After almost a week since Sheamus won the 2012 WWE Royal Rumble match, many professional wrestling fans have been still left wondering why the company chose to go with “The Great White” instead of the highly-favorited Chris Jericho.

According to a report from The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, original plans for the Royal Rumble match had Sheamus and Jericho as the final four competitors in the match with Jericho going over, however Triple H made the call for Sheamus to win feeling that it would add some shock to what the fans expected, create some surprise if Sheamus started to show interest in the WWE Championship for a few weeks, while they start the build of the Chris Jericho vs. CM Punk match at WrestleMania.

Triple H has always been a strong supporter of Sheamus as the two have become very close backstage, including working out together at times.