Sheamus

[Grimmas]

Discuss here.

[Dylan Waco]

Remember when he first showed up and we were all freaking out about Goldust carrying him in their series? In hindsight I don't think he was being carried. Sheamus has been at minimum very good since he debuted in the WWE. He has been someone that can be plugged in against virtually any wrestler and have a good match. I've seen him several times live and he's great in that setting. He is great at the random b-show match, and great when called upon to go 30 mins on Ppv v. Daniel Bryan. His offense is great. His selling is better than anyone else I can think of in the WWE. He's a crazy bumper for a guy his size. He's probably been the best guy in the WWE this year, certainly no worse than third. For those who think it's nuts to consider him id note that there are guys nominated with fewer quality years and way fewer quality matches.

[Jimmy Redman]

To add to that, I thought he was easily the best guy in WWE in 2012, as well as this year, and was one of the best in 2011 and 2013.

 

He has a laundry list of good to great matches from the last couple years, and will probably steadily add to it in the next 18 months.

 

Also, the match vs Big Show at HIAC 2012 is one of the best heavyweight title matches in recent company history.

[Timbo Slice]

I think he's the guy who took the baton from Rey as the workhorse for TV matches in recent years. Very flexible in the ring. Great brawler. He has a lot over the past few years that has made me stand up and take notice, but I think the big takeaway is his ability to have compelling matches with basically anyone on the roster at any time. I could see him taking a spot at the bottom of someone's list, but I don't think there will be room for him on mine.

[BillThompson]

Sheamus is someone I was initially pretty sour on. His personality and the way he carried himself in the ring came across to me as far too fake. However, I've come around on Sheamus lately ad I enjoy what he does in the ring a great deal. I'm not sure if he'll make my top 100, but I am looking forward to giving some of his past work a second chance.

[Loss]

Does Sheamus have one signature match that really captures him at his best?

[Dylan Waco]

I would argue that the 2/3 Falls match with Bryan at Extreme Rules 2012 is a match where Sheamus looked every bit as good as Bryan - I'd argue better in some respects - while also being a tremendous MOTY level match. For t.v. bouts I would point to his matches v. Dean Ambrose and Titus O'Neil from t.v. this year, or even better than that last years Main Event match with Cesaro which I thought was MOTY level.

[WingedEagle]

He has moments and spots that are impressive and especially unique, but more than anyone else his antics and character scream "I play a pro wrestler at work." Unfortunately this takes me out of his matches much too often. Definitely someone who would benefit in my eyes from a time machine.

[tim]

I really think Sheamus is a strong top 100 candidate. Turns in a damn good performance almost week in week out, good at everything a wrestler should be good at, even has a decent stock of great matches. Maybe not all time classics but plenty of matches that don't look out of place on a best-of list. By the time the ballot is due he'll have had another year and a half of, most likely still, very solid week to week performances punctuated with a couple very good-great matches. He's not a guy who jumps to mind when thinking about this list, but now that I think about him I think he definitely has a spot somewhere.

[Jimmy Redman]

My Stomper List for Sheamus.

 

THE AWESOME FOURSOME

 

Sheamus vs John Morrison (Ladder Match) – TLC 2010

Sheamus vs Daniel Bryan (2/3 Falls) – Extreme Rules 2012

Sheamus vs Big Show – Hell in a Cell 2012

Sheamus vs Cesaro – Main Event 5^th June 2013

_____________________

 

Sheamus vs Goldust – Superstars 13^th August 2009

Sheamus vs Goldust (No DQ) – ECW 1^st September 2009

--- I haven't seen them since they happened but the Goldust series was an early glimpse of Sheamus' promise. These are just the main matches.

‘Breakthrough Battle Royal’ – Raw 23^rd November 2009

Sheamus vs John Cena (Tables Match) – TLC 2009

 

Sheamus vs Triple H (Street Fight) – Extreme Rules 2010

Sheamus & Edge vs Cena & Bourne – Raw 31^st May 2010

Sheamus vs Orton vs Cena vs Edge – Fatal Four Way 2010

Sheamus vs John Morrison (Falls Count Anywhere) – Raw 13^th September 2010

Sheamus vs Orton vs Cena vs Barrett vs Jericho vs Edge – Night of Champions 2010

Sheamus vs John Morrison (KOTR Final) – Raw 29^th November 2010

Sheamus vs John Morrison (Ladder Match) – TLC 2010

--- This is fantastic, one of the best singles ladder matches ever, just for how differently it's worked. Sheamus uses ladders to beat the utter fuck out of Morrison's leg. Nasty leg work and some really brutal bumps.

