Smark Out Moment

Welcome to the first edition of SUPERSTAR SHOWDOWN—a new segment here on Smark Out Moment where we pit two wrestlers against each other to determine which one is better than the other.

This segment is a cross between our Superstar Scores and Belt or Bury gimmicks where we'll factor in slight variations of our five generic ranking categories from Superstar Scores (Ring Work, Character, Appearance, Behavior and Credibility) but instead of awarding numbers on a point scale, the two wrestlers will be compared to each other. Whoever scores at least 3 wins to their name is declared the better superstar!

For this edition, we'll be kicking things off with a holiday theme as St. Patrick's Day has us pitting WWE's resident Irish stars against each other:

FINN BALOR vs. SHEAMUS

RING WORK

This factors in their athleticism, technical skills, overall match quality and other similar attributes.

I know that I rag on Sheamus all the time, but credit where it's due, he's stuck around and been rather consistent. However, I can't deny that I do tend to ignore a lot of his matches and if you asked me which one I'd rather see perform right now, I'd definitely pick Balor.

WINNER = Finn Balor

CHARACTER

This factors in their overall charisma, mic work, gimmick and other similar attributes.

I'll catch some flack for this, but even I have to admit that Sheamus has the better character. Finn Balor has the cool demon face paint thing, but that isn't really a character. He basically boils down to "indie wrestler guy who paints himself for an entrance at big events but on the regular basis just wears a leather jacket" which isn't really all that interesting. Meanwhile, Sheamus has done very well as an obnoxious and brutal bully. He's more convincing in it and he's better on the mic.

WINNER = Sheamus

APPEARANCE

This is purely based on how they look. Who comes off as the more interesting, the more credible tough guy and so forth?

Sheamus has the edge when it comes to both height and weight, but he looks ridiculous with that haircut and I have to dock him some points there. Finn Balor isn't as "over the top" as WWE likes to be, but he more than makes up for it with the demon face paint getup. Plus, he's got a great build on him that shouldn't be ignored and I buy into the idea of him winning fights more than I do with some other people on the roster even if he doesn't come across as physically strong as Sheamus.

WINNER = Finn Balor

CONDUCT

This factors in their professionalism, behavior behind the scenes, backstage antics and other similar attributes.

Both guys seem to be quite even when it comes to this, so it's tough to call. However, I'll give the very, very slight lean towards Sheamus because even as a heel, he seemed to do his fair share of charity work.

WINNER = Sheamus

MERIT

This factors in their perceived value as a performer both in terms of popularity and credibility along with what they offer the company.

This may end up going a different way in a few years, but right now, Finn Balor is the more popular one while Sheamus is drastically the more credible, having won multiple world titles versus Finn's one day stint as universal champion. 

WINNER = Sheamus


Yeah, I'm as shocked as you are. Sheamus has been one of the main people I've criticized as being overrated for years now, but I can't let my personal bias get in the way of a proper judgment. This could all change within a year for the better or worse for Finn Balor, so we might have to revisit this in the future, but as far as St. Patrick's Day 2017 goes, The Celtic Warrior narrowly surpasses The Demon. This is just my choice, though. You have the ability to decide what the fan decision is by voting in the poll below!