Sheamus Will Add to WWE's Lack of Roster Depth as a Heel

After a long layoff due to injury, Sheamus returned to WWE programming on the Raw following WrestleMania 31, attacking Daniel Bryan and Dolph Ziggler and cementing his much-anticipated heel turn.

In one night, he became more relevant that he had been in several years.

Since his arrival on the main roster in mid-2009, Sheamus has made quite the career for himself, winning the Royal Rumble match and the King of the Ring tournament along with countless championships. But while there's no denying that he's a great worker, the biggest knock against him in recent years has been his lack of character development.

When he initially turned face in the summer of 2011, it was seen as a logical move. Although he has always worked better as a heel, he had been stale for so long that a change in character was necessary.

His various feuds against Mark Henry and Christian clicked because he was built up as an unbeatable babyface but still had a cool factor about him.

It wasn't until he referenced his Irish ancestors in promos, resorted to corny comedy and beat Daniel Bryan for the World Heavyweight Championship in 18 seconds that the hardcore fanbase gradually began to turn on him.

Despite his successful run as world heavyweight champion in 2012, he was an afterthought once it concluded. Aside from a forgettable reign as United States champion, he did next to nothing for the next two years prior to suffering an injury in the fall of 2014.

As it would turn out, being sidelined from action was a blessing in disguise for The Celtic Warrior.

According to Wrestling Inc's Marc Middleton, it had been heavily rumored that a heel turn had been in the works for Sheamus for months. Thus, the writers' pulling the trigger the night after WrestleMania was a long time coming.

Other than his cowardly characteristics at times, Sheamus was a ruthless villain for much of his early WWE tenure. In his attacks against the likes of John Cena, Triple H and even Jerry Lawler, he was absolutely relentless. As a babyface, he was boring, obnoxious and stagnant, so a flip of the switch was only inevitable.

It was all a matter of when, and the timing of the turn couldn't have been any more perfect.

It's no secret that WWE's roster depth has been seriously lacking for months, but it has improved over time with Bryan, Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose and others emerging as main event talent in the last year alone.

Even then, the heel side of roster is missing a few key players. Yes, we have Seth Rollins as world heavyweight champion, and Bray Wyatt and Rusev are solid supporting stars, but who else is there?

Big Show and Kane should be nowhere near the main event scene in 2015 but sadly are. Moreover, the brutal booking of Bad News Barrett since his return has prevented him from reaching his full potential as a top-tier talent.

A former multi-time world champion, Sheamus is exactly what WWE needs at the moment.

He's slated to feud with Dolph Ziggler for the time being, but beyond that, he's capable of much more, and much higher up on the card.

Perhaps the best thing about Sheamus' recent repackaging is how WWE has gone all the way with it. The new look, entrance theme and attitude have significantly enhanced the image and credibility of The Great White in the last two weeks.

Better yet, he has made his intentions of ridding WWE of its "underdogs" quite clear, setting up a number of fresh feuds.

If the company can stay the course with this character, Sheamus' career resurgence may be one of the bigger stories this year.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, is a journalism major at Endicott College. Visit his website at Next Era Wrestling and "like" his official Facebook page to continue the conversation on all things wrestling.

Follow @WrestleRant