WWE News: Original Choice for 2012 Royal Rumble Winner Revealed, Why Sheamus Won

Suffice it to say the entire WWE universe was surprised when Sheamus triumphed over 29 other combatants to reign supreme at the end of The Royal Rumble match.

As soon as "The Great White" eliminated Chris Jericho and stood tall in the ring, engulfed by pyrotechnics, the WWE fans knew they witnessed a very unlikely scenario.

While many viewers loved it, others remained indifferent and some hated it, there is no question that Sheamus, the 2012 Royal Rumble victor, got mouths talking and keyboards typing.

And according to PWInsider.com, the decision to go with Sheamus as the winner was done with that express purpose. In fact, he wasn't even the original choice; Chris Jericho was.

Journalist Mike Johnson of PWInsider.com elaborates:

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"WWE went with Sheamus as the Royal Rumble last night, but the initial plan appeared to have been Chris Jericho winning.

According to those I spoke to in the company, the decision was made to go with Sheamus just a few days back in order to throw a curveball at fans that were expecting Jericho.

Michael Cole's line about what title would Sheamus choose to go after was designed to lead fans to believe that a massive shake-up in the storylines just went down. The idea here was to create some frenzy what would get fans talking.

There have been plans to push Sheamus super-hard over the last year, as we've talked about in the Elite section of PWInsider.com, as the company loves the way he presents himself and feels he's grown as a performer since he's debuted with the company."

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Certainly, the WWE's last-minute change in plans to go with "The Celtic Warrior" as The Royal Rumble winner threw the majority of fans for a loop.

Being only days removed from the Rumble event, though, it's difficult to judge if the choice will ultimately prove to be a wise one.

If the company is fully invested in Sheamus and has every intention of catapulting him to superstardom at WrestleMania 28, the outcome of The Royal Rumble will be looked back upon with nodding heads.

However, if the company bungles his push like they've done with so many stars of the past—including Sheamus in 2010—the closing seconds of the 2012 Royal Rumble will be remembered as the answer to a trivia question.

Ideally, no matter who he faces at WrestleMania—be it CM Punk, Daniel Bryan or Undertaker—Sheamus needs to come across as an unflappable, competent babyface.

If we can assess the Irishman's career one year from now and note how much his star power has grown, we won't be bothered by the fact that Chris Jericho had his Royal Rumble moment taken away from him.

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