WWE: 10 Superstars That Could Rule the Rest of 2012

Seven months into 2012, and the potential "Superstars of the Year" are separating themselves from the pack.

A handful of WWE superstars have had stellar years so far, whether that's because they've main evented pay-per-views, held onto World titles or started the most popular chant since "Stone Cold" Steve Austin's "What?" chants filled the world's arenas.

But even though the first seven months of the year have been dominated by only a small group of guys, a lot has happened in recent months that leads me to believe that plenty of WWE stars could climb the ranks in the latter half of 2012.

Some will continue their ascension to the top of the WWE, while others are hoping to stay there.

So, which superstars will do what? And which stars could go either way?

Let's take a look at 10 superstars who look poised to rule the rest of 2012.

10. Daniel Bryan

If I had to vote for "Superstar of the Year" today, mine would go to Daniel Bryan.

He held onto the World Heavyweight Championship until WrestleMania 28, has gotten exponentially more popular, started a worldwide trend with his "Yes!" chants, feuded over the WWE Championship and delivered countless great matches throughout the course of the year.

But the reason I have Bryan so low is because I don't see anywhere for him to go but down.

Bryan has had a phenomenal year up until now, but being that he literally hasn't left the World title scene yet in 2012 (but hasn't held a World title in four months), it seems like he's destined to drop down the card a little bit for the remainder of the year.

That being said, Bryan's popularity is still currently at an all-time high, and the WWE is going to capitalize on that by keeping him as one of the main fixtures on both Raw and SmackDown.

He may not be competing for World titles or main eventing pay-per-views, but he'll continue to be involved in some of the biggest happenings in WWE.

9. Damien Sandow

Damien Sandow is quickly becoming one of my favorite WWE stars for the simple fact that he's a true heel in a WWE where true heels are lacking.

In today's WWE, the quality heels tend to get so over that they begin to generate babyface reactions. But Sandow is a heel in every sense of the word and appears destined to become one of the biggest bad guys in the company.

Sandow has already shown a knack for cutting eloquent, yet entertaining promos, which are a great contradiction to his flamboyant attire and aggressive style in the ring.

He's instantly connected with the fans in a way that makes us want to see him get his you-know-what kicked, but he hasn't had a real feud yet since making his main roster debut.

I fully expect that to change in the very near future.

While Sandow may continue squashing jobbers like he has been, I believe that his excellence both on the mic and in the ring will leave the WWE with no choice but to elevate him up the card to an upper mid-card feud at the very least.

And when he gets there, his current push as one of SmackDown's fastest rising heels should result in an even better second half of 2012.

8. Ryback

Ryback is finally doing exactly what I thought he had to do to succeed in the WWE.

While his dominant squash matches over local jobbers were fine for a while, I preached and preached about how Ryback needed to step into the ring with some actual WWE superstars and show at least some vulnerability to get over with the crowd.

When he was destroying no-names, too many fans were associating him with Goldberg, and hardly any of those fans seemed to care much about him.

Now, however, Ryback is finally showing some minor struggles against his fellow WWE stars and not simply beating them in a cakewalk every time he steps into the ring.

I like it.

Given that Ryback is being booked as a babyface, seeing him struggle a little bit gives us a reason to be sympathetic toward him and actually get him behind him during his matches.

That's all I wanted for Ryback, and it seems to be working.

The fans seem to be slowly but surely voicing their support for him, and if he continues to show that impressive strength while also showing a little vulnerability, his massive push could propel him to a spot as one of the WWE's top babyfaces later in the year.

7. Cody Rhodes

I'm torn on Cody Rhodes, primarily because the creative team seems to be as well.

Rhodes seems to be a victim of the classic "creative has nothing for you" excuse, where he has little to no direction in his character because it's booked on the fly.

I get that not everyone can be pushed at the same time and that this appears to be Dolph Ziggler's time to shine, but it's disappointing to see Rhodes without any real sense of direction as is currently the case.

Still, that doesn't mean that Rhodes can't rebound with a great second half of the year.

Although we can't be sure what creative is going to do with Rhodes, he did have a strong showing against Sheamus on last week's SmackDown, and he has all the physical tools to make it to the top of the WWE and win a World title.

Could the WWE just be waiting for the right moment to push Rhodes to the top? I definitely think it's a possibility.

He's got an uphill battle given CM Punk's recent heel turn, the impending return of Wade Barrett and Ziggler's massive push, but he's simply too talented to be overlooked for the remainder of the year.

6. The Miz

The Miz's time away from the WWE could not have come at a better time.

Despite picking up a victory at WrestleMania 28, The Miz had an awful first half of 2012, one that I'm sure he'd like to forget.

Luckily for The Miz, though, he missed nearly two months of action in order to film The Marine 3, and when he came back, it didn't even take him two weeks to win the Intercontinental Championship and then successfully defend it.

The Miz (new hairdo, beard and all) looks rejuvenated and refocused since his return, and appears to be headed for a great second half of the year.

