WWE TLC 2012: Why the Sheamus/Big Show Rivalry Must End

Sheamus and The Big Show are set to do battle at Tables, Ladders & Chairs in their third and final pay-per-view encounter of the year. 

The two colossal superstars have already put on unexpectedly impressive bouts at Hell in a Cell and Survivor Series, and Sunday's chairs match seems a fitting end to their lengthy feud.

Although a seemingly appropriate time to end SmackDown's current top rivalry, the idea that this is the final match in the series also suggests that the defending champion will walk away with the WWE's World Heavyweight Championship, as the challenger winning would mean a rematch (and thus a fourth encounter) perhaps at the Royal Rumble.

As a big-four event, it is likely that the Royal Rumble's World Heavyweight Championship match will feature something fresh, therefore not Sheamus and The Big Show doing battle once again.

It would appear to be important to SmackDown's main event scene to freshen things up post-TLC, and the options that the creative department have at their disposal are almost endless. The inclusion of Dolph Ziggler and John Cena in a match contesting the Money in the Bank briefcase means that any one of four superstars could leave Tables, Ladders & Chairs as World champ. 

However, when the scenarios behind a cash-in are broken down, it becomes apparent that its likelihood is not as high as many are expecting.

For instance, should Sheamus beat The Big Show, only for Ziggler to cash in on the newly crowned champion, the "World's Largest Athlete" would still be involved in the title picture, as his rematch clause would remain in tact. The prospect of the heel-on-heel (Ziggler cashing in on The Big Show) also seems unlikely, although not out of the question.

Furthermore, should John Cena defeat "The Show Off" for the title-match contract, the chance of an opportunistic cash-in is extremely unlikely, as it would arguably taint the wholesome babyface character that Cena and the WWE higher-ups have strained to maintain through considerable adversity for years.

This writer's bold prediction for the event, therefore, is that, whatever the outcome of the Sheamus/Big Show chairs match, the latter will be so brutally beaten by steel either during or after the match that he will be written off TV, and thus out of the title picture, until Royal Rumble or even Elimination Chamber.

Consequentially, the culminated title feud need not grow stale by being drawn out any further than necessary, and Dolph Ziggler or even John Cena can bring a breath of fresh air to the big gold belt.

Ultimately, with the recent rumours from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (via Bleacher Report's Imaan Jalali) regarding the World title scene come WrestleMania, do not be surprised if a certain 49-day championship reign comes to an abrupt and brutal end tonight.

Look for The Big Show to be written of TV, however temporarily, at the hands (and indeed chairs) of the "Celtic Warrior."