Sheamus Must Return to WWE as a Heel to Fulfill Potential

When a brawling, no-nonsense Irishman named Sheamus burst onto the main roster in WWE in late 2009, his antics and actions immediately caught the eye of wrestling fans worldwide.

His brutal dismantling of Jamie Noble in a number of editions of Raw in his first few weeks on the main roster instantly indicated that a star had been born.

Sheamus had something few other stars had in WWE. He was demonic, ruthless and had the kind of edge about him that seemed to set him apart from all other young heels currently working in the company.

Fast forward a few months, and Sheamus was threatening to steal the entire show at WrestleMania XXVI with his superb rivalry with Triple H. One World Heavyweight Championship and two WWE Championships followed in the proceeding years—yet in the past 12 months or so, that success seems like a distant memory.

Sheamus has been out of action for a good few months now, and his imminent return presents WWE with a fine opportunity to restore him to his former glories.

While his initial babyface turn was surprising and enjoyable—for a brief period—he's never had that same sort of appeal as when he was working as a heel.

With a return on the horizon—perhaps even ahead of WrestleMania 31—WWE needs to reference its recent history and bring Sheamus back as a demonic and twisted heel.

If WWE is keen to push him more and more—just as it did back in 2009 and 2010—then a babyface return is simply not an option. He doesn't seem to have the same edge as he did during his early years with the company. But the good thing is, that's easily resolved.

Think back to when Sheamus forced Noble into retirement with a series of horrific attacks—including one that appeared to leave Noble legitimately wincing at ringside. He then followed that up by brutally attacking anyone who came into his pathway—including the timekeeper and Jerry Lawler. That was the kind of behavior that helped him quickly rise to the top.

In recent years, it's been floating around the midcard which has been more Sheamus' thing—you only have to look at his most recent matches (courtesy of ProFightDB.com) to see proof of that—losses to The Miz and Tyson Kidd toward the latter part of 2014 isn't exactly getting a major push.

The beauty of that angle is there are so many storylines he could be incorporated into. An affiliation with The Authority would be a brilliant concept, not least because Big Show and Kane don't really have the level of intimidation and dominance you'd expect from corporate stooges.

Aligning him with Triple H and Stephanie McMahon would immediately ascend him into a position to be challenging for the main event spots in WWE—which would not necessarily be a bad thing for Seth Rollins, either.

Of course, it doesn't have to be that way. Sheamus could make an impact at Fastlane—or even WrestleMania—and insert himself into a feud with someone of note in a number of ways. It's hard to imagine John Cena's feud with Rusev continuing after WrestleMania, for instance; could Sheamus launch an assault at a newly crowned United States Champion in Cena after WrestleMania finishes?

Regardless of who he feuds with, the most important thing for Sheamus' future is that he comes back as a heel. His whole image lends toward being a heel, as does his in-ring style. There's nothing quite like a brawler who loves to beat people into the ground. Work hard on his return, and WWE could once again have a major heel on its hands with him.