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There have been several huge upsets in WWE over the years, such as Brock Lesnar ending The Undertaker’s undefeated WrestleMania streak, and Ivan Koloff ending Bruno Sammartino’s eight-year reign as WWE Champion. When it comes to the WWE Championship, there might be no win more surprising and out of left field as Sheamus’ first WWE Title win back at the latter end of 2009. With Sheamus being a multi-year veteran at this point, it is easy to forget how wild, unexpected, and rare his push was, as it was one of the most unprecedented and fastest rises for almost any WWE superstar in history.
Sheamus Was Unknown To The WWE Audience When He Made His Debut
Sheamus had been wrestling in his local independent scene for a year or so before being signed to a deal in WWE’s developmental, FCW, although he wasn’t someone who had made a huge name for himself outside the company. For example, AJ Styles won a WWE Championship early into his WWE run, but he had already become a worldwide star with a huge reputation before signing with WWE, so his rise was much more natural and expected given how popular he was coming into the company.
With Sheamus, he was essentially an unknown to the wider wrestling world, even when he made his official television main roster debut in June 2009. Much like many of WWE’s developmental call-ups, he debuted on ECW, wrestling squash matches and getting put over by jobbers. A month later, Sheamus scored his first major win by defeating Goldust multiple times in a feud which would last until September. Sheamus had a good size and a unique look, so he was drafted over to Raw in October.
Sheamus Earned A WWE Championship Match Less Than Two Months After Joining Raw
He made an immediate impact by targeting Jamie Noble, being given the honor of ‘retiring’ him. Sheamus would score his first PPV victory as a part of Team Miz at Survivor Series in November, which continued his strong start. However, he was still mostly unproven and hadn’t been given extended promo or TV time, or any high-profile feuds for that matter. He would then find himself in a battle royal along with several other individuals who hadn’t won a world title in a “Breakthrough” number one contender match.
He felt like just another name in the match, but in a truly shocking conclusion, Sheamus won the match and earned a shot at John Cena’s WWE Championship at the Tables, Ladders, and Chairs PPV. After just a month or so on Raw, he had already found himself in the main event title program. This is something that WWE doesn't often do, especially with someone who to that point hadn’t even been in a huge feud. When looking at other successful rookie years, such as with Brock Lesnar, he built up large wins for a few months before winning the WWE Championship. In the case of Sheamus, he had defeated a few midcarders, and that was it.
Sheamus Shockingly Defeated John Cena To Become WWE Champion
Although seeing him in this huge match was shocking, it felt like a step too far for him to actually defeat Cena, especially since Cena had been so protected as WWE’s number one guy over the last five years. Whilst it wasn’t a pinfall victory, due to it being a Tables Match, Sheamus shocked the world and defeated Cena to become the WWE Champion, stunning the audience and becoming one of the quickest rising names in WWE history, with him spending just two months on Raw before winning the biggest prize in wrestling.
When looking at WWE’s hesitancy to put time behind newer stars, focusing on part-timers in more recent years such as Goldberg and Brock Lesnar, it is incredibly surprising to see so much faith put into a young star who hadn’t even settled yet. It proved to be a success, as Sheamus would go on to become a multi-time World Champion in WWE. He's now a seasoned veteran and one of the most trusted individuals on the roster, with him able to fill in any spot necessary.
His shocking victory sometimes goes forgotten due to him now being such a strong performer. It could be argued that other upsets were more shocking, with Jinder Mahal’s WWE Title win coming to mind, but at least the WWE fans knew who he was before winning the belt. Sheamus was still only just being introduced back in 2009 when he became Champion. Whilst having upsets shouldn’t happen all the time, the top companies have sorely missed shocking title wins and moments in recent times, with the safe option for champions being chosen nearly 100% of the time.