Wrestlemania XXVIII Preview: Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan

Welcome to the fourth article in our Wrestlemania preview series.  It's time to highlight our fourth and final main event match.  The World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan will defend his title against the Royal Rumble winner Sheamus.


Daniel Bryan has managed to slip through the cracks for three months now, and it seems as if no one can dethrone him.  Will the Great White be able to put a stop to his reign?  Find out after the jump!






TALE OF THE TAPE





DANIEL BRYAN

Hometown: Aberdeen, WA
Age: 30
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 210 lb
Finishing Move: The LeBell Lock, Guillotine Choke
Accomplishments: 1x World Champion (World Heavyweight), United States Champion, 2011 Money In The Bank winner, 2x Slammy Award winner, 1 Wrestlemania Main Event
Wrestlemania Record: N/A




SHEAMUS

Hometown: Dublin, Ireland
Age: 34
Height: 6'4"
Weight: 267 lb
Finishing Move: The Irish Curse, Brogue Kick, White Noise
Accomplishments: 2x World Champion (2 WWE), United States Champion, 2012 Royal Rumble winner, 2010 King of the Ring, 3x Slammy Award winner, 1 Wrestlemania Main Event
Wrestlemania Record: 0-1




My Take: I'd say Sheamus edges out Bryan in terms of accomplishments but there is no denying Bryan's experience.  Sheamus also has a notable size advantage, then again, this is also something Bryan is used to.  It's also interesting to note that these two were bumped off the card last year and will now share their first Wrestlemania main event together.




This match looks like it could be the sleeper hit of the night.  There's a great story that could be told here.  This one is a bit tricky to predict given the lack of any real interaction between the two other than a few quick promos and match interferences.  So let's take a look at some ESSENTIAL categories to help us determine who has the overall advantage.





Fan Base


Daniel Bryan posseses one of the most loyal cult followings in the history of the business.  He has earned the respect of many smart marks and casual fans alike through his consistent in ring perfection and storied journey to the top of the WWE.  Lately, he has traded in many of these fans for title glory, focusing on pleasing his number one fan, himself.  Sheamus has become one of the most popular superstars on the WWE roster.  Only Randy Orton, John Cena and CM Punk draw comparable crowd responses and his appeal only broadens with each promo he cuts.

Advantage: Sheamus





Match Strategy


Sheamus has one goal going into every match, arrive, inflict pain, leave.  It has worked for him thus far, but when up against a guy like Bryan, who has a penchant for outsmarting dangerous opponents, he will have his hands full.  Look for Bryan to utilize his cunning to break Sheamus down until he finds his weaknesses, and then he will exploit them.

Advantage: Bryan





Focus


Sheamus has been pandering to the audience now more than ever, and that's fine, but he lacks the usual intensity of a challenger heading into a Wrestlemania main event.  Take a guy like Batista in 2005 for example, once he made it clear that he was going to challenge Triple H for the world title, he physically intimidated the game at every turn.  He had a laser sharp focus and when it came to that match, it was his tunnel vision that helped him win at Wrestlemania 21.  Sheamus needs to turn things up a notch, or Daniel Bryan will again slip another victory through his opponent's hands.

Advantage: Bryan




Ring Presence


At 5'10", Daniel Bryan won't be intimidating anyone anytime soon.  He is one of the most undersized competitors on the WWE roster.  That said, he has a reputation of being one of the greatest mat technicians of all time, and while that does add to his stock here, there are few current WWE superstars that strike fear into the hearts of their opponents like Sheamus does.

Advantage: Sheamus





Momentum


Since winning the 2012 Royal Rumble, Sheamus has dominated most of the WWE roster.  He has cleanly beaten Mark Henry on several occasions.  Last December, Bryan could barely get any offense in when in the ring with Henry, let alone walk away the victor. However, to be fair, Bryan has yet to lose a match since becoming World Champion.

Advantage: Neither





Conditioning


Sheamus has yet to have a high profile match that lasted longer then 20 minutes.  To his credit, he usually defeats his opponents very quickly using his power and aggression as his primary tools.  Bryan on the other hand, is a cardio machine and he will most likely try and avoid Sheamus power moves and tire him out, waiting for the best opportunity to strike.

Advantage: Bryan





Toughness


Daniel Bryan is a tough son-of-a-bitch for his size.  He has the balls to fight the largest, most powerful athletes in the world, and that earns him major points here.  Still, if you can get your hands on him, he can be quickly disposed of with a few power slams.  Sheamus is a brawler with a thick skull.  Bryan will have to give everything he's got to keep him down for a three count.

Advantage: Sheamus





Desire


Bryan has silenced all his critics, but he still has to prove himself as a credible world champion.  Though many hated the idea that The Miz was Bryan's pro on the first season of NXT, Daniel has apparently learned something from Miz, how to be a cowardly champion.  He has won 90 percent of his title defenses through backhanded tactics.  I'd say that Bryan has a lot of desire to win here, but he will not think twice about cheating to do so.  Sheamus needs this victory to cement his comeback.  He has gained a ton of momentum over the past few months and he is much wiser then he was when he became WWE Champion a couple years back.  With so much to prove here, I don't see either man second guessing themselves or their will to win.

Advantage: Neither





Repertoire


Sheamus is very powerful, but a bit limited in terms of move variety.  In the ring, Bryan is the best wrestler in the world, plain and simple.  This one is easy.

Advantage: Bryan





Quality of Competition


Recently, Daniel Bryan has beaten CM Punk, Randy Orton, The Big Show, and Kofi Kingston, just to name a few.  He has proven himself against the top competition in the sport today.  Sheamus has faced legends such as John Cena, Triple H and Randy Orton, but he has yet to prove himself as a main event mainstay and needs a few more victories over top talent before he is mentioned among the greats.

Advantage: Bryan





Final Thoughts


I know a lot of people have Sheamus pegged to win here, but I'm going to be the wild card and go with Daniel Bryan.  I think he is going to pull off the upset of the night and continue his amazing run as World Heavyweight Champion.

Overall Advantage:

YES! YES! YES!