WWE: Is Sheamus on His Way to the World Heavyweight Championship on Smackdown?

A properly written pro wrestling storyline is all about natural progression.

Sheamus and Mark Henry have begun what looks to be a hard-hitting, high impact feud on WWE Friday Night Smackdown. The two men had their first real match at SummerSlam, and though Henry has won the first round, there is every indication that Sheamus is not yet done, and this thing isn’t over just yet.

After all, since his recent face turn, Sheamus has been very well received by the crowd, and looks great in his new role as a fan favorite. Where once stood a bullying heel who would often sneak attacked his opponent, and even ran from a fight, now stands a tough, fearless bruiser whose devil-may-care attitude keeps him in a straight ahead nose to nose fight.

Having said all of that, the fact is that Henry did win their first encounter, and he is now one step closer to that main event level that his character has never truly seen. This could very well be Mark Henry’s opportunity at World Championship gold.

Randy Orton is one of the company’s top two guys, and while his rivalry with Christian was dramatic and very well fought, the fact is that we as fans all pretty much understood his place in WWE. We all knew that is was only a matter of time before he regained the World Title.

Of course, at SummerSlam he did just that, and now that the balance of power on the program has shifted back once again in Orton’s favor. The question becomes who will be the first to challenge him?

The most obvious answer would be Christian since he was the guy who dropped the title to Orton. The last former champion is usually the one to get his rematch straight away.

But Orton and Christian’s feud looks to have ended with this last match, as it was portrayed as their final encounter and Randy’s last chance at defeating the conniving Christian for the strap.

I for one have really enjoyed their series of matches, as both men made for some great moments in the ring and did what true professional wrestlers do when the reward is championship gold.

They wrestled for it.

As Orton moves on to his first challenge for his newly-won title, the only serious threat to him at this point would have to be Mark Henry.

Any other time that statement alone would be enough to get myself or any other writer laughed off of this site in a heartbeat. The idea of Orton losing the World Championship to Henry was a crazy notion a couple of years ago, but now?

Now, Mark Henry is no longer Mark Henry, the big, underachieving strong man whose push looks good on paper, but at the end of the day, he does the job like always.

Mark Henry is now Mark Henry, the big, punishing brute of a man whose rage and power have carved a path of destruction through WWE, destroying everything and everyone in his wake.

Big Show, Kane, Vladimir Kozlov and that little tech guy, all four of them have been met with the same fate of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

They were in Mark Henry’s way.

So, now that his character has evolved up to this point and his stock has risen, it only makes sense that he will be given a shot at Orton’s World Title. Because of his current role on the program, and all of the work that has gone into establishing him as a dominant monster in the company, this match will take on a whole new meaning.

Mark will not be seen as merely the classic, overly aggressive 1980s WWF heel chasing down the invincible baby face Hulk Hogan for the gold. In other words, Orton will hopefully not be allowed to just roll right over Mark as if he was never there.

Now Mark Henry is a legitimate threat. His character has followed a natural progression to the top.

Where does that leave Sheamus in regards to winning the World Championship? There are two potential scenarios on this one.

One, Sheamus is following his own well-paced track to the top. In recent months, he has shown signs of turning face, and has been gaining in popularity. His defiance of Henry and his willingness to face the powerhouse head on have put him over the hump, and now Sheamus is the newly minted baby face of Smackdown who is really over with the fans.

It is conceivable that Sheamus will continue his rise and eventually face a newly-crowned Mark Henry in a World Title match. Considering that Sheamus is the only guy thus far who has come even close to knocking Henry back on his heels, it is reasonable to assume that he would emerge with the win, and the belt.

The second option, of course, is that we avoid all of that silly natural progression nonsense that has worked for so many countless years and do what makes no sense straight away.

Sheamus continues his feud against Henry, Sheamus catches fire and thoroughly defeats Henry where no other man could. He then makes a beeline for Randy Orton’s door, Randy is intimidated, ticked off that he can’t get the best of Sheamus, and before you know it, the Viper is heel again and Sheamus walks away with the gold.

Be honest, would that really surprise anyone?

The notion that John Cena will never turn heel on RAW because it would threaten his place in the company, his image and his appeal to the younger crowd is an opinion that has been thrown around for so long that most of us can recite it word for word with our eyes closed. Randy Orton is not your typical face and does not adhere so strictly to that position. It is not impossible for him to turn heel again whenever the moment is right.

Whatever happens with Sheamus, the fact is that thanks to his current run, he has shed the image of the unknown young Superstar who won the WWE Title for no good reason. Now, he is firmly established as one of the main go-to guys on Friday nights. His natural progression continues every week and is possibly leading him back to the promised land once again.