If Sheamus wasn't HHH's training buddy would he be so strongly pushed in WWE?

[Rich the UK WWE Fan 2k14]

Topic.

Don't get me wrong I like Sheamus, he's the nearest thing to a main eventer from the UK that WWE's had in a long time.

But like the topic says, if he wasn't "in" with HHH, would he be a multi-time Champion and currently squashing Christian?

I suppose this is similar to my recent thread re Randy Orton, however I don't think Sheamus will ever arrive at the dizzy heights of WWE World Heavyweight Champion, even if he is friends with HHH.

 

[AegonTargaryen]

I'm not sure why Sheamus was pushed so hard so soon after having wrestled a couple of months he was chosen to be champion on the A show. The only wrestlers that became champions within months of their WWE/wrestling debuts were Brock Lesnar and Kurt Angle and both were really believable as champions. Brock was obviously the next big thing with his sheer intensity, athleticism that we'd never seen before for a guy built like him and with paul heyman as his manager. Kurt Angle although a little goofy and whiny in 2000, I enjoyed his segments and matches the most and he was really a good contrast to the usual Rock, HHH, and Austin at that time.

Was Sheamus being given the WWE title at TLC a good thing? I don't know. Sheamus doesn't have what Angle and Lesnar did. He is a pretty average joe IMO. His physique isn't very muscular but he does look like a big bull that could spear you or throw you like a rag doll and he isn't exactly a very good promo guy , not even as good as HHH. What it accomplished was that it was a new face being a champion, and a change from John Cena and Randy Orton, and I enjoyed his first run as a heel champion.

As for Sheamus being given multiple WHC on smackdown? I don't think it's only because of his friendship/influence with HHH, or because he's so talented. I believe it's because of lack of main-event stars of the Calibre of Edge/Batista/Undertaker, that Sheamus and Alberto Del Rio were consistently WHC, and occasionally they gave it to Mark Henry, Big Show and DB, and Dolph Ziggler for a while. I never really found any SD story or WHC match after the departure of Edge enjoyable or watchable in the least. IMO, the WHC began to suck thoroughly and had begun to openly be treated as an inferior world title after Edge retired and the Undertaker retired in 2010 as a full-time performer. Just like that Chicago Raw opening segment in Aug 2012 when CM Punk said to Sheamus "I'm the WWE champion, and that makes you second best at best". It was really not all that great watching Sheamus and Alberto Del Rio wrestle dozens of times a year , and then feud for the WHC , and then again wrestle every other Raw or SD. I'm not even sure if Sheamus has any appeal or star power as of now. He's just been winning a series of matches against Christian.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Massive guy, solid talker, good worker with a unique look? Yeah, I'd guess so.

Though at the same time, considering how strongly WWE have pushed him over the past 5 years, he's never caught on in the way he should've. He's over, but nowhere near as over as he should be. Maybe WWE wouldn't have persevered with him.

 

[GeneralKarim]

Tbh after his inital stunt as a heel - where he was at his best imho -, he has not been pushed that good.

All of his feuds have been very forgettable and he is usually the one on jobber-slaying duty for the night.

But that's the problem I guess when you start your career against John Cena. Unless they keep pushing and believe in you, you can only go down from there, and down he went.

I think the guy is a very good in-ring worker and a decent talker ( praise GawD he got rid of that "me Uncle blalbalba" ) and is over with the people and always gets a good reaction.

If he wasn't Triple H's buddy, its pretty clear he wasn't not gonna get that WWE title run so fast. But he would've been an upper-midcard/main-eventer anyway I think. I really do wish they would do something more interesting with him rather than these stupid feuds he has had. Don't get me wrong his matches withing the feud with Big Show and Del Rio have been great, but done so many times and now with Christian..jesus christ. But really, If I'm not forgetting anything, last feud of his that really interested me for some reason was the one with Morrison where John won with that kick from the ladder.

Now that he is 36 and not getting any younger, I'm afraid his days of getting pushed like crazy are done, and have been done for some time now.

 

[Headman]

First of all, I think it's a shame that Sheamus is currently squashing Christian. Christian shouldn't even be on tv wasting poor Sheamus' time. As for Sheamus, I liked him when he first came up to the main roster. His look was different, which is a big deal in a time where the WWE's idea of giving someone a push is by dying their hair brown and telling them not to shave for a week. Oh that makes them look tough doesn't it Mr Ziggler?

Sheamus was unique. He was also pretty intimidating before they turned him into the guy on the lucky charms box. Right now as things are going he's the modern day hillbilly jim, but I can definitely see why he was pushed at first. I think his potential to become a star had more to do with him becoming Triple's work out partner than the other way around.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I remember thread asking the exact same thing when Sheamus popped up on Raw and suddenly became WWE Champion. I don't think they old anymore water now as they did then.

