on the december 26 episode of "raw", ziggler defeated wwe champion cm punk in a gauntlet match for a championship opportunity following interference from john laurinaitis. the following "raw", ziggler defeated punk by countout after laurinaitis interfered again; as a result, ziggler did not win the championship. at the 2012 royal rumble pay-per-view, ziggler failed to capture the wwe championship from cm punk. at the elimination chamber, ziggler failed again to capture the wwe championship after being eliminated second by chris jericho. nemeth noted to arda ocal in an interview for the score television network that the elimination chamber left him with multiple minor injuries and it is a match he least looked forward to working.