As we all know Sheamus has been sidelined with an injury. The Celtic Warrior has been doing his rehab here in Tampa. During a doctor’s visit my friend scored a personalized autograph and picture for me. I marked out when I received the picture on my phone at work. I’ve been a fan of Sheamus since the first time I saw him wrestle in FCW at the Florida State Fairgrounds. I was very excited when Sheamus made his main roster debut in 2009. Since his debut, he’s won the WWE Championship, World Heavyweight Championship, United States Championship, 2010 King of the Ring, and the 2012 Royal Rumble. For the last few years Sheamus has been a babyface. He’s been doing great in the role, but now his character is becoming stale and losing the interest of the WWE Universe. On his return from injury I think Sheamus should turn heel. With John Cena, Daniel Bryan, Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, Dolph Ziggler, and Ryback there are enough top faces on the roster. Sheamus can quickly rise back to the top as heel, especially after Brock Lesnar leaves. In honor of getting an autograph from Sheamus, I decided to take a look at his five best matches.
5. Sheamus vs. Cesaro – Payback 2014
source: wwe.com
Coming out Wrestlemania XXX WWE creative didn’t seem to have plans for the Celtic Warrior until May fifth. Dean Ambrose was forced to defend his United States title in twenty man battle royal. Sheamus was one of the competitors and won the match to become the new United States champion. Paul Heyman’s client at the time, Cesaro quickly targeted Sheamus. Their first match ended in a double count out which lead to a rematch in which Cesaro won. This set up a title match for the two at Payback. Their match was given the important opening match position. Their task was even harder due to fact that Payback was in Chicago and the fans were crying for CM Punk. Luckily they had Paul Heyman to defuse the crowd and focus their attention on the importance of this match. This a technical, hard hitting, entertaining match. With Cesaro’s recent alignment with Heyman everybody assumed that Sheamus was going to be a transitional champion and pass the gold to the Paul Heyman Guy. Sheamus surprised us all winning with a small package and retained the United States title in a stellar match.
4. Sheamus vs. Randy Orton – Hell In A Cell 2010
source: wwe.com
Sheamus won his second WWE Championship at the 2010 Fatal 4 Way pay-per-view. He held the title for about three months defending it against John Cena and Randy Orton. Sheamus lost his the title to Orton in Six Man Elimination Match at Night of Champions. Sheamus used his rematch clause to challenge Orton at the Hell In A Cell pay-per-view in a Hell In A Cell Match. This Cell match was nowhere near as brutal as Mankind and Undertaker, but it still delivered some great action. This match was an example of a good Hell In A Cell match where the competitors didn’t leave the Cell. There was creative spots using Cell walls, ring posts, exposed turnbuckle, steel chair, and the steel steps. Sheamus delivered two massive Brogue Kicks in the match and it looked like the title was coming back to the Celtic Warrior. Unfortunately for Sheamus he did not leave the night seeing gold instead he was seeing stars. An RKO out of nowhere on the steel steps sealed Sheamus’ fate. He lost the match, but he won the respect of the WWE Universe.
3. Sheamus vs. John Morrison – TLC 2010
source: wwe.com
After losing the WWE title at the 2010 Hell In A Cell, Sheamus was out of the championship hunt. At the end of 2010 he began rivaling with John Morrison (now Johnny Mundo in Luncha Underground). They had their first encounter at Survivor Series, which Morrison won. Sheamus got some revenge defeating Morrison in the finals of the King of the Ring tournament. With both men having one win over each other called for one final showdown. The two faced each other in a Ladder match where the winner would get a future WWE Championship match. Sheamus had already tasted the championship twice and was looking for a way to get it back. This would be an opportunity for Morrison to break through the midcard glass ceiling. Many assumed that Morrison would have the advantage in a ladder match due to his speed, athleticism, and experience in the match. This was not the case, Sheamus proved no matter what type of match it is he will adapt and excel. Throughout match Sheamus worked on Morrison’s leg, which slowed the high flyer down a step or two. There were creative and painful ladder spots. One of the most thrilling spots was when Sheamus when through a ladder. After that spot Morrison hobbled his way up the ladder and retrived the contract that would give him a championship opportunity. Sheamus didn’t have to win this match to look like a million bucks and in the process he helped elevate Morrison.
2. Sheamus vs. Wade Barrett – Main Event 2012
source: wwe.com
Wrestling fans always seem to overlook Main Event. Over the year there have been several main event quality matches on Main Event (no pun intended). One of those great bouts featured Sheamus and his long time rival “Bad News” Barrett. Barrett and Sheamus have had several great matches on Raw and Smackdown, but Main Event gave them the time to have an epic battle. On the Halloween edition of Main Event, Barrett issued a challenge to Sheamus for the following week in his hometown of England. As we all know Sheamus loves to the fight (even though his name is not Finaly) and accepted the challenge. At this time Barrett was undefeated in England and Sheamus was looking to end that streak. These two knocked the snot of each other for over twenty minutes. Sheamus accomplished his mission and defeated Barrett with a Brogue Kick.
1. Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan – Extreme Rules 2012
source: wwe.com
Sheamus and Daniel Bryan have a storied past. There was encounter was in March of 2011 for the United States Championship which Sheamus won. The rematch was set for Wrestlemania 27, but due to time restraints the match was bumped off the card. I was disappointed much look like the rest of the WWE Universe. This was a hard blow for Sheamus since he had a big match against Triple H at Wrestlemania 26. Jump to 2012, Daniel Bryan is the World Heavyweight Champion and Sheamus wins the Royal Rumble. It seemed destined these two were meant to collide at a Wrestlemania and tear the house down. Unfortunately, WWE disappointed us again, booking the “Kiss of Death” finish which saw the match end in 18 seconds. WWE dropped the ball on what could have been a Wrestlemania classic. Extreme Rules was the WWE’s opportunity to right their wrong and give Bryan and Sheamus the time to shine on pay-per-view. The two faced off in a 2 out of 3 falls match. Wrestling fans were drooling at the potential of greatness this match would be. Bryan was very aggressive during the first fall and got disqualified, but Bryan didn’t let that cut off his momentum. He locked in the Yes Lock and submitted Sheamus to tie the match. In the end Celtic Warrior picked up the victory. Both men came out to prove that the office made a mistake and that’s exactly what they did.
