The problem with Sheamus.

[MartialHorror]

So everyone agrees that Sheamus shot not be our current World Heavyweight Champion, although no one agrees as to why. Is he good in the ring? On the mic? Does he have the right look? Is he charismatic? He's about as divisive as...anyone else on the roster, especially among the performers who are closer to the main event scene.

Personally, I think the problem is that Sheamus doesn't have much of a character. When he returned in 2014 as a face, they kept telling me that he loved to fight, but he never seemed like he really loved to do so. He was just too nice and that was the extent of his character.

When he returned in 2015 as a villain, he actually had a decent amount of momentum. Even more importantly, he had a more compelling characterization. He was furious at how the WWE universe didn't care while he was injured, paying more attention to 'little guys' whom he felt was beneath him. So he specifically targeted the underdogs of the WWE, not just defeating them as much as he was just hurting them...unfortunately a little too well- as he either injured Daniel Bryan or aggravated another injury.

He was also booked to be a strong contender, being protected with DQ's or just winning against his opponents. And then someone thought to put him in a 'kiss me arse' mass with Dolph Ziggler, which would destroy any bad-ass aura he had built up. And Ziggler defeated him, which isn't good for anyones career. But I think someone worse happened around this time. They started toning down his violent crusade against underdogs (possibly because of the Bryan injury) and focusing on how the audience thought he looked stupid. Whenever he talked or someone talked about it, it surrounded his appearance.

And that became the extent of his characterization...Some would argue that it's a good thing, because crowds are reacting, but I see it as Sheamus being upstaged by his bizarre appearance. You're seeing the Mohawk and stuff, not the guy with it. It doesn't help that around this time, Sheamus started losing more (he should've won the vacated IC Title, sorry Ryback), inexplicably won the MitB contract and floundered in the midcard. Orton ultimately went over in their feud for no reason and Sheamus became just another generic heel, no stronger or weaker than the other midcard villains.

So can you think of any way they could make Sheamus a compelling WHC? I believe they need to revert to his older appearance, simply because they've allowed it to become a distraction and find a new characterization. Right now, it seems like they're just trying to make a Rollins 2.0, who himself was an Orton 2.0. That gimmick has gotten boring. Maybe have Sheamus randomly start attacking Roman's allies, like Ambrose or the Uso's. Above everything, just make him seem dangerous and don't rehash the cowardly type.

I suspect WWE put the belt on him figuring that fans are less likely to hop onto Sheamus's side, but they don't seem to realize that fans currently find him to be boring. Their TLC match will likely be met with indifference, or the crowd will start chanting other peoples names. WWE needs to figure out how Sheamus can get our attention, even if he only holds the belt for a month.

 

[Sexcellence of Sexecution]

You want to put some more heat on Sheamus? Pair him with Eva Marie. All Red Everything.

"TELL ME I LOOK STUPID NOW!!!" *gross make out with Eva Marie*

Fucking nuclear heat.

Then have Roman Reigns spear the shit out of her and you have your new top babyface.

 

[BuriedByCena]

The main problem is he needs a tan. He is ghostly pale white and he looks like he is going to die any day now. I have seen sick children with more colour than him. I just don't want to cheer or boo this man purely because of his skin colour....

Oh god...That sounded racist LOL. Didn't mean it like that. It is just so jarring to see someone so white with bright red all over his head/face. He looks like a fool. A joke. Like THIS Ronald McDonald man is the Champion of the world?! LOL

His in ring stuff is fine. His mic skills are passable/better than Roman Reigns. I really just think it is his stupid look. He is too pale.

 

[Navi]

Sheamus is a strange case to me. When I first saw him I liked him a lot, he is a brawler much in the same way Finlay and Regal were. Might be they were banking on the Irish heritage, who knows, but the more I saw of him the more bored I got with him.

