Does Sheamus get a proper Wrestlemania XXX feud?

[Eddie Menuek]

First of all, I'll start this thread by declaring that I'm a big fan of Sheamus and I feel like sometimes he doesn't get his dues. For all of the hype surrounding The Shield, The Wyatts and Cesaro - who are all great, admittedly - I think that Sheamus' work often goes under the radar. On a week to week basis, if there's one guy that I can guarantee will work his ass off in the ring and entertain me it's Sheamus. His character could certainly do with some tweaking - I don't particularly want to see him turn heel because I didn't enjoy his initial heel run at all - but a less happy-go-lucky persona in favour of a more aggressive attitude that reflects the work that he does inside the ring would be welcome.

In the week or so leading into Elimination Chamber we saw Christian turn heel and a mini feud between these two started up, continuing beyond the final pay-per-view before the big one. I never saw this feud climaxing at Wrestlemania, just because of the frequency that we've seen the match on episodes of Raw and Smackdown. Matches at Wrestlemania are generally held until Wrestlemania as opposed to ending a longer series of matches - this can be seen in the buildup to Batista/Orton, Bryan/Triple H, Cena/Wyatt, the feud between The Shield and the tension between Cesaro and Swagger. It would seem that the blowoff between Christian and Sheamus came tonight, with the two going at it in a hard fought Street Fight and Sheamus picking up (yet another) clean victory, with no post-match shenanigans to speak off. With four Smackdown tapings and three live episodes of Raw before Wrestlemania, it's hard to see this feud going on.

I don't mean to seem like I don't care about Christian, because I think he's great too, but Sheamus is a guy that the brass of WWE are obviously high on. He very rarely takes a loss, let alone a clean one - it's been that way for some time - and his inclusion in the Elimination Chamber match as well as last year's Money In The Bank ladder match indicate that he's considered a top talent. My question is, with less than four weeks until Wrestlemania, does this top talent have time to have a proper program leading into the pay-per-view? Is there anybody else on the roster in a similar situation that he can possibly be paired up with at this point? Or does Sheamus get thrown into the Andre The Giant Memorial 30 Man Battle Royal?

Personally - as unrealistic as it looks right now - I'd rather have seen Cesaro and Swagger done and dusted, or at least pushed to one side, for Wrestlemania so that Cesaro and Sheamus could be paired up. I thought that their work together inside the Elimination Chamber was great - you've got two guys who are similar workers, in that they're both willing to beat the hell out of themselves and their opponents for the good of the match, and I think that would have been so entertaining to see. Cesaro and Swagger doesn't do much for me - the outcome is obvious, and while there's entertainment in there I can't be convinced that anything featuring Jack Swagger belongs on the Wrestlemania main card at this point. Though as the weeks roll on and the split of The Real Americans becomes increasingly drawn out, it seems like this is indeed a match that happens at Wrestlemania.

 

[The Eighties]

It's tough to see where Sheamus can get into a fresh angle at this point and there aren't that many options for guys he hasn't already beaten. I'm with you on wanting to see Cesaro vs Sheamus but I just can't see it happening, and while Kane could be a possibility Sheamus has not had anything to do with The Authority angle since he returned.

If The Shield don't split I guess a US title match with Ambrose could work, but that seems unlikely and random for Sheamus to go after that title. So I think the battle royal is most likely the match he'll end up in.

 

[ASKane]

Sheamus is likely to feud with Christian through Wrestlemania and will end with a stipulation match at mania

 

[Eddie Menuek]

Sheamus is likely to feud with Christian through Wrestlemania and will end with a stipulation match at mania

Like I said, I don't see how this feud can possibly extend to another seven television shows through Wrestlemania when the match has been totally exhausted in the past month; I've enjoyed every one of the matches between the two, and I'd happily watch them go at it again, but when it has been made so unequivocally clear since the start of February that Sheamus has got Christian's number how does this go on? Maybe at another pay-per-view, but that wouldn't be typical of Wrestlemania booking. I personally saw last night's Street Fight as their final encounter.

