WWE Wrestlemania 27: 10 Reasons Sheamus Deserves Better

In June of 2009, Stephen Farrelly, better know to us all as Sheamus, made his WWE debut on the soon to be, or rather hopefully forgotten, Tuesday night show, ECW.  Within a year, Sheamus won the WWE Title, was named 2009's Breakout Star Of The Year, was locked in one of the best feuds of the year and battled "The Game" Triple H at Wrestlemania 26. 

Fast forward one year, and you'd think that Sheamus' list of achievements would have continued to grow.  Some may say that it has, but not in the way that you might think.

Sheamus won his second WWE Championship in June of 2010 at the Fatal 4-Way Pay-Per-View and held onto the title for three months.  He was then crowned as WWE's King of the Ring in November and looked to be poised for his third title reign.  Instead, Sheamus has since been locked into weak feuds at best and has been knocked down from a main-eventer to a mid-card wrestler.  

To top it all off, all hope for Sheamus to have another high profile match at Wrestlemania ended when WWE Creative decided to bring Triple H back, not to avenge his injury caused by Sheamus, but rather to fight The Undertaker.  Now, Sheamus has been given the U.S. Title and has been working a feud with Daniel Bryan.  While the U.S. Title is nothing to shake your head at, it just isn't a good fit for Sheamus, and it definitely isn't what we are used to.

Very few superstars have ever risen to the top ranks of WWE as fast as Sheamus; Brock Lesnar being the only superstar to win the WWE Title faster.  He is a legitimate powerhouse and has proven that he can stand and deliver with WWE's other top performers. 

So why is he now stuck in one of the least anticipated matches in this year's less than stellar Wrestlemania card?  It doesn't make sense to me, and I'm sure that it feels out of place for many other WWE fans.  While some people may not like Sheamus for whatever reason, I feel that he deserves better.  So here are 10 reasons why Sheamus deserves better than a U.S. Title match at Wrestlemania 27.

1.  He's a Two-Time World Champion:  You'd have to go back to 2006 to find the last WWE Superstar to become the United States Champion after already obtaining either the WWE Championship or the World Heavyweight Championship (not counting Bret Hart).  The U.S. Championship has since become a stepping stone for up-and-coming Superstars who use it as a boost to get into the main event picture.  Look at the more recent U.S. Champions: The Miz, Kofi Kingston, R-Truth, Daniel Bryan.  All of these Superstars are, or were, on their way up in the rankings or are permanent mid-card superstars.  It doesn't seem fair to see someone like Sheamus being pushed back down the ladder.  Imagine what you would think if John Cena or Randy Orton won the U.S. Title.  Why should Sheamus be the exception?

2.  He's Never Had the Chance To Be Taken as a Legitimate Champion:  Both of Sheamus' title reigns have been marred by cheating, disqualifications and luck.  He won his first WWE Title in a Tables Match by pushing John Cena off of the turnbuckle and through a table.  This was made to look like an accident and that Sheamus had won the WWE Title on luck alone.  His WWE Title defenses that followed only allowed him to keep the belt by disqualification. 

The same thing happened during his second reign as WWE Champion.  He defeated John Cena following interference by The Nexus and defended the belt at Summerslam, leaving as champion after a Randy Orton win by disqualification.  Even his King of the Ring win came after getting a bye into the finals.  It is time that Sheamus gets the recognition that he deserves, and not just in title wins and defenses, but also in the way that he wins and defends.

3.  His Heritage:  Never before has their been an Irish-born WWE Champion.  In this age, WWE is more globalized than it has ever been.  What better way to reach an international audience than to put your world title on an international Superstar?  It seems weird to place the United States Championship on an international superstar.  Very few Superstars have had as strong of a cultural gimmick as Sheamus, so to see him toting around a red, white and blue belt just doesn't seem right.

4.  His Age:  Though he seems young to the eyes of WWE fans, mostly due to his more recent arrival, Sheamus is older than The Miz, Randy Orton and CM Punk, and he is less than a year younger thanJohn Cena.  Sheamus has the potential to be one of the biggest names in the current era of WWE, yet he lacks the build-up that current top-dogs like Cena and Orton have already received.  If WWE wants to keep Sheamus as a legitimate superstar for years to come, they have to treat him like a top superstar instead of a mid-carder who will never make it back to the top.

