WWE TLC 2011 Results: Big Show and Top 7 Challengers for the Heavyweight Title

Daniel Bryan is your new World Heavyweight Champion.

No, that isn't a typo. You read that right, so let me repeat myself: Daniel Bryan is your new World Heavyweight Champion.

At tonight's WWE TLC pay-per-view, The Big Show defeated Mark Henry to win his first World title in nine years, but his reign didn't last very long. 

As Show was celebrating his victory, he was attacked by Henry with a steel chair, opening the door for Bryan to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase on Show and win the belt.

Yep, the WWE successfully pulled off a big surprise here.

Bryan officially shocked the world by becoming World Heavyweight Champion, and now, he'll have no shortage of suitors who are gunning for his title.

Let's take a look at the top seven contenders for Bryan and the World Heavyweight Championship.

7. Cody Rhodes

Sure, it took two pre-match beatdowns to help him get the job done, but Cody Rhodes got a huge victory over Booker T at WWE TLC.

Obviously, it's going to help Rhodes a ton to pick up such a big win over a future WWE Hall of Famer, but I think he may be finding himself in a similar situation to the one Dolph Ziggler has been in for a big portion of 2011.

Throughout his United States Championship run, Ziggler looked poised and ready to be elevated to the main-event scene, but the fact that he was holding the US title seemed to hold him back a bit.

He was kind of stuck in a spot where he should have been in the main event but was needed in the mid-card, and I think that's what's going on with Rhodes at the moment as well.

Smackdown needs him as the Intercontinental Champion, but he could just as easily be contending for the World Heavyweight Championship.

As in the case of Ziggler, I think Rhodes may have to wait a bit longer than other guys on this list to get permanently elevated, but he'll definitely be there at some point in 2012.

6. Christian

I'm honestly not sure if Christian is still recuperating from his ankle injury or if the WWE is embellishing that a bit for storyline purposes, but I have to think that he could be involved in the World Heavyweight Championship scene when he gets back in the ring.

On last Monday's episode of Raw, Christian was still pining for "one more match" for the World title, and when he returns, he might very well find himself getting one.

Now that Daniel Bryan is the World Heavyweight Champion (and assuming he isn't turning heel), the creative team will likely be looking to book him in a title feud with one of Smackdown's top heels.

Who better than Christian?

Captain Charisma put on a series of phenomenal matches with Randy Orton earlier this year, and I could only imagine how fantastic his bouts with Bryan would be.

If WWE officials have any interest in putting the best wrestlers on Smackdown in a face vs. heel feud for the World title, then Bryan vs. Christian is definitely the way to go. 

5. Randy Orton

Randy Orton has spent most of 2011 helping other guys get over, but he ended the year by putting Wade Barrett through a table and getting right back in the hunt for the World Heavyweight Championship.

Although Orton has taken a secondary role on Smackdown over the last few months, he is obviously still the top star on the blue brand and will be back in the title picture at some point or another.

The only question is: When will that be?

Personally, I don't see Orton being Bryan's first challenger or anything like that, but I do think that there's a very good chance that Orton wins the 2012 Royal Rumble in his hometown of St. Louis, Missouri and then challenges Bryan for the belt at Wrestlemania 28 (if he's still holding it, that is).

There are still a lot of "ifs" that have to become "whens" for an Orton/Bryan feud to go down, but crazier things have certainly happened. 

4. Sheamus

Sheamus wasn't originally scheduled to wrestle on tonight's WWE TLC pay-per-view, but he was added to the card mid-show for a bout with Jack Swagger.

This was basically a glorified squash match, as Sheamus took care of Swagger rather quickly and didn't use much energy to do so.

That was a pretty big waste of Sheamus.

The Celtic Warrior hasn't really had a legitimate feud since his rivalry with Christian ended, but he's clearly a main-event caliber babyface who could be challenging for the World Heavyweight Championship at any moment.

The only thing really standing in Sheamus' way is that two other giants (Mark Henry and The Big Show) likely have to get their rematches before he can get his title shot.

3. Wade Barrett

Things were really looking up for Wade Barrett, but he seemed to take a bit of a step back tonight with his loss to Randy Orton.

Or did he?

I honestly don't think Barrett's loss to Orton really hurt him that much because he's been booked so strongly over the last couple of months or so, and this was probably just one minor glitch in his path toward the World Heavyweight Championship.

Just looking at what he's accomplished recently (multiple big wins over Orton), I don't think we can count Barrett out as a possible contender for Daniel Bryan, especially when you consider the long-running history between the two.

A feud between Bryan and Barrett would make a lot of sense, and it would prove that the WWE is willing to give its young guns a shot at carrying the World title picture.

1B. Mark Henry

Mark Henry started the night off as World Heavyweight Champion, so regardless of who ended up with it, he's entitled to a rematch at some point in the near future.

I just don't know if he'll get it.

It was pretty obvious that Henry was limited in the ring tonight, and according to WrestlingNewsWorld.com, he "is suffering from a legitimate injury which the reason for him dropping the World Heavyweight Championship."

Tough break for the World's Strongest Man, who was undeniably in the midst of the biggest push of his career.

It remains to be seen whether Henry will be healthy enough in time for a possible Royal Rumble rematch, but given that the title was taken off him tonight, things certainly aren't looking good for him.

Henry may very well be out of the picture altogether.

1A. The Big Show

I wrote an article last week entitled "WWE: 12 More Changes the WWE Should Make in 2012," and my No. 1 change I wanted to see was for the WWE to get rid of the automatic rematch clause.

It's situations like these that make me hate that rule.

Sure, The Big Show won the World Heavyweight Championship tonight, but he held it for all of two minutes before losing it to Daniel Bryan.

So, should he just be handed another title shot? I don't think so.

But it doesn't really matter what I think because, with the way the WWE works, The Big Show will be the first person in line for a shot at Bryan's World Heavyweight Championship.

Especially with Mark Henry possibly being sidelined, Big Show is now the top contender for Smackdown's most prestigious title.