I was thinking about this more last night; at this point, five matches are confirmed with two more highly probable:

1. WWE World Heavyweight Championship match
2. Daniel Bryan versus Triple H
3. Brock Lesnar versus The Undertaker
4. Bray Wyatt versus John Cena
5. Andre The Giant Memorial battle royal
6. Match involving all three members of The Shield
7. Match involving both members of The Real Americans

As was pointed out in another thread last week, the last three Wrestlemania cards have featured eight matches with a further pre-show match. If this is a tradition that continues then you're probably looking at a match between The New Age Outlaws and The Usos taking that eighth spot, or sitting on the pre-show and opening up the eighth spot for another match (or, indeed, Cesaro/Swagger could wind up on the pre-show). With that being said, there's four main event caliber matches on the card which you'd imagine will all get healthy in-ring time, which might mean that the theory of eight matches is not something that continues.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

If anything, I think that Sheamus will probably wind up as part of the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal. The battle royal is, first & foremost, a way for most of the card to get onto the show and share in the big WrestleMania payday. I expect there'll be a lot of mid-card and lower level guys comprising this match, as well as a few big names who don't have anything else going on, Sheamus included.

 

[enviousdominous]

I can't think of a chapter in Sheamus' career where he wasn't mishandled by the creative staff.

For me, it's way too late to put him in a more interesting feud. I love Christian too, but his feud with Sheamus has already been beaten to death and I think they'd both benefit with trying something fresh. A match at mania would be a waste of time as all the pizzazz of their feud wore out a long time ago, their match in Memphis only happened because Christian up and decided to attack Sheamus backstage. As stale as the feud already was, that was all they could give us to be excited about.

If I was forced at gunpoint to create a believable storyline for a match at Wrestlemania involving Sheamus, I'd steal your suggestion and build on a feud with Cesaro. I wouldn't make it your typical good guy bad guy feud. I'd let it be a feud where both men respect each other for their abilities, and consider each other the stepping stone in their way of a higher spot on the card. Both men take each other very seriously and promise a good clean match. Cesaro wins the match by cheating, and thus we set up a dramatic storyline for after Wrestlemania where Cesaro mocks honor and sportsmanship as mannerisms of a loser. This might not go over with ROH marks, but whatever.

 

[Eddie Menuek]

I can't think of a chapter in Sheamus' career where he wasn't mishandled by the creative staff.

I'm not sure; I thought his initial babyface turn was handled impressively. It felt organic after his move to Smackdown and they really invested in him, to the point that Mark Henry - the guy that was smashing through just about everybody in mid-2011 - could only get a cheap victory over him. His first series of matches with Christian was great and even the stuff that he did with Jinder Mahal - while it seemed bizarre on paper - was entertaining enough and kept the ball rolling. It also coincided with Sheamus really coming into his own as a performer, which helped. What didn't help was the disappointing circumstance surrounding his World Heavyweight Championship win, and then the last thing that anybody needs when an audience is starting to turn on him is a lengthy feud with Alberto Del Rio. I think that's when this issue began.

Oh, and I absolutely love that Cesaro/Sheamus idea. I feel like if WWE wants to get both of these guys over with the audience then there's no better way to do it than to just put them both in the ring and go all out.

 

[JoeyJoeJoe]

His heel run was excellent, IMO. That was a personality that suited him, not this happy go lucky "Hey Fella" shit.

I think the issue is that the Royal Rumble wasn't a great time for him to re-debut. WrestleMania season has become cramped with surprise returns, and this year was no exception: Batista, Hogan as WM host, The Undertaker's yearly return, Lesnar...and then Sheamus and Christian. It kind of takes the edge off their returns when all those other guys are coming back to make some waves too.

It also doesn't help that he was paired with another guy who had absolutely zero heat with the crowd. Christian has been in "don't blink or you'll miss him mode" for awhile now. It's tough for a crowd to get into him at this stage. Pairing Sheamus with Christian really didn't do the Irishman any favors.

 

[kadroan]

If anything, I think that Sheamus will probably wind up as part of the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal. The battle royal is, first & foremost, a way for most of the card to get onto the show and share in the big WrestleMania payday. I expect there'll be a lot of mid-card and lower level guys comprising this match, as well as a few big names who don't have anything else going on, Sheamus included.

That would be a good look for him. No need to try to build up a feud in two weeks that the masses aren't really going to care about.

