WrestleMania 28: All Signs Point to Big Performance from Sheamus

Since turning face during the summer, Sheamus has largely been an unstoppable force in the WWE. That much became apparent when he won the Royal Rumble. And with so much momentum behind him, it's tough to see the Celtic Warrior losing at WrestleMania XXVIII.

Sheamus decided to use his WrestleMania title shot on Daniel Bryan and his World Heavyweight Championship. Bryan's development as a heel has been impressive, and he has been much more serious and ruthless in recent weeks, but it seems clear to me that the WWE wants to cement Sheamus as one of its top guys.

Up until this point, Bryan has continually found ways to weasel out of difficult situations with the belt, but that isn't likely to happen at WrestleMania. There is no chance that Bryan will beat Sheamus cleanly, so the only possible result with Bryan coming out on top is him finding a way to cheat.

The scenario I see happening, though, is Bryan trying to force his girlfriend, A.J., to help him, but things will ultimately go awry. Bryan has basically been made to look like an oppressive and abusive boyfriend for the past few weeks, and he has played that role quite convincingly.

It's only a matter of time before A.J. has had enough, and that time figures to come at WrestleMania. A.J. will probably slap the taste out of Bryan's mouth at some point, resulting in him turning right into a Brogue Kick. Sheamus obviously doesn't need help to beat Bryan, but it seems like a logical and probable way to end it.

Early in his career, Sheamus was the unlucky recipient of a premature push. He was given the WWE Championship just a few months into his tenure on the active roster and he won the title again not long after. While he was an impressive, physical force and had potential as a heel, the crowd didn't care enough yet for him to be a world champion.

All of that has changed since his face turn, however, as he is in that upper tier of fan favorites with John Cena, CM Punk and Randy Orton. The crowd loves him because he is a different kind of face in that he performs face actions, but he isn't afraid to beat people down and he often loses his temper.

Sheamus is as popular as he ever has been and perhaps more popular than he ever will be, so the creative team would be crazy to let this opportunity go by the wayside. Sheamus is red hot right now and it is clear that he is championship material, so all signs point to him prevailing over Bryan at WrestleMania.

As much as many people like to complain about a lack of talent or a lack of depth when it comes to the WWE roster currently, making Sheamus World Heavyweight Champion would give the company an awfully impressive stable of main-event faces. Sheamus is ready to take that next step, and once he does, he'll never look back.