Will Daniel Bryan or Shane McMahon Turn Heel as Road to WWE Royal Rumble Begins?

Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon's icy tensions with one another continued to escalate at WWE Clash of Champions Sunday, and there's no way both will remain babyfaces headed into 2018.

Bryan and McMahon's involvement in a unique two-referee tag team matchup led to a sloppy win for Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens, who consequently remain employed by WWE.

The feud between McMahon and Bryan continued to be a slow burn, with each man taking turns displaying heel tendencies.

Shane McMahon is trying to do right by his father, who was brutally beaten by Kevin Owens in September. Owens spent weeks wielding personal attacks aimed at the McMahon family, and while Vince McMahon is typically portrayed as a heel on television, a son's fight to avenge his father is a simple concept anybody can relate to.

In trying to avenge his family's good name, however, the Shane McMahon character has bordered on obsessive. McMahon has been hell-bent on stacking the deck against Owens and Zayn, as evidenced by the stipulation of tonight's "win or go home" matchup. In the match's climactic moments, McMahon refused to count to three.

Meanwhile, Bryan wants a fair and balanced product on WWE SmackDown Live. By playing something of a devil's advocate for Zayn and Owens, he's trying to be the voice of reason. Still, assisting two of SmackDown Live's top antagonists, most notably when he fast-counted to award them the victory, is emblematic of heel behavior.

So when all is said and done, who is going to the dark side?

Will Bryan continue to align himself with the so-called Yep Movement to create a heel trio that will be almost impossible to boo?

Will Shane McMahon go full McMahon by double-crossing Bryan to team up with Zayn and Owens as part of a swerve?

Will this all result in a strange double-turn wherein Zayn, Owens and Bryan become babyfaces against an overly authoritative McMahon?

As WWE looks forward to January's Royal Rumble, it's anybody's guess as to who turns heel. There are so many paths to take in a complex storyline with several layers.

But that's why this feud continues to be so good.

Alfred Konuwa is a Featured Columnist and on-air host for Bleacher Report and Forbes. Like him on Facebook.