Sheamus vs Dolph Ziggler - No Way Out

Just six days before his No Way Out title showdown against World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus, Alberto Del Rio found himself not medically cleared for action, thanks to a concussion he received during a match with The Great Khali on the June 8 edition of SmackDown.

With time of the essence, a new No. 1 contender for The Celtic Warrior was promptly established on Raw SuperShow. That Superstar would be none other than Dolph Ziggler, an ultra-dangerous competitor on a mission to prove himself.

Ever since his tag team loss on the May 28 edition of Raw, the determined Ziggler has been on a quest to show he truly belongs among the elite. However, despite his obvious drive and incredible talent, he would ultimately come up short in back-to-back outings against the first-ever Irish-born World Heavyweight Champion within a week – both on SmackDown and Raw.

So why exactly should The Celtic Warrior respect his latest pay-per-view challenger?

The answer can be found, not at the finish line, but in the race itself. In both intense encounters against The Great White, Ziggler demonstrated exceptional ability, nearly toppling one of the best Superstars who the squared circle has to offer at every pass. Though it’s true that he didn’t win, The Showoff did exactly what he set out to do: He brought his tremendous skills center stage.

Will it pay off in the long run? A former World Heavyweight Champion himself, Ziggler knows how it feels to get to the top of the mountain and, without question, has shown the capability to get there again.

But, defeating Sheamus involves a lot more than besting the luck of the Irish. Since defeating Daniel Bryan for the World Title in 18 seconds at WrestleMania XXVIII, the intense three-time World Champion again overcame the submission specialist in a grueling 2-out-of-3 Falls Match at Extreme Rules and triumphed in a Fatal 4-Way encounter at WWE Over the Limit against the likes of Del Rio, Chris Jericho and Randy Orton. The Celtic Warrior loves to fight and looks impressive doing it week in and week out.