WWE over the Limit 2012: Why Sheamus Must Retain World Heavyweight Title

Even though superstars like CM Punk and Daniel Bryan have had terrific years, so far 2012 has been dominated by Sheamus. His tremendous run must continue with a victory at Over the Limit to retain his World Heavyweight Championship.

Everything started for Sheamus back in January at Royal Rumble when he eliminated Chris Jericho, who had just returned to the company to much fanfare, to earn a future title shot. The win came after a steady build in the final months of 2011.

Winning the Royal Rumble main event is one of the biggest pushes a wrestler can receive. It's a sign the company has big plans for a superstar, and that's certainly been the case for Sheamus, as he's been on a roll ever since.

After making it known he would challenge Daniel Bryan to become Smackdown's top title holder, things started to get a little shaky for the "Great White" because of Bryan's popularity among diehard wrestling fans.

So while Sheamus was working as the face in the storyline, Bryan was actually getting better crowd reactions in most cases. It's a tricky test for a superstar that doesn't have great mic skills, but he handled it well enough for the WWE to maintain its confidence in him.

That was proven at WrestleMania. Sheamus led off the show by defeating Bryan in just 18 seconds, winning the World Heavyweight title for the first time.

Just like that, Sheamus was given two of the biggest victories a star could receive, illustrating that he worked his way all the way back after sliding down the ladder following his WWE title reigns.

He proceeded to retain the belt last month at Extreme Rules by overcoming Bryan once again, this time in a best Two out of Three Falls match. It was a terrific battle between two of the company's better in-ring workers.

Based on Sheamus' entire build, which features several gigantic victories and plenty of time in the main-event scene, there's no reason for him to drop the belt at a second-tier PPV like Over the Limit. It would be a waste of everything he's accomplished so far.

He will face off with Chris Jericho, Alberto Del Rio and Randy Orton. While they are three of the WWE's biggest names, none of them have been getting booked like champions in recent months. That makes it appear like a chance to make Sheamus look even stronger, which would be a wise move.

At the very least, his run with the title should extend to SummerSlam. Having him drop it at any point before then, including at Over the Limit, would be a major mistake.