Sheamus has only been on the WWE main roster for 5 years now and upon his debut he accomplished a lot in a short amount of time. But was it too much too soon?
After debuting on ECW in June of 2009 he become the WWE Champion a few months later in December of the same year by defeating John Cena in a tables match. For those of you keeping track, he won the biggest prize in the industry after only 166 days on the main roster. Many saw this as a slap in the face to guys who had worked their whole career to reach that level but never did. Others accused Sheamus of sucking up to Triple H to get the opportunity. He would work as the WWE’s top heel but his title reign wouldn’t last long as he would later drop it at Elimination Chamber.
Sheamus then went on to have a high profile feud with Triple H that culminated in a match at WrestleMania. A few months later he won the WWE Championship again at the Fatal 4 Way pay-per-view and held it until Night of Champions. The next few years he would struggle to truly find his place in WWE as he went from King of the Ring, to a dark match at WrestleMania 27 until finally winning the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 28.
Sheamus held the World Heavyweight Championship for a total of 210 days but his title reign was lackluster at best. Sheamus was putting on great matches but he unfortunately got stuck in a dull feud with Alberto Del Rio that seemingly lasted forever and killed a lot of his momentum. After dropping the title Sheamus worked in the upper midcard for quite a while which brings us to where he is today as he currently holds the United States Championship.
It’s tough to say whether going from WWE Championship material to United States Championship material is a downgrade or not but one thing’s for sure, Sheamus is talented. Night after night Sheamus puts on one of the better matches on the card but he seems to be getting mixed reactions from crowds all over the world. What is it that’s keeping Sheamus from reaching the top again? In our opinion, it’s his personality.
Sheamus has a lot of personality but these past few years WWE has been showcasing the wrong side of it. Sheamus is a legit tough guy. He can take a lot of punishment and he can dish it out as well and the crowd knows that. The problem is that he doesn’t have the character to back it up. Sheamus reminds us of a young Triple H and a similar character would do him wonders. Portraying Sheamus as a ruthless, maniacal character could do wonders for his career at this point.
Sheamus needs a character change to bring him back to the top because even Sheamus said a few weeks ago in an interview with Renee Young, these past few years he’s just been spinning his wheels. A heel turn could be exactly what he needs because no one is buying into his Irish John Cena schtick. No one wants to hear stories about his Irish uncle’s farm or how he’s going to buy the fellas a pint after the show. We just want to see him kick ass. Recently rumors have suggested that Evolution may recruit Sheamus to join the group when Batista leaves. That could potentially be the saving grace that turns everything around for this talented WWE superstar.
Sheamus knows how to work in the ring and the crowd will get behind him again he just needs the right character. WWE doesn’t play up his toughness or his strength enough and they need to let him showcase his ruthless aggression. Sheamus is dedicated and he’s also a great ambassador for the company. He has everything WWE needs him to have in order to remain a top superstar they just need to allow him to develop a character that clicks with the audience and as we’ve mentioned before, the current fanbase gets behind edgy characters.
Sheamus has accomplished a lot in WWE but there’s still so much more for him to do. When it comes to his career, the best is yet to come.