Yes he did a face turn or a heel turn here or there, but I never really bought into any of them. Simply because his matches are all the same. Most when they turn heel or face, and I'll use Rollins as an example, change their moveset up a bit. Rollins was a high flyer when he was with the Shield, those moves went away when he became a heel. That might be part of Reigns' problem as well.

With Sheamus though all his matches seemed to be the same. Sure he's learned a couple of new moves along the way, but Jesus the whole character is boring. I have no idea what the mohawk and the beads on his beard were supposed to mean, but they make him look like an idiot. The OP was right, people can't get past it. Especially when he's 3/4 of a way through a match and the mohawk starts to lean one way or the other. Then he just looks like a giant turkey.

Also he seems to have been around forever now, and quite frankly with no real character change, fans have moved on to newer wrestlers. I would argue that he's had any momentum since he returned, and was stunned as to why he was given the MITB.

I think they did it as a safety net, and if the reports are to be believed, McMahon decided the afternoon of SS to have him cash in. Apparently they don't want to put the title on Reigns until he stops getting boo's. Which will never happen, so just put it on him. Sheamus was one wrestler that could have cashed in and failed, and it wouldn't have hurt him, because not a lot of people care that much about him. He actually generated more interest by cashing in and winning.

Anyway don't see him being champ for very long, he's a placeholder and he seems to be fine with it, to his credit. I can see him dropping the belt to Reigns at TLC and then dropping back to the upper mid card. This will likely be his last run with the belt, so I hope they make it a good one for him, for his sake.

 

[OYDK]

I don't think there's really any mystery as to why Sheamus isn't peoples first choice for champion. It's because he's pretty bland all things considered. I'm a fan of Sheamus and even I wasn't thrilled with his title win considering all the other options that it could have gone to.

The ones that say he's bad in the ring or on the mic just seem to hate the guy and will say anything to put him down. Sheamus is solid on the mic and in the ring, but he's still so vanilla. And an Irish guy with a red mohawk and a tassled beard should be anything but vanilla.

Plus he's been booked like crap since winning MITB. Why should I take him seriously as WWEWHC?

 

[Navi]

I don't think there's really any mystery as to why Sheamus isn't peoples first choice for champion. It's because he's pretty bland all things considered. I'm a fan of Sheamus and even I wasn't thrilled with his title win considering all the other options that it could have gone to.

The ones that say he's bad in the ring or on the mic just seem to hate the guy and will say anything to put him down. Sheamus is solid on the mic and in the ring, but he's still so vanilla. And an Irish guy with a red mohawk and a tassled beard should be anything but vanilla.

Plus he's been booked like crap since winning MITB. Why should I take him seriously as WWEWHC?

I don't see a lot of people arguing the face that he's good in the ring, and decent on the mic. It's more of a as you say "bland character" that's putting them off. And I agree he's been booked like he doesn't even have the MITB. Maybe it will change now.

 

[ColeMc]

I think most people know why they don't like him as champion even if they can't put their finger on why.

And simply put, he's a midcarder who just happens to have the belt. Jack Swagger, Del Rio and Ziggler are all notable midcarders who've held the title but never had the draw of proper main eventers like Rollins, Lesnar or Cena.

Maybe it's creative's fault, maybe it's the wrestler's charisma or limited skills, whatever it is they were never main event caliber but given the title in the hope they'd grow into it. History has taught us this rarely happens.

 

[No Count Pup]

It's okay for Sheamus to be champion right now. Ratings plummet this time of year. Sheamus is a much better scapegoat than the "chosen one" Roman Reigns. WWE doesn't want this headline: Ratings hit record low on Roman's first night as champion.

Sheamus gets scorched because he feels so yesterday. Fans want the Wyatts and the Ceseros of wrestling to get a chance. But Sheamus has the experience to shoulder low ratings. Nobody has expectations of Sheamus so it is impossible for him to disappoint. For guys like Wyatt and Cesaro where expectations are sky high a period of low ratings could ruin main event runs.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Personally, I would have preferred Sheamus and Barrett as a tag team. As a main eventer, there's not really a whole lot of enthusiasm for Sheamus among a good number of fans, we've seen him as World Champion a few times already and there's no new territory to be explored with him.

