During his first few years, The Celtic Warrior was a brazen bully who bulldozed his way to the upper echelon of the roster. Indeed, in less than a year the Irish Superstar won King of the Ring, the United States Championship and even the WWE Championship. He accomplished all of this as a bad guy. He touted that his physical superiority fated him to reign over WWE. To do so, he was not afraid to display his brutality and take on anyone who got in his way. He forced Jamie Noble to retire, assaulted Jerry Lawler, defeated John Cena, and took Triple H out of competition for nearly an entire year. He was a villain fans hated, but had to respect; a braggadocio who could back it up. However, Sheamus got caught up in the ebb and flow of WWE and soon became a babyface.
For what seems like forever, Sheamus was a jolly ginger giant. It's a role ill suited for a 6 foot 6 inch, 280 pound behemoth who was originally billed as originating from 3000 B.C. There was no reason for this guy to be playing pranks on Alberto Del Rio or trying to solve puzzles presented by Damien Sandow. For God's sake, when Sheamus faced Daniel Bryan for the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 28, Bryan was the bad guy. It just does not make sense.
Add to that, Sheamus became stale—the type of babyface wrestler (a la John Cena) who fans (mostly me) wanted to see lose despite the fact they fight their butt off every night. Handily losing the United States title to Rusev in 2014 was the last straw. Sheamus had to return to top form and to do so, he had to reconnect with his former feral self.
This latest version of Sheamus isn't new, but it's definitely improved. Once again, he lauds his physical superiority, but this time its aimed at the scrappy, vertically challenged babyfaced Superstars of WWE. Currently, the program relies heavily on the under dog figures—Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler, Neville, etc. These guys are top talents and boast great track records. That's all well and good, but WWE sorely needs imposing bruisers on the roster. Kane, Big Show, and Mark Henry have been all but sapped dry. It's time to fill that void. WWE is full of (and enlisting more) Davids, but they need more Goliaths.
It's the perfect role for Sheamus. He's great at taunting the crowd in a pretentious and degrading manner. Nothing pisses people off like being told their inferior to you.
He's boastful. He's taken to exclaiming the famous line from the movie Gladiator : "Are you not entertained?!" His consistent smash mouth style completes the total package.
It all came together in a beautiful display on the last episode of Monday Night Raw. Sheamus pummeled Zack Ryder all the while belittling both his opponent and the crowd on the microphone. It was one of the highlights of the show.
Big things are on the horizon for The Celtic Warrior. He has hit the ground running and that momentum will lead him to main events. Expect a great performance with Dolph Ziggler. The future undoubtedly holds even greater possible matches against Dean Ambrose, Daniel Bryan (if he's healthy enough for it), Roman Reigns and/or even Seth Rollins.
The resurgence of Sheamus is important to WWE. They can ill afford to hurt the stock of one of their top big men. So far, it's worked out perfectly. If they continue to use him wisely and let his heel persona grow, Sheamus won't need the luck of the Irish to earn a shot at the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
Are you digging this version of Sheamus or does it just not do anything for you? Tell us what you're thinking in the comments below!
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