WWE Hell in a Cell 2012: Can Ryback Pull a Sheamus and Win the WWE Title?

This past Monday on Raw, we found out—after a lot of grandstanding by all involved—that Ryback would be CM Punk's opponent for the WWE Championship at Hell in a Cell.

Ryback is the apparent substitute for John Cena in this situation and many have called into question the decision to put him in the main event of a PPV. The two biggest objections to Ryback being in the title match are that he is either too green or it is too obvious he will not leave as WWE champion.

Putting Ryback in the main event is not the problem. It is a match we have not seen before and a new face in the main event could freshen things up.

The problem is that him winning the title after being used in squash matches exclusively would make CM Punk's 300-plus-day title reign come to an undeserving end.

To have the longest-reigning champion in the last few years be beaten by a guy who still garners Goldberg chants would upset a lot of Punk fans as well as wrestling purists.

Many feel Ryback is simply not ready to be "the guy" in WWE, but nobody thought that about Sheamus either.

Sheamus rose to the top of WWE and captured the WWE Championship from John Cena in less than six months. The Celtic Warrior was met with just as much criticism as Ryback has seen and now there is no denying that Sheamus belongs at the top of the heap.

The big difference between Sheamus and Ryback is that Sheamus has had plenty of time since his first title win to prove that he deserves to be a top star in the company.

People can say whatever they want about who supports Sheamus backstage and that being the reason for his push, but the fact remains that Sheamus has gained his fanbase on his own.

The fans are starting to get behind Ryback, as we have consistently seen the "Feed me more" chants get louder each week.

WWE has created a character that it feels could be a future star, but it is throwing him right into the fire after very few real tests. Even though Ryback has some momentum, we cannot forget that his biggest wins are over Tensai and every member of 3MB (The Band, Encore). Not exactly a world-class resume.

What we need to see from Ryback before he holds a title is the capacity to grow. His moveset has remained largely the same since his debut and he has not had much time to prove he has mic skills.

Unless WWE puts some real effort into Ryback, he will end up being the next Brodus Clay, someone with a big push who ended up becoming a comedy character like Santino.

Using him as a substitute for Cena is smart, because WWE has created some buzz and put the character in the spotlight, but it is very unlikely that Ryback will leave HIAC as champion.

Do you think Ryback has a snowflake's chance in hell of leaving HIAC as WWE champion?

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