When Sheamus was heel, I thought he was pretty damn good. He made it easy to dislike him and it's not as if he hasn't demonstrated ability deserving of a push. He's a big guy that's pretty athletic overall, you can tell he works hard on his cardio. he has a hard hitting style, has a pretty unique look, can be pretty solid on the mic and is pretty good inside the ring. Following his turn to babyface, he hasn't been nearly as compelling as a character. I'm just not a huge fan of Sheamus as this jovial, smiling, laid back Irish lug who loves to brawl after downing a few pints; it's just too much of a stereotype.

Since his face turn, Sheamus had a good run as World Heavyweight Champion but, as others have said in various other threads, the WHC really became the new upper mid-card title in WWE for the last several years of its existence, unofficially of course. However, it was obvious that the WHC wasn't pushed nearly as hard as the WWE Champion. I'd say the last time in which the title was booked on an equal or near equal footing was during The Undertaker's 140 day run that began in early October of 2009.

Right now, Sheamus strikes me as someone that'll primarily be in the upper-midcard and will make an occasional foray into the main event picture and I think that's about where he should be.

 

[The Butcher]

I'm not a Sheamus fan and even I'd have to admit that his attributes warranted a push. Did his relationship with Triple H play a role in the speed and strength of it? Probably. There's not a business I know of where having connections doesn't help. Considering the main event at the time, it was a breath of fresh air when he first came out with the WWE Championship around his waist. Randy Orton and John Cena were just passing the belt back and forth. As for him beating up on poor Christian-- so what?

 

[Dagger Dias]

Sheamus would have still made it at the very least to his World Heavyweight Championship reign. His initial WWE Championship win from only a couple of months after making it to the main roster would be very unlikely to have happened without being legitimate friends with Triple H. I'm a big fan of Sheamus so I am not trying to say he didn't deserve the push at all, on the contrary actually. I think he should have seen more success than he currently has. The point is, he would still have made it to a world title run. It just wouldn't have happened as quickly if he wasn't real life friends with Trips.

 

[Pedigree1]

It might have something to do with it.. Sheamus when he came in,had a different look than we were all used too.. Shemaus is massive,a good talker,and someone who's good in the ring.. Heel Sheamus,was someone I could get behind being irish myself. He was tough,didnt take any shit,and loves to drink and fight.. This jovial,happy lug,right now doesnt do anything for me...

As i have said many times,he needs to go back to the Heel Sheamus.. That guy was someone who didn't care if you liked him or not.. He was way more intimidating back then,than he is now.. He is upper mid-card guy right where he belongs. As far as him beating up Christian,who doesnt wanna beat up Christian.. Its fun

 

[Creepy Old Man]

Sheamus is a great performer who looks like a million bucks. Just like Cena and Orton.

We can all sit around pretending that WWE-endorsed big men have zero talent, and boo them and chant that they "suck" at live events. Or we can deal with our insecurities and face up to reality.

 

[Mongoose McQueen]

Decent heel, horrible babyface and in desperate need of a character change because whatever they are doing with him right now ain't working. I think the problem right now is that his character is in a slump because the WWE have failed to come up with fresh material or something different for him. When was the least meaningful feud that he had? when was the last great promo he cut? sure he is a big guy but that's where it ends. Roman Reigns is a big guy and guess what? he is entertaining to watch!

To me Sheamus is just another failed HHH project who was badly used from the get go who's had a few decent matches over the years but that's about it IMO.

 

[L@RISANO]

I think guys like Sheamus, Christian, Alberto Del Rio and also, Big Show and Mark Henry should only be transitional Main Eventers, meaning that only when there is no one viable, or just to keep the Main Event scene fresh enough at some points, one of these guys can be used to plug the hole for a One Month programme.

All are over 35, and in the case of Bertie and Sheamus, they have never been over much with the crowd for a while now. The best thing to do with such guys is:
1) Put them in some Random Strong tag team to strengthen the Tag Division and get over other more exciting and fresh teams.

OR

2) Put them in the IC title scene, to enhance the mid card division.

None of those guys are required in the Main Event scene often any longer. Maybe 1/2 of them can have a run at some point during the year, but with the kind of talent available to the WWE at this time, the Elimination Chamber match is the closest any of them should be to the Main Event,lMO.



PS: The only way I see Sheamus in the ME scene this year, is due to CM Punk walking out,tbh. Apparently that is why he is reportedly going to be pushed. Although I would have loved if Cesaro became another Babyface Fan Favourite due to his in-ring ability, and ended up being an indirect CM Punk replacement(sub Punk's Mic Work, for Cesaro's In-Ring work).

 

[wwenumber2fan]

Topic.

Don't get me wrong I like Sheamus, he's the nearest thing to a main eventer from the UK that WWE's had in a long time.

