WrestleMania 28: Why Daniel Bryan Will Leave Miami as Champion

Of the four "main events" at this year's WrestleMania, Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus for the World Heavyweight Championship has had the least attention.  It lacks the star power of John Cena vs. The Rock, the beautiful wrestling potential of CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho and the overall package of Undertaker vs. Triple H.

However, it's the one I've found myself most interested in.  Punk and Jericho is a close second.

It could be that it's had little build-up and no endless promos, so I haven't had the chance to get sick of it. 

But really, I think it's because of the Bryan and AJ storyline and the future potential of the pairing.

On paper, the match is ridiculously easy to call—Sheamus to win.  If all matches had a nice clean finish, that would be the outcome.  But I'm backing Bryan to retain his title.

Here's why.

WWE Needs Bryan to Maintain His Momentum

Daniel Bryan is a on a great roll at the moment.  He's taken two of the most common heel characteristics—cowardice and conceit—and fashioned himself a persona which is unique in the current WWE.

And adding in the abusive relationship was a masterstroke by whoever thought of it. 

Bryan gets booed for a reason, unlike most of the other bad guys.  At the moment, he's the only healthy top heel on Smackdown*.

The show needs Bryan to stay looking strong and loathesome because it needs a credible baddie.

I don't think he could be that without the belt around his waist.

* I don't consider Cody Rhodes as a "top" heel yet, and Mark Henry has slipped back.

The Danny-Boy/AJ Storyline Has Too Much Life Left

The relationship between Danny and AJ is the key to when the title will change hands.  Everything points to that, and any other outcome would be a criminal waste of a great opportunity.

A few weeks ago, I was expecting an increasingly abusive Bryan to (unseen by the referee) receive a well-timed slap from AJ—or in an ideal world, a whack in the face with his big gold belt—sending him into the path of a Brogue Kick and defeat.

But that no longer looks likely.  There isn't enough resentment and anger stored up inside AJ yet for that sort of move to make sense.  She remains the subservient, loving walkover she's been playing for months. 

Entering the ring during a match to save Bryan and putting herself in harm's way—as she did on Raw—pushed her even further into the spellbound category.

Of course, swerves have been known to happen.  But I don't see how they could flip this one around during a packed PPV without causing a major head-scratch moment.  There needs to be some kind of indication AJ might turn on Bryan, and we haven't had that.

To me that suggests there's a lot of life still in the relationship.  I believe it'll end at the same time as Bryan's main-event run—and that'll happen at the end of his reign.

Sheamus Remains Strong in Defeat

My crystal ball is leaning in the direction of the match ending in a disqualification—either Sheamus flipping out after some form of provocation (such as spitting) or Bryan using his belt as a weapon.

But even if that doesn't happen, Bryan won't win clean.  Sheamus won't lose momentum if he takes a dirty loss. It would spur him on to become an even stronger destructive force in the coming weeks. 

Speaking of destructive forces...

Where's the anger, Sheamus?

No one on the roster looks better in a blind rage than Sheamus.

The Irishman has been a jovial chap of late, no doubt because he hasn't even looked like losing cleanly since the count-out against Mark Henry at SummerSlam last year.

We got a taster in February when Bryan spat in Sheamus' face.  But since that moment, everything has seemed too happy and smiley, certainly in comparison to the pre-injury feud with Christian.

Bryan is the most irritating man in the company at the moment. If anyone can provoke some lasting fury, it's him.

Are they saving the rampaging, angry Sheamus for after WrestleMania?  Having the Great White destroying everyone in his path to earn another shot at the next PPV allows him to showcase the most interesting side of his character.

And it provides a more compelling main-event level storyline for the month after Mania than a whining Bryan being given a compulsory rematch.

Extreme Rules

Nothing sets up a no-countout, no-disqualification match like being cheated out of a belt.  And at the end of April we have Extreme Rules.

The perfect stage for Bryan to finally end up in a corner from which he cannot escape.  The perfect stage for AJ to deliver her revenge with no chance of it backfiring into a DQ.  And the perfect stage for us to see Sheamus doing what he does best—being angry.

WrestleMania is the most important show of the year, but with so much going on, using a small piece of it to set up a big storyline for the next PPV wouldn't be a bad idea.

And That's It

I could be totally wrong and thinking about things too deeply.  Maybe I'm incorrectly assuming the creative team thinks the same way I do regarding logical outcomes.

Or maybe I'm allowing wishful thinking to affect my judgement.  I'm quite a fan of the heel Bryan, and if the WWE Shop sold AJs I'd have several dozen of them.  The two should remain prominent a while longer, and a Bryan retain would allow that.

I've no doubt Sheamus will take the title off Bryan very soon, but I feel that happening at WrestleMania would be too early.

Final prediction: Sheamus to win by disqualification.