I like Sheamus, especially now that he's a heel, and he's someone that I think could be put to really good use in the mid-card title picture or tag team scenes. He has a good deal of ability inside the ring and can be pretty decent on the mic when he's not being a stereotypical, jovial Irishman; also, I don't give a shit about how white the guy is and it's a ridiculous notion to dislike the guy.

 

[Un-Bo-Lievable Jeff]

The main problem is he needs a tan. He is ghostly pale white and he looks like he is going to die any day now. I have seen sick children with more colour than him. I just don't want to cheer or boo this man purely because of his skin colour....

Oh god...That sounded racist LOL. Didn't mean it like that. It is just so jarring to see someone so white with bright red all over his head/face. He looks like a fool. A joke. Like THIS Ronald McDonald man is the Champion of the world?! LOL

His in ring stuff is fine. His mic skills are passable/better than Roman Reigns. I really just think it is his stupid look. He is too pale.

You maybe didn't initially mean it like that, but you keep going down that route and being pretty offensive. He's irish, it's how we look in the UK. We are white, we get sun about 72 hours a year, and even then it is raining at the same time.

To slate him because he is pale is ridiculous. Not all wrestlers need to be covered in fake tan. He stands out, it works for him.


In regards to his character now, I think he should just come out as the heel who doesn't give a shit. Be a right bad ass, which he can be, because of his size and attitude. Brougue kick anyone, knowing he has the authority backing him up. Get DQ'd from matches, but the authority let him off with it. Play up to the fact he is Hunter's buddy. Rather than Rollins chicken shit heel act, be the heel who gets away with anything

 

[Charismatic Enigma]

The problem is simple, and it's something I've gone back to a million times as being the culprit for this era's woes. He has no story line, so you don't care about him.

Asides from all the adult content, the biggest difference between the Attitude Era and now is that everyone had a storyline back then, even if it was a stupid one, they still had one.

Now, there's a handful of guys on top involved in feuds and have some kind of story line going, and the rest of the roster is just…there.

WWE's way of booking is when Vince/HHH/Stephanie get a whim that they like someone, then they pluck them out of their toy box and strap the rocket to them, which is what has happened here with Sheamus, but we have no reason to care.

If months ago, he'd come back and gotten in to a hot program with a purpose, and cut scathing promos, there would be more investment in the character. He wouldn't have just gone from 0 to 100 in the span of a night.

 

[Kodo Sawaki]

WWE's way of booking is when Vince/HHH/Stephanie get a whim that they like someone, then they pluck them out of their toy box and strap the rocket to them, which is what has happened here with Sheamus, but we have no reason to care.

Thats my biggest problem I have right now with him. I have no reason to care about him at all.

After he came back he turned heel. Then lost to Ziggler and then won one against him. Then failed to win vacant IC title. Then won MiTB because Wyatt screwed Reigns out of it. Then had meaningless feud with Orton when they traded wins. Then he wrestled number of dark matches with Barrett, Rusev, Neville and others. So tell me, why should I care for somebody that is booked like a midcard and even lesser then that and almost has no reaction aside of "You look stupid" chants?

Same with Barrett and Rusev. By their booking alone why should fan care because they joined Authority on monday night? Because WWE said so?

I got a feeling that WWE has found themselves in a pickle with this. They gave him briefcase because they wanted Reigns face and there wasnt somebody else there(Orton allready had briefcase 2 years ago and God forbid they gave it to Ziggler) and they didnt know what to do with him aside of pulling something like this or make him unsuccesfull at cashing in. One thing is for sure, he is probably least cared WWE WHC Champion in modern days. Because, hey, God forbid they turned Reigns heel. Or gave Sheamus Rollins treatment and acctually book MiTB winner like a contender and not like somebody who loses back and forth until he cashes in.

