LAST night at WrestleMania, everybody saw an 18-second match for the World Heavyweight Championship. Yes, the best technical wrestler today and the Royal Rumble winner battled for the World Heavyweight Championship for just 18 seconds. Predictions of it being a sleeper hit were rampant but now that it's all said and done everybody was disappointed. Both could have given the fans a solid match if it were not for the time allotted for their match. But if Randy Orton was involved, it could have been a different story.


Orton had many avenues in inserting himself in the World Heavyweight Championship match. He was attacked by Bryan before the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view and gave him a concussion. It was for this reason that Orton was not able to participate in the Elimination Chamber match and didn't get his shot at Bryan's title. After he recovered from his concussion, Orton should've stalked Bryan and attacked him without remorse. Orton would then explain that the attacks on Bryan would not stop until he gets a much deserved shot at the title. Bryan denies him but concedes later after getting a beatdown from Orton. The build up would've been better with not just the Royal Rumble winner challenging Bryan for the title but also the Viper who has personal issues with Bryan.

If Randy Orton was inserted into the World title match to make it a triple threat, it could have been given a lot of time and everybody involved would win in this situation. It's a win for Sheamus because he won't just look good in defeating Daniel Bryan, but even if he didn't pin Orton in the match it is still known that Sheamus also defeated him considering it is a triple threat match. Sheamus goes over by defeating the best technical wrestler who has a great heel gimmick and one of WWE's golden boys who is a multi-World champion and is popular with the fans. Sheamus would look strong and the title would'vs gain its much needed value. It's a win for Bryan because if Orton's there, the time for the match would have been longer and he would have shown everybody how good he really is. In that way, he would have looked good even in defeat. It's a win for Orton because if he was inserted in the match, he would not have suffered having a nosensical feud with Kane which has been useless from the start and only put on the card at WrestleMania so that the two would have something to do and they would be part of the big payday.

If people would complain that Sheamus should get a much deserved one on one bout with Bryan after winning the Royal Rumble, they don't get the point. Back in 2004, Chris Benoit won the Royal Rumble. He challenged Triple H for his title but Triple H was tied up in a feud with Shawn Michaels. It was then decided that it would be a Triple Threat Match for the title at WrestleMania XX. Even if Benoit had less chances of winning, he pulled it off by defeating the Game and the Showstopper and became new World Champion. This could have happened to Sheamus. Even if it is better to have a one on one bout, he could have enjoyed Orton's popularity like how Benoit enjoyed Michaels' popularity. He could've opened up to Orton's fan base and sway some fans to his side. 

Bryan and Sheamus could have wrestled longer to give fans a treat before Bryan dropped the belt to Sheamus. Instead the treat the fans received was Bryan looking like a low-card jobber to the Great White at the Grandest Stage of them All. Let's hope that this is just the start of their feud and that the two of them could show off their skills in a champion match sooner than later.








Jed Mendoza is a writer for the Pro Wrestling Gazette. Engage with him by following him on Twitter @jedified.