Sheamus vs Randy Orton: Why the Rumored WrestleMania 29 Match Is Compelling

Tons of potential World Heavyweight Championship matches have been rumored for WrestleMania 29, and one of those bouts would pit Randy Orton against the man who held the world title for seven months in 2012, Sheamus.

According to PWInsider.com (via WrestlingInc.com), current creative plans call for “The Viper” and “The Great White” to collide with the title on the line at the biggest pay-per-view.

This rumor has been floating around for a while now, and it’s gotten plenty of different reactions, everything from outrage to happiness to indifference.

It seems, though, that much of the very vocal Internet fanbase doesn’t have a ton of interest in seeing Sheamus vs. Orton again—"again" being the key word here.

We’ve indeed seen Orton and Sheamus feud multiple times. In 2010, they faced each other for the WWE Championship both at the Royal Rumble and SummerSlam. 

That’s why many think that Orton vs. Sheamus: Part Three (or Part Four, depending on who you ask) at WrestleMania 29 wouldn’t be all that compelling.

But it actually would be.

The last two feuds between the two weren’t all that great, but look at the circumstances surrounding both of those rivalries.

One happened when both men were heels and Sheamus had barely been in the WWE for six months. The other happened only about six or seven months later when Sheamus was still a newcomer and Orton had only just turned face. 

A lot has changed since then.

It’s been well over two years since Orton and Sheamus have had a legitimate rivalry against one another, and things are much different now than they were in mid-2010. 

Sheamus has evolved into arguably the WWE’s No. 2 babyface, and he’s made some drastic improvements in the ring over the last two years. In fact, he’s now one of the company’s better in-ring performers.

In particular, Sheamus has a ton of chemistry with none other than “The Viper.” 

They’ve crossed paths plenty of times over the years, but the last time they had a singles match, they absolutely tore the house down in a nearly 30-minute match that was one of the best TV bouts of the year.

You can’t create the chemistry that guys like Orton and Sheamus have with just any two stars, and no one really knows if any of the other rumored WrestleMania World title matches would involve two guys who can put on a show in the ring.

Other potential world title matches are certainly intriguing, but Orton vs. Sheamus would be for the simple fact that it’s a rivalry between two great in-ring workers who have fantastic chemistry with one another.

Not only that, but they also happen to be two of the WWE’s most over superstars, and one of them, Orton, is expected to turn heel during this rivalry.

Fans have been begging for Orton to stop coasting by as a babyface, and in order for him to do that, they want to see him go back to his heel persona that made him the WWE’s clear-cut No. 2 star for a four- or five-year span.

It looks like those fans will get their wish when Orton goes bad by turning on a man who just so happens to be one of the WWE’s top faces in Sheamus.

We can complain about a lot of the things that the WWE does wrong, but how can we argue with a storyline that would finally turn Orton heel, have him face another top star and likely put on a great match on the grand stage of WrestleMania?

Sheamus vs. Orton may not go down as the best rivalry ever, but with a heel turn likely to motivate Orton for the first time in a while and Sheamus continuing to impress, there are certainly worse routes to go.

“The Viper” vs. “The Great White” is only not compelling if you don’t like seeing two great performers feud with one another.

Otherwise, a rivalry between Sheamus and a newly-turned heel Orton should be the icing on the cake of what is shaping up to be a loaded WrestleMania card.

Drake Oz is a WWE Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter!