Royal Rumble 2012 Highlights: Sheamus Proves He's WrestleMania-Main Event Worthy

Sheamus proved at the Royal Rumble 2012 that he is without a shadow of a doubt worthy of main eventing WWE WrestleMania XXVIII.

The Great White Celtic Warrior has been teetering on the brink of main eventing WWE programming since turning face in August thanks to Mark Henry. He is the No. 2 face on the SmackDown brand and will now rival Randy Orton as the top draw moving forward.

WWE shocked the wrestling world by allowing Sheamus to go over the obvious choice of Chris Jericho. Though the booking team royally screwed up Y2J's return since Jan. 2, they threw us a well-deserved curveball last night. 

They had the rare opportunity to truly shock the wrestling world this year, and they took full advantage by making a name for Sheamus. It wasn't just that Sheamus won the match, it was the way he won.

Y2J and the Great White battled in the best final two showdown in the history of the match after Undertaker and Shawn Michaels' showdown in 2007. These two men went back and forth, trading jaw-dropping, bone-chilling moments after another.

Sheamus proved that he has the whit and agility to be one of the top all-around performers in wrestling. He was all over the place in this match and stood toe-to-toe with one of the craftiest wrestlers to ever step in the ring. 

Not many gave Sheamus a chance when he got down to the final two with Jericho, especially not when Jericho was dangling from the top rope and still wouldn't touch the floor. Yet the final Brogue Kick to the face to eliminate Jericho was priceless. This was Sheamus' best moment of his career thus far, and it will be followed by a Main Event Championship program at WrestleMania.

Many will be upset that Jericho's return was royally botched, myself included, but this was the right move. WWE desperately needs to create superstars, and Y2J wouldn't have gained anything by winning the Rumble. Sheamus actually does gain from this match, which is the way it should be.

WWE desperately needs a quality spokesman to sell the Rumble. Now, Sheamus will be all over late-night TV talk shows. More importantly, he is phenomenal when he does it. He was excellent with Jimmy Fallon, Conan O'Brien and even The Muppets when they were on RAW.

He is the next gold mine in the WWE, and now, they will promote him like he rightfully deserves. Even better, fans eat him up whenever he is on TV. This guy is a true movie star. He is one of the most charismatic, likable and personable performers in the company. 

The year of Sheamus begins now, and it's about time. Instead of crying over Jericho, be thankful that it was a deserving Celtic Warrior that won. He is going to benefit beyond our imagination and turn into one of the most beloved WWE superstars in history.