 

[stingray11214]

You know, had they booked him right, Sheamus actually would have made a great face in the "Walking Tall" mold. Think about it: Sheamus coming in to search for justice. Give him a nightstick or a baton, and he would be set for a career. Now? He is little more than a sad commentary. He LOOKS stupid. He really does. It is very hard to take him seriously as the Champeen. Never mind his skin color. Big whoop on that. It is just that his whole persona. He looks like a refugee from CBGB who decided to live in Rick's Nostalgia for a spell. He is just THAT bad of a look. His wrestling is OK, as well as his mic skills. But, oy vey, his look is horrible.

 

[Aquaman6686]

I have no problem with Sheamus as champion. I'll take him over any of the former Shield guys in a heartbeat. Sheamus is one of the few guys in WWE I can buy as an unstoppable monster heel. Out of the available choices on the roster, Sheamus is one of the few I don't mind as champion, along with Dolph Ziggler and Alberto Del Rio. I hope he holds the title for a good while.

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

Sheamus always looked like an interesting fella to me. He made a huge debut, by beating Cena for the WWE Championship, then had a feud with Triple H, then won the WWE Championship again.

Then he went to Smackdown, where he improved a lot, won the Rumble and then became the World Champion. Annnd that that was the end of Sheamus. Sheamus run as WH Champion killed his career. Why? Because he wasn't really a WORLD Champion. Smackdown had such an amazing year in 2011, but then they destroy everything in 2012. No real contenders. It bacame a midcard show. Sheamus run as the WH Champion was a really forgettable one.

Then Sheamus becomes a midacarder and goes for another forgetable run as IC Champion.

Then he returns! Finally he's a heel, new awesome look. I think, "I can dig that". And once again creative fucks him up. Nothing interesting anymore. He becomes Mr. MITB (which I explained why at that time he was the only real option in a thread) and then goes on a losing run. Why? So that when he can cash in he will look like a complete joke, that's why!

Sheamus had so much potential. But in my mind they ruined his character. As a babyface he suffered the same fate as Roman (smile!!!!) and then as a heel, creative was to lazy to give a damn about him.

 

[World Class Mark]

Sheamus needs a story, a character, and to return to his old haircut. Those three things, would sum it up.

During his last title reign he held that thing for what? A year-ish? And I don't remember any single storyline he had other than 'the guy who beat Daniel Bryan in 8 seconds." He just came out and said "fella" a lot and that was about it.

I'm not a fan of Sheamus, but he can carry a good match and has decent mic skills. Give him a story, lose the haircut, and then we can go from there.






.

 

[BestSportsEntertainer]

I'm a fan of Sheamus, but he doesn't deserve to be WWE Champion. There are a number of different reasons why.

- He hasn't done anything after winning MITB.
- He has a rather ridiculous look.
- People want someone new as champion, such as Reigns, Ambrose, Owens, or Wyatt.
- He's just average in the ring and on the mic.

I don't mind Sheamus as IC or US Champion, but for the reasons listed above, he shouldn't be WWE Champion.

 

[Azane]

Sheamus has a curse, hes always going to be Sheamus. He can try and reinvent the character, like he has with his Looking Stupid gimmick, but he's still Sheamus.

He's going to be a Celtic, Irish Warrior, who is pale, has red hair and has to carry an entire ethnicity on his back.

He's had a couple runs, and we've seen everything he can do, they weren't necessarily bad runs either, we've just been overexposed to a limited character.

Hell, Face Sheamus vs Heel Sheamus is barely different, his opponents change more to dictate that than he does.

I will take him over Boring Reigns any day of the week though, thank god we didnt get Samoan Cena

I have noticed that everyone wants a "new champion" nowadays, they want the title hot potatoed around, and turn on anyone once they've won the title, I guess a good chunk of people are just hoping WWE randomly strikes gold with someone, Owens or Ambrose are my bet of the current roster.

