and John Cena went to war, trading one punishing blow after another. When their bitter fight spilled from the ring, the bout ended in a double count-out. But the action was far from over. The tooth-and-nail conflict continued within the Scottrade Center, where Kane repeatedly bashed Cena with a steel chair. With Cena down, Kane stormed through the dressing room door of the wheelchair-bound Zack Ryder, and applied his debilitating face claw. After wheeling Ryder to ringside, The Big Red Monster tossed him in the ring. As The Devil’s Favorite Demon stalked his prey, a concerned Eve came rushing to the ring. Despite Eve begging Kane not to hurt Ryder any further, Kane brutally tombstoned the former United States Champion with no hesitation. Then as he turned his attention to Eve, Cena came charging to the ring. Despite his best effort, Cena fell victim to a vicious chokeslam. After the painful assault, the already-injured Ryder was removed from the ring in a stretcher and taken to a local medical facility. After the brutal ending at the 25th anniversary of Royal Rumble, will Cena finally embrace hate to gain retribution against his demonic foe? Find out what transpires on Monday’s Raw SuperShow at 9/8 CT on USA Network.

Divas Champion Beth Phoenix, Natalya & The Bella Twins def. Eve, Kelly Kelly, Alicia Fox & Tamina
Even when aligned with a trio of devious Divas like The Bella Twins and Natalya, WWE Divas Champion Beth Phoenix ultimately has no friends or enemies – only challengers. And before a capacity crowd at Scottrade Center in St. Louis, The Glamazon didn’t need much help to crush the challenge from the alliance of Kelly Kelly, Eve, Alicia Fox and Tamina during the Eight-Diva Tag Team Match at the 25th anniversary of the Royal Rumble. Phoenix imposed her will on the match’s outcome after sensing a momentum shift from Kelly Kelly’s high-flying tactics which leveled all of the Divas at ringside simultaneously. The Glamazon took control of the action by ordering her own teammate to get out of the ring and then tagging herself in before nailing Kelly Kelly with a Glam Slam moments later to seal the victory. While Phoenix put the exclamation point on the win for her side, it wasn’t entirely for lack of effort on her fellow Divas’ part. Until Phoenix reversed her fortunes, Eve put on a strong performance and managed to keep her focus on her opponents rather than the looming presence of Kane within the arena. The Bella Twins also kept their chances alive by mustering some Twin Magic to halt an assault by Alicia. The result puts Natalya and The Bella Twins alongside Phoenix in the win column, but it doesn’t put anyone closer to contending against the reigning Divas Champion. Phoenix proved that The Road to WrestleMania will be a long one for any Divas hoping to challenge The Glamazon for championship gold.

World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan def. Big Show and Mark Henry (Triple Threat Steel Cage Match)
World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan took advantage of what looked to be an inescapable predicament once again to leave the 25th anniversary of the Royal Rumble with the World Title. Trapped inside a steel cage with both The World’s Largest Athlete and The World’s Strongest Man, Bryan escaped with his championship in-hand after slipping out of Big Show’s massive grip as the giant tried to lift him back into the ring, crashing to the arena floor to retain his title. Both Show and Henry were hoping to settle long-standing scores with Bryan. The World’s Largest Athlete was the unfortunate target of Bryan’s Money in the Bank cash-in at WWE TLC in December. His rematch came to a screeching halt when the champion’s girlfriend, AJ, was accidentally steamrolled by Big Show at ringside. Big Show, with the guilt of putting AJ in the hospital hanging over his head, said he’d be reconsidering his career after the Royal Rumble. After Bryan fled the cage with the title, will Big Show hang up his boots? Henry did his best to avoid the drama, but his title rematch went to a no contest after the Lumberjack Match ended in a Royal Rumble-esque melee. The World’s Strongest Man was extra-surly heading into Sunday’s encounter. After Bryan’s escape, Henry may be dead-set on making Daniel Bryan the next inductee into the Hall of Pain. Now, the World Heavyweight Champion will have to deal with the wrath of two angry behemoths as the Road to WrestleMania picks up steam. Can Bryan’s lucky streak continue and put him in the main event on The Grandest Stage of Them All?