 

[thebarber]

have Sheamus win the battle royal and turn heel the following night on Rawm have him go after Bryan or Reigns and kick start a feud for the post mania period. He could carry his 7ft trophy to the ring every week if he liked

 

[justinsayne]

For a minute it looked like they were possibly building toward a tag match with Ziggy, Sheamus vs. Christian, & Delberty, but I'm not so sure anymore. I think at least one of those guys has officially entered the Battle Royal

 

[MCMG]

Sheamus warrants his own match. He is a talented guy and when all the part-timers leave he is one of their top stars.

A match with Christian doesn't appeal. We have seen that and one more time on would be overkill. Cesaro would be a fantastic match, no doubt, but it seems unlikely. Right now, I reckon he is destined for the battle royal. He will almost certainly be the biggest star in the match meaning he might get the victory but there are other options.

Being in the battle royal and in the last 4/5 isn't an awful place for Sheamus but I reckon he deserves better. I'm looking forward to what they do with Sheamus thereafter because he is a versatile wrestler and there are a lot of new opponents for him. Not at Mania but feuds with Wyatt, Rusev, Ambrose, Rollins, Reigns, Cesaro and Batista are all exciting possibilities.

 

[Eddie Menuek]

Sheamus warrants his own match. He is a talented guy and when all the part-timers leave he is one of their top stars.

A match with Christian doesn't appeal. We have seen that and one more time on would be overkill. Cesaro would be a fantastic match, no doubt, but it seems unlikely. Right now, I reckon he is destined for the battle royal. He will almost certainly be the biggest star in the match meaning he might get the victory but there are other options.

Being in the battle royal and in the last 4/5 isn't an awful place for Sheamus but I reckon he deserves better. I'm looking forward to what they do with Sheamus thereafter because he is a versatile wrestler and there are a lot of new opponents for him. Not at Mania but feuds with Wyatt, Rusev, Ambrose, Rollins, Reigns, Cesaro and Batista are all exciting possibilities.

I'd go along with all of this. I found it interesting that he was listed as one of who WWE see as their top five stars, post-Wrestlemania, in the report on the main site, which makes it even more frustrating that he probably won't have a singles match at Wrestlemania. Either way, I'll be glad to see WWE getting behind him again (in the form of an actual storyline - result wise they're already well behind him) after Wrestlemania.

 

[spaldoni]

I think a Sheamus/Christian match at Mania could of worked. They could of had a couple TV matches where Christian shows frustration and gets disqualified. Then Christian attacks Sheamus backstage and the following week Sheamus challenges him to a street fight at Mania. I enjoyed the matches they had but it seems they blew off the feud. I really think these two could of put on a solid Mania match.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

I like Sheamus just fine but he's not that over at the moment. I think it'd be cool if throughout Wrestlemania people help/hurt Daniel Bryan. Sheamus being one that helps him being a babyface and being apart of the first real memorable "NO!" "YES!" match. I also see Kane turning face and helping DB because of their past.

I think Sheamus will be in the battle royal as said above. I don't think he wins though, I think Big Show wins it.

 

[Mustang Sally]

There certainly doesn't seem to be anything significant for Sheamus at this time, although he's been back from his lengthy absence a long enough time for them to have built something better than a made-for-TV war against Christian, who seems to have gone bad for the sole purpose of fighting Sheamus.

Yes, the matches between the two are pretty entertaining, but the feud is a little too contrived for my liking. I figure they either fight each other at WM30 in what would amount to a throw-in match.....or they enter the Andre Battle Royal and draw a Wrestlemania payoff for their loyal service.

Overall, this is an odd Wrestlemania, isn't it? Outside of the Daniel Bryan saga, the company doesn't seem to be building storylines to really sink our teeth into. They'd better turn up the heat in the next 3 weeks.

 

[Sheamus' Suntan]

I think he came back too soon. Genuinely. I mean, the Rumble is a great time to come back but right now creative has "nothing for him" and it's leading to a genuine feeling like he's not going to have a match at mania. I guess the 30 man, fill the spot, battle royale is the answer.

This mania has been booked oddly since the start though and Sheamus' lack of real inclusion just adds to it.