“Hell yeah,” I typed emphatically into the SoBros Slack’s “wrasslin” channel last week. This was in response to Steven McCash informing me that the WWE had elected to run back Sheamus vs. Gunther for the Intercontinental Championship for a second time. I broke down the contest between these two at Clash at the Castle over on the SoBros Patreon, but as for the tl;dr version of it, well…I found it to be one of the best classical, old-school style professional wrestling matches I had seen in a LONG time. I was absolutely thrilled to see the Celtic Warrior get his flowers after that match, as he faced a standing ovation from the fans in attendance. It kind of made me think that Sheamus has achieved that level of status among the all-time greats in WWE.
He’s always felt a little underrated to me, but maybe he’s beginning to be truly appreciated in the eyes of wrestling fans far and wide for all of the fine work he’s put in throughout the years. Sheamus had a rather meteoric rise throughout the ranks in the WWE. In his first year with the brand, he upset John Cena for the WWE Championship. Maybe it was this booking that made him a little easier to dislike. He felt like one of the anointed ones….chosen from the jump to become the future of the business. I remember having wrestling fan friends back in 2009 who felt like he was being force fed to audiences. Maybe that’s why he’s always been sort of in the back of wrestling fan’s minds when the career he’s had deserves more intention.
I once saw Sheamus wrestle Batista in the main event of a SmackDown when half the roster was already overseas for the WWE’s international tour. It was April of 2014, fresh off the heels of one of the greatest WrestleMania events of all time, WrestleMania XXX. The entire show felt phoned in. Most of the big superstars of the era were absent, and Smackdown suffered for it. Halfway through that show, I caught myself thinking, “damn, if I had known most of the roster wasn’t even here, I might not have bought tickets…” But, I’m glad I stuck it out because these two Hall of Famers put on a barnburner. It was a brutal, physical contest that went for what felt like 20 minutes – a solid match worth of main eventing a pay-per-view, let alone a SmackDown that felt incomplete. It would’ve been easy for both guys to use the circumstances to justify taking it easy, but they didn’t do it. Batista came out on top, but to this day, I still think of it among the best wrestling matches I’ve seen in person. I watched as both guys stayed after the cameras were turned off, signing autographs and taking photos with fans in the crowd. That night, I developed a newfound respect for Sheamus. I knew he was a pretty good wrestler, but that moment didn’t feel like carrying a show…it felt like he had potential to carry the entire brand.
That match is a good metaphor for what makes Sheamus so great. No matter the opponent. No matter the assignment. No matter how good or bad the show has been before him, Sheamus always shows up as a reliable performer. He can do it all. He can cut a good promo. He can wrestle a good physical street fight style. He’s athletic enough to hang with the smaller guys in a more technical and/or high-flying match. I don’t know that there’s anything the man can’t do. That has a special place in wrestling history, as there aren’t too many people wired like that.
For whatever reason, that just didn’t translate to transcendent success – the type we’ve seen from guys like Stone Cold Steve Austin, Cena, and Roman Reigns. But, it doesn’t mean he’s not every bit as good as those guys in the ring. For that, I say that Sheamus is probably a little underrated in the grand scheme of wrestling history. He might not be the box office draw those guys are, but I’d say that given all he’s been asked to do and the success he’s had in executing it, he has a role that is pretty damn important in the WWE. He got his flowers at Clash at the Castle, but he deserves a round of applause from wrestling fans far and wide. He’s a Hall of Famer…pretty easily…in my book.
And, if you want a few match recommendations to relive some of his greatest moments (in addition to the Gunther match, and the Batista match if you can actually dig it up somewhere (good luck)), some of my favorites include: vs. Drew McIntyre (Raw – 3/1/21), vs. Daniel Bryan (Extreme Rules 2012), vs. Big Show (Hell in a Cell 2012), vs. John Morrison (TLC 2010), and virtually any of his matches alongside Cesaro as The Bar.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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