Irish Curse: The Current Problem With Sheamus in the WWE

Does anyone else remember WWE's 2009 TLC pay-per-view?

Of course you do. That was the night that Sheamus, a WWE superstar that had only been on the main roster for six months, beat John Cena in a tables match and won the WWE Championship.

It came as surprise to the entire WWE Universe. The reaction to his win was a mix of confusion, shock and anger. How in the world did someone who has been with the WWE for less than a year beat the company's poster child for its most prestigious title? That was the question that loomed in the minds of the fans for months. Sheamus would remain WWE Champion until the Elimination Chamber PPV, where he dropped the title back to John Cena.

Afterwards, Sheamus entered a feud with the man who cost him the title inside the Chamber, Triple H. Their feud extended into WrestleMania XXVI, and culminated at Extreme Rules. It was there that "The Celtic Warrior" temporarily ended Triple H's career. "The Game" would take the rest of 2010 off, and is expected to be back in the coming weeks.

But what the feud did manage to accomplish something – for the most part, it established Sheamus as more than just a fluke in the eyes of the fans. The conversation went from "Who the hell is Sheamus? He dosn't deserve to be WWE Champion so soon?" to "Sheamus took out Triple H. He's not somebody you mess with."

Two months later, at the Fatal 4-Way PPV, Sheamus once again shocked the fanbase by winning the WWE Championship a second time. With a little help from Nexus, Sheamus would defeat John Cena, Randy Orton and Edge to win the gold. His second reign would last longer than his first, spanning three months. He would finally drop the title to Randy Orton at Night of Champions. And that is where the trouble started.

When most wrestlers receive a main-event push, they are usually built up from scratch, and work their way through the ranks. The Miz is the most recent example of an old school push. He spent two years in a tag team with John Morrison on ECW, winning the WWE Tag Team Championship and later the World Tag Team Championship, before getting drafted to Raw. Once on Monday nights, The Miz spent another year and a half as a singles competitor, holding the United States Championship twice and the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship once before finally winning Money in the Bank. By the time he finally cashed in his contract back in November, most people, regardless of whether they liked him or not, were prepared for him to become WWE Champion.

That's never been the case with Sheamus. After Brock Lesnar, who left the promotion after two years, Sheamus is the recipient of the second-fastest main-event push in WWE history. And now that his rush to the top has peaked, he's hurting.

Because Sheamus has never held any other title besides the WWE Championship, any thing that's not main-event worthy looks like a de-push. He's never been a tag team champion. He's never been the United States or Intercontinental Champion. He can't go after those titles, because he's been built to be above holding them. But creative has yet to give up hope, and continues to put Sheamus in the main-event whenever possible.

In November and December of last year, Sheamus entered a feud with John Morrison, in an attempt by creative to push the latter superstar. During the feud, Sheamus managed to win King of the Ring –  an accomplishment that he's been reminding us of on a weekly basis ever since. Sporting a crown and robe that would make even Booker T shake his head in shame, "The Celtic King" likes to wave his scepter and tell the crowd, and the millions watching around the world, to get on their knees. Is it a stupid gimmick? Yes. Is it embarrassing? Yes. Has it succeeded in destroying any chance of the fans taking Sheamus seriously for a while? Hell yes. But is it all creative has got for him? Unfortunately, yes.

Sheamus seems so out of place on Raw right now, if he were to disappear from television next week and never return, I wouldn't be surprised if it took several weeks for people to realize he was even gone.

The Elimination Chamber is coming up, and Sheamus is one of six other superstars fighting for a chance to become the No. 1 contender for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania XXVII. But don't expect him to win. Sheamus has become a victim of his own push. By skipping necessary steps needed to become a true main-eventer, he has become a jobber to the stars. A superstar always above the mid-card, but at the very bottom of the main-event.

When Sheamus is the WWE Champion, all eyes are on him. But for the majority of the time, when he isn't WWE Champion, he dosn't seem to have anything going for him, and creative has so far struggled to keep him in the spotlight. This isn't the 1980s, and you can't be WWE Champion all the time. So until Sheamus becomes a three-time WWE Champion, he's just going to have to suffer in his own personal prison.

Long live the King.