WWE SummerSlam 2012: Why Sheamus Will Retain the World Title

Assuming that the World Heavyweight Championship match is put back on the SummerSlam card, there is no doubt in my mind that Sheamus will successfully retain. The World Heavyweight Champion has been on a warpath since WrestleMania and has beaten every challenger to confront him. At SummerSlam, he will extend his reign with a victory over Alberto del Rio.

Even more so than Sheamus' dominant reign as champion, del Rio hasn't been put in any position to win the championship. Sheamus and del Rio are polar opposites of one another. While Sheamus has been completely dominant, del Rio has been a pathetic challenger.

SummerSlam will see del Rio's second consecutive shot at the World Heavyweight Championship. At July's Money in the Bank pay-per-view, del Rio was decisively defeated by the "Celtic Warrior." Despite winning a match to become the No. 1 contender, it's still hard to see del Rio as a viable contender.

Never mind the fact that Sheamus cleanly pinned del Rio a month ago. On more that one occasion, the "Mexican Aristocrat" has proved that he can't take Sheamus on his own. Prior to Money in the Bank, it took the help of Ricardo Rodriguez to execute the attack in which del Rio slammed the hood of his car on Sheamus.

More recently, del Rio needed the help of a team of mercenaries disguised at police officers to beat down Sheamus. It was this attack on this past week's Smackdown that led to Booker T temporarily cancelling the World Heavyweight Championship match.

Starting with his 18 second win at WrestleMania, Sheamus has been booked as a very dominant babyface champion. From what I can tell, the WWE is waiting to use Sheamus to put over Smackdown's next big heel. After all, the person that dethrones Sheamus will seem almost unstoppable.

Alberto del Rio just isn't that person. The WWE has proven that time and time again. Del Rio hasn't been able to get the job done by himself. The only time he gets the better of Sheamus is when he has outside help.

If Sheamus loses the title to del Rio, it would be a huge mistake. Del Rio becoming World Heavyweight Champion will look like a huge fluke. Rebuilding del Rio to be a viable contender will take time and suddenly making him champion will only harm him further, in my opinion.

In addition, Sheamus will come out looking incredibly weak. No matter what out Sheamus could have for losing, he will still have his incredibly dominant reign ended by one of the weaker heels on the WWE's roster. Furthermore, they will have missed a great opportunity to put over someone like Dolph Ziggler or the returning Wade Barrett.

Michael Prunka is a Bleacher Report Featured Columnist. To stay up to date with his WWE and NHL commentary, you can like his Facebook page, follow him on Twitter and follow him on Tout.