5.  He Has the Look of a World Champion:  The biggest difference between most United States Champions and World Heavyweight or WWE Champions is their look.  Sheamus is the most physically dominating U.S. Champion since Bobby Lashley (who used his 2006 title run as a push toward main event status), and he dwarfs former U.S. Champions such as Daniel Bryan, R-Truth and MVP.  Meanwhile, the rest of the biggest and baddest Superstars such as John Cena, Randy Orton The Undertaker and Edge never drop from the main events.  Sheamus should be carrying around the biggest, most prestigious title belt WWE has to offer, or at least be gunning for it.

6.  His In-Ring Ability:  Some people may argue that Sheamus is boring or not as versitile in the ring as other performers, but I beg to differ.  Sure, he may not have the move repertoire that someone like Daniel Bryan has, but if you compare him to other WWE or World Heavyweight Champions, Sheamus' moves are nowhere near as predictable as John Cena, Randy Orton, or 95 percent of the other main-event Superstars.  His Celtic Cross finisher shows off his strength, while his Brougue Kick shows the impressive agility of a Superstar of that size. 

I remember my jaw dropping when I saw John Cena hit a dropkick a few months ago, yet Sheamus' agility comes as no surprise, and that is a good thing.

7.  His Familiar, Yet Uniquely Fresh Gimmick:  We've all seen the international heritage card played before.  From The Iron Sheik to any member of the Hart family, it's been done time and time again, but there is something very unique about the way Sheamus shows his Irish heritage.  Going a different route than the typical Irish stereotypes of alcoholism and leprechauns, Sheamus' spin toward the Celtic warrior and mythology route is not something that WWE fans are going to get very often. Sheamus is not just another big, tough, bad-ass who is out to kick everyone else around; there's more behind it, as subtle as it may sometimes be.  Too many times has someone with a unique and generally interesting gimmick come and pass without being noticed and embraced, it would be a shame if it happens to Sheamus.

8.  King Of The Ring:  I was kind of confused when Micheal Cole mentioned the "curse" of the King of the Ring when Sheamus began loosing matches after being crowned.  Taking a look back at the more recent KotR champions, the only one I could notice who could have been "cursed" was William Regal (and that was a off-screen personal reason).  Booker T held the World Heavyweight Championship for months while reigning as King Booker.  Brock Lesnar's King of the Ring win pushed him into the main event and helped him become the youngest ever WWE Champion.  I don't see why the King of the Ring would not be in the WWE or World Heavyweight title picture. To a true king, anything less than the best would not be good enough. 

In Sheamus' case, he is settling for something less than the best.

9.  His Ability To Create and Maintain Great Feuds:  Whether it was with Triple H in the months surrounding Wrestlemania 26 or the short lived but often overlooked feud he had with Goldust on ECW, Sheamus can turn a good fued into a great one. 

Think about it; there haven't been very many Goldust feuds in the past few years that were very memorable (that short-lived Million Dollar Title feud with Ted DiBiase Jr. went nowhere fast), but Sheamus was able to make it work.  Sheamus even turned John Morrison from a good-guy who gets an decent pop, depending on how many children aged 7-12 are in the audience, into a fan-favorite just because they fought week after week.  Even now, Daniel Bryan is getting the most attention he has gotten since his feud with The Miz ended.  Sheamus needs to be used to create some of the biggest and most talked about feuds in the WWE.  We can only see John Cena vs. Randy Orton so many times.

10.  The Potential for Him To Be the Top Heel in WWE:  The WWE has to stop and take a look into the future five years from now.  John Cena will continue be the WWE's top babyface for as long as he wants to.  Currently, Randy Orton has a good thing going with the fans behind him, and there's no reason it won't work later on in his career.  You may think that I'm crazy, but I even think that The Miz will eventually be one of WWE's top good guys in several years. 

As for bad guys, Sheamus is where WWE needs to focus their attention.  I can't see how he could be packaged as a face.  Even now, if you put The Miz into a feud with Sheamus, who do you think the fans, especially the younger ones, would get behind?  He's great at getting people to hate him, and that is exactly what makes a great heel.  Sheamus is even on my very short list of people who I would like to see end The Undertaker's Wrestlemania streak (though it will never happen). 

Think about it, taking opponents out of the equation, is there anyone who is more disliked than Sheamus?  I don't think so, and that's not something that should be wasted in the U.S. Title picture, unless WWE plans on pushing Daniel Bryan into the main event anytime soon, and I just don't see that happening.

I can't think of any other way to say it, other than I feel that Sheamus is just being wasted right now.  He should be in the main event picture or turning Superstars like Drew McIntyre, guys who get no crowd reaction whatsoever, into fan-favorites.  Daniel Bryan is lucky to be facing Sheamus at Wrestlemania 27, and I sure hope WWE makes the best of it, otherwise this is going to go down as a very disspointing time in the career of Sheamus.