But like the topic says, if he wasn't "in" with HHH, would he be a multi-time Champion and currently squashing Christian?

I suppose this is similar to my recent thread re Randy Orton, however I don't think Sheamus will ever arrive at the dizzy heights of WWE World Heavyweight Champion, even if he is friends with HHH.

For a man who lives in the UK you dont see to know a lot about your countries boundaries as Sheamus is from Ireland which is not part the UK, here's information about the two countries

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland

To answer your question, there is no great prove that he was pushed because of Triple H, only Internet speculation, if those rumours are true i think he would have been pushed either way

 

[THTRobtaylor]

For a man who lives in the UK you dont see to know a lot about your countries boundaries as Sheamus is from Ireland which is not part the UK, here's information about the two countries

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland

To answer your question, there is no great prove that he was pushed because of Triple H, only Internet speculation, if those rumours are true i think he would have been pushed either way

Hey, he said the nearest thing to... not a champion from the UK... so you've just made yourself look a complete prick in your first 2 posts for nothing. Welcome to the forums... :/

As to the thread, no it is not solely because he is Trip's buddy, but it's certainly greased the wheels that he is.

Sheamus is a talented, experienced hand who spent a lot of time at the top of the UK and European scene. He was spotted by Regal and Finlay was familiar with him too from his pre-return time. He has a package that is unique in that he has size, unique charisma and ability and a built in "Irish Hero" vibe...the same thinking is why Sterling Golden was re-christened Hulk Hogan.

Sheamus is a clearly likeable and affable guy, he's not playing too far from his real personality and has paid his dues on both the developmental and foreign territories... he was new to WWE when he came in, but didn't need much training in the WWE style or repackaging... indeed all they did was drop the O'Shaunessy/S.O.S gimmick and that is arguably only cos of Kofi having it as his gimmick.

So he ticks the boxes, has done well with the pushes he has been given, has not caused any problems backstage and yes, has perhaps took the role that Trips himself once did with the Kliq by carrying some bags or taking Hunter's gym gear to be cleaned with his own... it's always been part of the business on both sides of the Atlantic and Japan and most importantly in other sports too, particularly Soccer where the younger players "clean boots" of the senior guys. Someone from the UK or Ireland who has done any sport, as Sheamus clearly did would be comfortable with the concept as it's normal practice. I doubt Sheamus has done Trip's laundry or carried a bag for him for a long time...just as Hunter stopped carrying Shawn's after MSG and his punishment.

He's also very good friends with guys like Regal, who is infinitely respected within WWE and one of Vince and Hunter's most trusted allies. If Regal vouches for someone it's almost the key to the business as he hasn't been wrong yet with the guys he has scouted like Cesaro, Sheamus, Bryan, Neville and the like.

 

[HBKistheHOF]

Well, realistically these days every WWE Superstar has to have some sort of backstage support in order to recieve any kind of push at all.

But in the case of Sheamus specifically, I think many of the accolades he has achieved in the WWE can be attributed mostly to his relationships with the "suits" (or more importantly Triple H).

Don't get me wrong Sheamus has a heck of a work ethic from everything I've seen, he has a very unique look & he is a very solid in-ring competitor. & I think Sheamus would still have certainly gotten to the mid-card level on his own & most likely even to the World Heavyweight Title scene when there was two belts.

But without his "connections" would Sheamus have been competing for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at Elimination Chamber? Would he have won the WWE Championship so soon after his debut? Would he already be a 3 time World Champion? Would he be the very last King of the Ring to date? Would he have won a Royal Rumble match, not to mention so early on in his career? etc. I think the answer to all of those questions is NO. Sheamus just isn't that good to have already achieved so much. His character has been awful since day one, although his heel persona is a million times better. Sheamus is one of the worst talkers on the entire roster when you consider the amount of mic time he gets & how his talents are supposed to be viewed as main event caliber. & above all he just isn't that over. Sheamus just doesn't connect with that many people.

Sheamus just isn't an athletic specimen like Lesnar or Angle & he isn't a genetic giant that can instantly be thrusted into world title matches upon arrival like Big Show or Andre. Sheamus is simply good & he has been treated like he is great.

 

[kadroan]

Yeah he would get pushed. He fits the prototype of the type of guys that get pushed in the WWE.

He's a big guy, he stays out of trouble, he got a unique look and he puts on good matches.

 

[CyberPunk]

When new on roster? May be. Being friends with the HHH can benefit. However, since turning face, he's been anything but pushed properly. At most, he's been an upper midcard with occasional run at the top. Good to have in high profile matches. He is more than decent wrestler. His face turn didn't help him though.

 

[Noshowers]

I certainly think being close to HHH helped Sheamus, I was actually a bigger fan of Mcintyre (who got pushed to the IC Belt at the same time) and would have rather seen him go towards the main event, but Sheamus definitely fit the big bad bully to come in and beat Cena program better at the time.

