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#28 Victim of a Punk sermon
Ziggler, like many around him during this particular Rumble match, was a victim of a fascinating early Royal Rumble choice by the WWE. Patterning the opening portions as a dominating victory run for CM Punk, Dolph Ziggler found himself quickly eliminated just after his dancing partner Evan Bourne.
Dolph and Evan started the match in spectacular fashion. Though it was believed then that Ziggler was primed for a slow burn main event push soon enough, he couldn't gather the pre-requisite Royal Rumble heat.
Instead, CM Punk's rise as the cult leader of the Straight Edge Society, and the temptation to provide him an open mic between eliminations overpowered Ziggler's lofty ambitions. Dolph would get a second chance at redemption soon enough, that too from the vaunted number one spot.
Eliminated by CM Punk
