Sheamus vs. Cesaro: Winner and Post-Match Reaction

In one of the best in-ring matches on WWE’s 2014 Night of Champions pay-per-view card, Sheamus successfully retained his United States Championship against Cesaro.

The WWE Twitter account had the news: 

Sheamus jumped on Twitter after the big win to remind fans of his current credentials: 

WrestlingINC.com provided a quick take: 

Sheamus is one of the top faces in the WWE today, but the storyline leading up to this match was almost nonexistent. The two men feuded several months ago, but the company chose not to reference those matches at all throughout this program.

Essentially, this entire angle was perpetuated by Sheamus and Cesaro throwing the U.S. title in each other’s faces during the build. Add in some heel behavior from Cesaro during multiperson tag team matches, and that is the extent of the groundwork for this PPV bout.

The biggest fear for the WWE Universe is more of the same status quo. Sheamus is one of the most technically gifted big men in recent memory, and he should be featured in a top program with a legitimate storyline. Fans would care about Cesaro and Sheamus if there was a reason, but the whole match felt thrown together.

Despite the lackluster build and the complete lack of a real story, this was a fun match to watch. Yet it proved once again how much the WWE has misused Cesaro. As one of the strongest pound-for-pound men in WWE history, Cesaro (just like Sheamus) deserves so much better than a forgettable match used as filler on the PPV card.

The only hope the fans have is that this felt contrived because it was a holdover for both men while bigger angles shake out. There has been talk of a Sheamus heel turn for months, but with a lack of credible top faces, this win likely indicates the Irish star will stay a babyface for the foreseeable future.

The WWE creative team may not agree, but that doesn’t mean his storylines have to be terrible.

With Bray Wyatt likely looking to find a new challenger moving forward, the possible battle between Sheamus and Wyatt for the United States Championship could be very entertaining; Sheamus would be involved in an actual storyline, and Wyatt would have an upper-tier face he can eventually beat.  

Maybe Wyatt can bring out Sheamus’ dark side.

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