 

[d_henderson1810]

Sheamus is a strange case to me. When I first saw him I liked him a lot, he is a brawler much in the same way Finlay and Regal were. Might be they were banking on the Irish heritage, who knows, but the more I saw of him the more bored I got with him.

Yes he did a face turn or a heel turn here or there, but I never really bought into any of them. Simply because his matches are all the same. Most when they turn heel or face, and I'll use Rollins as an example, change their moveset up a bit. Rollins was a high flyer when he was with the Shield, those moves went away when he became a heel. That might be part of Reigns' problem as well.

With Sheamus though all his matches seemed to be the same. Sure he's learned a couple of new moves along the way, but Jesus the whole character is boring. I have no idea what the mohawk and the beads on his beard were supposed to mean, but they make him look like an idiot. The OP was right, people can't get past it. Especially when he's 3/4 of a way through a match and the mohawk starts to lean one way or the other. Then he just looks like a giant turkey.

Also he seems to have been around forever now, and quite frankly with no real character change, fans have moved on to newer wrestlers. I would argue that he's had any momentum since he returned, and was stunned as to why he was given the MITB.

I think they did it as a safety net, and if the reports are to be believed, McMahon decided the afternoon of SS to have him cash in. Apparently they don't want to put the title on Reigns until he stops getting boo's. Which will never happen, so just put it on him. Sheamus was one wrestler that could have cashed in and failed, and it wouldn't have hurt him, because not a lot of people care that much about him. He actually generated more interest by cashing in and winning.

Anyway don't see him being champ for very long, he's a placeholder and he seems to be fine with it, to his credit. I can see him dropping the belt to Reigns at TLC and then dropping back to the upper mid card. This will likely be his last run with the belt, so I hope they make it a good one for him, for his sake.

How can he "seem to be around forever", when he has had TWO long-term injury lay-offs, each being at least six months?

Usually when someone hasn't appeared for a while, people are happy to see them back. Hell, the hated John Cena got cheered when he returned at RR 2006, and he only had three months off.

You say it is because he has the same moveset, whether face or heel, unlike Seth Rollins. But Randy Orton remained popular, and he seemed to always pull out the same moves, it was just different people he was doing it too.

I wonder if it is that he won the title too soon into his debut? If it is that he is friends with Triple H, or if it is that when Sheamus won his first title, it looked more like Cena slipped off the ropes and fell through the table?

But, in the end, the fans CHOOSE who to like or dislike. I believe that people decide early on whether to like a wrestler or not, based on who he is friends with in the office, if he is getting pushed, if he wrestled for an indy company first, if he is an "underdog" or if the IWC tell you to like. Sheamus is big, strong, mates with Triple H,wins titles and doesn't have the right "look" for the Universe, so they decide not to like him, and once they decide this, well, a lot of fans are stubborn, and will refuse to change their mind and admit they are wrong.

Many fans want to see Sheamus fail. Just like many fans want to see Roman Reigns fail.

 

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

An easy fix for Sheamus is shaving away parts of his beard and never, ever braiding it again. Leave two patches on either side of his chin and let it grow. Leave the Mohawk but don't use heavy grease in the damn thing again, ever. I know he wants it to stick up but no, just leave it alone. Now, the most eye catching transformation is the dark blue traditional Celtic War paint that will cover his head and eyes , down his cheeks. Completely change his ring gear to something a little more bad ass, cover a lot of his upper body skin, maybe dark tape wrapped around his arms with a brown leather chest pad and taped up hands.

Completely take the comedy out of his character and have him start destroying wrestlers like he did when he first came back as a heel. Reduce the mic time and let others handle that for him.

EDIT : I guess he'd become The Barbarian 2.0 , but way better.