The WWE showed a lot of confidence in The Miz by booking him to win a title so soon after his return, and it wouldn't be shocking to see him have a long Intercontinental Championship reign like Cody Rhodes recently did.

I know some may be viewing The Miz's Intercontinental title win as nothing major because it's technically a mid-card title, but I see big things on the horizon for the most must-see WWE Champion in history.

With that much-needed leave of absence and the upcoming promotion for The Marine 3, The Miz is poised for a huge push this fall and heading into 2013.

5. Wade Barrett

Wade Barrett suffered a nasty elbow injury on the road to WrestleMania 28, one that likely had a domino effect that has changed a lot of the WWE's plans for 2012.

But even though Barrett missed out on what was likely a big role at Mania, he is still rumored to be in line for a monster push upon his return, with a World Heavyweight title win possible in the not-so-distant future.

Now that Dolph Ziggler is holding the Money in the Bank briefcase, Barrett may be out of luck for the time being. 

But then again, there's really no telling where his likely massive upcoming push could take him.

I could see Barrett stepping up to be Sheamus' next No. 1 contender (Sheamus needs a fresh challenger, after all) or returning for a major feud with a top babyface like Rey Mysterio or even John Cena.

Although we'll have to wait and see what happens, the general consensus seems to be that big things are in store for Barrett whenever he does return, which shouldn't be all that far away.

4. Sheamus

Sheamus has been as dominant as anyone in 2012, and that's apparently no accident.

According to F4WOnline.com (via WrestleZone.com), "Sheamus' current push as World Champion is being booked similarly to how Triple H was booked when he first won the World Title in that Sheamus is being carefully protected and suffering very few clean losses."

Well, that's rather obvious.

No one in the WWE (not even John Cena or CM Punk) has been protected like Sheamus has been over the course of 2012, as "The Great White" has been running through his opponents with relative ease.

Think that's gonna change anytime soon? I sure don't.

Triple H has reportedly called for longer World title reigns to make the belts seem more important, which indicates that Sheamus' World Heavyweight Championship reign is going to continue for the foreseeable future.

And oh yeah, don't expect Sheamus to lose cleanly very often, if it all, for the remainder of the year.

He's being booked to be more unstoppable than any other superstar in recent memory. 

3. John Cena

As John Cena's entrance song states, his time is now.

Of course, we all know that Cena has spent much of the last year away from the WWE Championship picture. But he's back in it now, and we can expect him to remain there for the foreseeable future.

In all likelihood, Cena's feud with CM Punk is going to be an extended one, but whether it is or isn't, I fully expect Cena to remain around the title picture for the remainder of the year.

It's just that he's been away from it for so long that now it seems like a lock that he'll be around it for a while to "make up" for all of the time he's spent away from his most prized possession.

To be honest, though, this doesn't really change much.

Sure, up until last week, Cena hadn't challenged for the WWE title at all this year. But it's not like he was left out of the main-event scene.

Outside of the Royal Rumble, he has main evented every pay-per-view so far in 2012.

Now that he's chasing the WWE title and likely will be for the next several months, the only difference is that the WWE Championship will likely be back in its rightful place as the main-event PPV match.

2. Dolph Ziggler

Dolph Ziggler is on the verge of winning his first real World championship in the WWE.

After starting the year of by challenging for the WWE title at the Royal Rumble and then dropping off to glorified jobber status, Ziggler's year is about to come full circle now that he's Mr. Money in the Bank.

He's been getting booked in big matches because of his incredible abilities in the ring, but now that he's holding that Money in the Bank briefcase, he's finally being portrayed as a legitimate main event threat.

Ziggler is one miscue away from cashing in that briefcase and becoming the new World Heavyweight Champion, and even if that doesn't happen by the end of 2012, the simple fact that it could will make him relevant for the remainder of the year.

It's likely that Ziggler will be around the WHC picture all year long to tease a cash-in, actually cash in and/or become the World Heavyweight Champion.

Meanwhile, he's currently in the initial phases of a potentially epic feud with Chris Jericho that will probably result in Jericho putting him over in a major way.

Yep, it's good to be "The Showoff."

1. CM Punk

Despite holding the WWE Championship for nearly nine months now, CM Punk has, in many ways, been overlooked throughout the course of 2012.

He has still yet to main event a pay-per-view this year, and despite his growing popularity, he's often played second fiddle to guys like John Cena and Triple H.

But after Punk's shocking heel turn on last week's Raw, all eyes are on him.

Punk is finally in the spotlight after turning heel in the midst of a lengthy World title reign, which is something that hasn't happened in roughly 20 years.

He is, for once, involved in the WWE's biggest angle while holding its most prized possession and being fresh off a turn that no one saw coming.

As big as Punk has been over the last year or so, he has the potential to get even bigger in the second half of 2012.

If you're going to pay attention to just one WWE star for the next several months, it should be CM Punk.

Drake Oz is a WWE Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter and ask him any wrestling-related questions on Formspring.