Once upon a time, Sheamus was poised as the next big star in WWE. He had the look, strength, and right connections as he was good friends with not only Paul Levesque, an executive of the company but John Cena as well. His run on the independent circuit made him even more marketable and upon his debut on television, Sheamus was treated as a big deal.
For some reason, Sheamus was put on the ECW brand early on, but the Celtic Warrior made the most of it as his very first feud came against Goldust and the pair worked well with each other.
Soon after, Sheamus was drafted to RAW and the hype really started building up. Early on, fans knew him as the guy who retired Jamie Noble but mere months after his RAW debut, Sheamus won a battle royal and became the number one contender to John Cena’s WWE title.
Sheamus Was A Legitimate Monster Heel
Throughout the short feud, the commentators often wondered if Sheamus had a physical advantage over Super Cena as each time Sheamus and Cena wrestled, Sheamus was overwhelmingly dominant. He won the title from Cena at TLC 2009 and for the next few years, he maintained a presence in the upper-mid card and main event scene.
In the fall of 2011, the company really started getting behind Sheamus as Royal Rumble was just around the corner. Sheamus had turned face by standing up to Mark Henry and he came into the match on a multiple-fight winning streak. He won the match by last eliminating Chris Jericho and he got himself the chance to main-event WrestleMania 28.
After that, Sheamus set his sights on the reigning World Heavyweight Champion, Daniel Bryan, and announced his decision to face Bryan for the title at WrestleMania 28. At the mega-event, Sheamus defeated Bryan in 18 seconds to win the title and that is where the problem began.
Even back in 2012, Bryan enjoyed sufficient popularity with the fanbase and Sheamus burying him in record time already put him at odds with the WWE Universe.
Many were aware that Sheamus was intended as the next big star and fans were okay with him winning, just not in this way. From there, Sheamus was booed by a good portion of the audience, with chants of Bryan echoing in the arenas during his matches. Sheamus, however, retained his smile and that was the second problem
The fans knew Sheamus as a tough and a barbaric Irish warrior and while he did show a few moments of cowardice, he was down to fight anyone most of the time. In his transition to a babyface, Sheamus lost all of his edge and defining characteristics, and he became just another good guy, always smiling and laughing so he could sell a few more Fella t-shirts.
By the time he lost his title to the Big Show at Hell in a Cell 2012, the fans just did not care for him anymore. He won the world title again, a whole lot of other champions but his rise to the top came to a screeching halt and today, Sheamus is just an ordinary wrestler.
The babyface push ruined Sheamus as a character and the decision to have him bury Daniel Bryan further worsened the situation. That being said, Sheamus was almost fated to burn as a babyface as he was fast turning into an Irish version of John Cena, the very same wrestler that Sheamus was the antithesis of early on.
The Babyface Push Ruined Sheamus
The company made it no secret that they had big plans in store for Sheamus as he was presented as a top babyface, comparable to the likes of CM Punk and John Cena himself. And despite the worsening reactions to his title reign, Sheamus held the belt for over 200 days, recording it as the third-longest World Heavyweight Championship reign.
Thankfully, unlike John Cena and a certain someone, WWE pulled the plug on Sheamus as the next big star but all the fault lies upon the shoulders of the bookers as Sheamus could have been exactly what they were wishing.
Sheamus was big, strong, and athletic and his barbaric personality set him apart from an increasingly bland roster but when the time came for his coronation as the top star, Sheamus became exactly that, a bland and uninspiring hero with not an iota of edge and intrigue. In the end, Sheamus became just another chapter in the book of Daniel Bryan as the 18-second burial bolstered Bryan and ruined the Celtic Warrior.
WWE had a capable wrestler on their hands but just one ill-fated babyface turn and all of that came crashing down. Today, Sheamus is a four-time world champion, which is a decent feat but this falls short of what fans and pundits expected out of him.