 

[ShinChan]

He has been stale & boring since his return.... He looks a lot Stupid now and shouldnt have won MITB briefcase and WWE WHC too..... Still its good that he cashed-in early so he can lose it soon and go back into midcard level or maybe continue with Wade Barrett as tag team...

 

[Navi]

But, in the end, the fans CHOOSE who to like or dislike. I believe that people decide early on whether to like a wrestler or not, based on who he is friends with in the office, if he is getting pushed, if he wrestled for an indy company first, if he is an "underdog" or if the IWC tell you to like. Sheamus is big, strong, mates with Triple H,wins titles and doesn't have the right "look" for the Universe, so they decide not to like him, and once they decide this, well, a lot of fans are stubborn, and will refuse to change their mind and admit they are wrong.

Many fans want to see Sheamus fail. Just like many fans want to see Roman Reigns fail.

Yes that is right. I CHOOSE who I like and who I don't. Just as everyone else does. Most don't care about who they're buddy buddy with, or who their friends are in the office. By the way that's the weirdest excuse I've ever heard for not liking someone. We all have our own criteria as too why we find someone more pleasing than another.

And as a wrestling fans, that is our right. I don't give a shit what the WWE says, or what the IWC says, it is a personal decision made by each individual. You might think someone is wrong for not being a fan of Sheamus, but who the hell are you to tell fans who they have to cheer for. Worry about what's going on in your own backyard first.

 

[LionheartY2J]

What it comes down to is HHH's refusal to finally let The Authority gimmick go. With this in mind, it would have been the perfect opportunity to finally give Cesero a well deserved push to the top. Or, they could have had Ambrose turn on Reigns. As much as I like Ambrose as a Pillman-esque loose cannon face, his bromance with Reigns is pointless at this point.

A lot of people seem to think that Bray Wyatt could have been, but that would essentially call for the end of either The Authority or The Wyatt family. And with Wyatt's current gimmick, it wouldn't work as world champ.

Brock Lesner? Despite his 3 year contract, he's clearly still a part time player with no interest in being anything more.

Beyond that, Sheamus is as good as any other realistic option while they wait for Rollins to return. He's your classic beast heel who generates heat from younger fans by using mid-card faces as punching bags. This and the fact that he already had the MIB, so now was as good a time to use it as any. Other options could have been:

Del Rio, but they just started his new gimmick. And he's probably not completely out of the dog house yet.

Swagger: see above.

Kevin Owens: He's basically a much larger Daniel Bryan; a guy whose success or lack there of rides entirely on fan reaction. And while to an extent, this is true with anybody, the fact that his look and persona goes well against the WWE grain magnifies that.

And then there's Big Show and Mark Henry, who are pretty much interchangeable and can pop in and out as heels or faces, depending on WWE's current need.

 

[whoopin' ass]

Part of it is the character - somewhat generic non-American heel. But I think a big part is them just flipping him face and heel so much. I think people just don't care anymore because wwe never stuck with an idea and just flipped him constantly over the last few years.Hard to support a character when that happens.

 

[Rocky84]

All good points. The character is the same...heel or face, everything about him is the same. The look, the moves, the attire, the name, everything. I was hoping he would come out in a suit when the authority introduced him last week...maybe become corporate Sheamus. He did that this week and finally changed his hair a little, but now there's a League of Nations. I kinda like it, but not sure if he's with the Authority full time or just protected by them or what.

Regardless, that friggin hair on his head and face has got to go asap...it's atrocious and just like his old haircut, he looks like a joke. How can you take someone that looks like that seriously?? Like wtf. He should've shaved his head bald and rocked a normal puffy beard like Curtis Axel's.

I've always posted about how they should've put him with Finlay in a more serious role...like the APA type of gimmick mixed with an old school Irish street Mob type gimmick...with Fit as his mentor in his corner. Instead we get a dumbass Mohawk and beads on a braided beard...god, I really should try to pursue a career in WWE creative. A monkey could do this job better than who's writing it now.