Sheamus is pretty mediocre on the mic for me (How you doing fella, gonna go kick arse and your arse won't be the same fella, etc), and I am mentally scarred from those Teddy Long days where every Smackdown was...

*Nice promo you doing there playa, trying to get yourself noticed. Now come face Sheamus and get squashed in 30 seconds. Holla Holla"

 

[shooter_mcgavin]

I'd say he still gets a big push but not as fast as he got it. No doubt being in Triple H's good side helps your spot in the company but not really a guarantee. As I recall Drew McIntyre and Sin Cara were also Triple H projects and look how they turned out.

 

[jameswalsh292]

Actually 'wwenumber2fan' is correct, the OP did suggest that Sheamus is from the UK.

For 'THTRobtaylor' to call 'wwenumber2fan' a complete prick for standing up for his country is a bit much. Irish men and women fought and died for 800 years to get out of British rule and the UK. It is offensive for many Irish to be called British. 'wwenumber2fan' was just clearing things up and shouldnt be attacked for it.

As for Sheamus I think he would be in the position he is in regardless of his relationship with HHH. He has a unique look, decent on the mic and can go in the ring. Creative hasnt been great with Sheamus though for a few years now.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

It didn't hurt. If I remember the timing correctly of his title win it was at a time when fans were hostile about predictability and lack of new blood. If WWE was going to take a chance of something different there was no one on the roster that fit the mold better than Sheamus.

Then again, his title win came from Cena carelessly falling off the ropes. Not exactly the greatest push in history.

But overall Sheamus is a great talent and is marketable. My wife thinks it is weird that I still watch wrestling but she ended up buying my 2 year old an action figure for X-mas for a laugh. She picked Sheamus off the shelf because "he didn't look that scary". It's become my son's favorite toy. Sheamus' look, work ethic, attitude, and ability have had far more to do with his success as who he spots in the gym.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

I called the guy the name cos he clearly didn't read the actual comment and decided to lecture... that is not ok regardless of "The Troubles" or history... had he simply read the comment he'd have realised he didn't say he was FROM the UK, but the nearest to it...

As for how he first won the belt, it's pretty cool that he did it in a unique way, the tables win was interesting and gave him a chance to score a big pin down the line, which he did.

 

[BestWrestlingOpinions]

Topic.

Don't get me wrong I like Sheamus, he's the nearest thing to a main eventer from the UK that WWE's had in a long time.

But like the topic says, if he wasn't "in" with HHH, would he be a multi-time Champion and currently squashing Christian?

I suppose this is similar to my recent thread re Randy Orton, however I don't think Sheamus will ever arrive at the dizzy heights of WWE World Heavyweight Champion, even if he is friends with HHH.

He would be nowhere near the top, at least not in his first 2 years as he was. I liked him being a heel when he started out in ECW and I thought he would become big. But no, he wouldn't get the top spot in less than 2 months. It is evident that Sheamus isn't as big as HHH thought he would be, that's why he has no direction right now.

 

[boywithbluehanger]

Sheamus (as I've said many times before) was the PERFECT answer to Cena being on the top of the company for so long. His coming in and portraying the "evil version of Cena" was genius. The Cena fans hated him because he was bigger, meaner, and a believable bully. The "smarks" hated him because he was a guy with "the main-event look" who was given an immediate push to the top. The writers/bookers struck gold with Sheamus. I would even go as far as to say that the entire unification storyline would have been better if heel-brute Sheamus was in Randy Orton's place. He's bigger than Orton or Cena, he's a very believably threatening dude as a heel (even as a heel on the mic), and he's got a bunch of power moves to put on great main-event-worthy matches. (High Cross, White Noise, Irish Curse Back-breaker, Brogue Kick, that thing he does when he pounds a dude's chest 10 times)

I tend to think that the only reasons he's been used so poorly are:

1. because Edge fazed out of the company in 2011, so Smackdown needed a compelling main-event character to frequently use
2. CM Punk became a star on the A show (RAW)

 

[Mustang Sally]

There have been tons of talented wrestlers whom we've never heard of because they never found a way to get noticed: a great look, a great gimmick.....or someone they knew......or someone they could blackmail.......or whatever.

I can accept that Sheamus might have gotten his break because of his relationship with Paul Levesque; it certainly wouldn't be the first time someone used the "it's who you know" formula to his/her advantage.

At the same time, if Sheamus didn't have the goods in and out of the ring, my guess is he would have washed out as fast as he.....washed in. I think the man is a superior performer, and while we can argue all day about whether or not he's caught on as well as he might have, the fact is he's a major league WWE superstar because he presents as one.

How he came to the attention of Triple H in the first place is something we can worry about.....or not......but if this is how he got his foot in the door, I'm sure other performers would love to discover how.... so they can do it, too.