 

Sheamus vs Kofi Kingston (Tables) – Extreme Rules 2011

Sheamus vs Randy Orton (No DQ) – Smackdown 10^th June 2011

Sheamus vs Mark Henry – Summerslam 2011

Sheamus vs Mark Henry – Smackdown 26^th August 2011

Sheamus & Orton vs Barrett & Cody – Smackdown 18^th November 2011

Sheamus & Zack vs Dolph & Swagger – Smackdown 25^th November 2011

 

Sheamus vs Wade Barrett (Tables) – Smackdown 20^th January 2012

Sheamus & Show vs Barrett & Cody – Smackdown 10^th February 2012

Sheamus vs Daniel Bryan (2/3 Falls) – Extreme Rules 2012

Sheamus vs Daniel Bryan – Smackdown6th May 2012

Sheamus vs Daniel Bryan - Smackdown 6th May 2012

--- The Bryan feud rules. 2/3 Falls is just amazing, a fantastic title match. And that isn't a typo, they had two matches on that SD episode, a two-minute opener that lead into the main event, which was a tremendous display of arm work from Bryan and arm selling from Sheamus.

Sheamus vs Randy Orton – Smackdown 18^th May 2012

Sheamus vs Orton vs Alberto vs Jericho – Over the Limit 2012

Sheamus vs Jack Swagger – Smackdown 25^th May 2012

Sheamus vs Dolph Ziggler – Smackdown 1^st June 2012

Sheamus vs Tensai – Raw 11^th June 2012

Sheamus vs Dolph Ziggler – No Way Out 2012

Sheamus vs Dolph Ziggler – Smackdown 22^nd June 2012

--- These two are the best Dolph matches, but they're all good stuff. Sheamus works so well as the big babyface ace, and Dolph is the perfect pinballing heel to eat all of his offense.

Sheamus vs Dolph vs Alberto – Smackdown 29^th June 2012

Sheamus vs Chris Jericho – Smackdown 13^th July 2012

Sheamus vs Cody Rhodes – Smackdown 27^th July 2012

Sheamus vs Daniel Bryan (Street Fight) – Raw 30^th July 2012

Sheamus vs Tensai – Smackdown 3^rd August 2012

Sheamus vs Damien Sandow – Raw 1^st October 2012

Sheamus vs CM Punk – Main Event 3^rd October 2012

Sheamus vs Wade Barrett – Raw 8^th October 2012

Sheamus vs Big Show – Hell in a Cell 2012

--- A tremendous, tremendous heavyweight title match. It's one of those isolated "THIS is how Big Show should be booked" performances, and Sheamus the dominant ace is suddenly selling his ass off like John Cena. This is like the most well-earned finishing stretch of all time. Everyone has to watch this match. I cannot say enough about it.

Sheamus vs Big Show – Survivor Series 2012

Sheamus vs Big Show (Chairs Match) – TLC 2012

 

Sheamus vs Dolph Ziggler – Main Event 9^th January 2013

Sheamus vs Wade Barrett – Smackdown 25^th January 2013

Cena, Ryback & Sheamus vs The Shield – Elimination Chamber 2013

Jericho, Ryback & Sheamus vs The Shield – Raw 18^th February 2013

Sheamus vs Big Show – Smackdown 26^th April 2013

Sheamus, Orton & Kofi vs The Shield – Smackdown 24^th May 2013

Sheamus vs Wade Barrett – Main Event 29^th May 2013

--- Sheamus and Barrett live to beat the utter shit out of one another. This is their best match together, and it just builds perfectly.

Sheamus vs Cesaro – Main Event 5^th June 2013

Sheamus vs Cesaro – Smackdown 14^th June 2013

--- Another great match-up. These two do it all together - mat wrestling, big bombs, cool counters, and of course beating the shit out of one another.

Sheamus vs Damien Sandow (Street Fight) – Smackdown 28^th June 2013

Sheamus vs Daniel Bryan – Raw 8^th July 2013

Sheamus vs Luke Harper – NXT 24^th July 2013

 

Sheamus, Cena & Bryan vs The Shield – Raw 27^th January 2014

Sheamus, Bryan & Rey vs The Shield – Smackdown 31st January 2014

Sheamus & Christian vs Real Americans – Raw 10th February 2014

Sheamus vs Wade Barrett – Raw 21^st April 2014

Sheamus vs Titus O’Neil – Main Event 23^rd April 2014

Sheamus vs Bray Wyatt – Main Event 30^th April 2014

Sheamus vs Dean Ambrose – Smackdown 9^th May 2014

Sheamus vs Cesaro – Payback 2014

Sheamus vs Wade Barrett – Raw 9^th June 2014

Sheamus & Usos vs Wyatt Family – Raw 30^th June 2014

Sheamus vs Cesaro – Night of Champions 2014

 

 

[bradhindsight]

Sheamus is an interesting study. A great five year resume of ring work (this is a guy that will get you to watch and care about an 8-minute Curtis Axel match), and that's with discounting everything he did in England. He's 36 though, so while he may not be in the main event scene any longer, I could see him very much having a Goldust-like career from here, and a guy still working into his early 40s.

[anarchistxx]

Don't think he has enough real personality for me to consider him. He is competent in the ring and a good all round worker, but I have felt no emotional involvement in anything he has done and the smiley, happy character he plays is unwatchable at times.

 

 

 

but more than anyone else his antics and character scream "I play a pro wrestler at work." Unfortunately this takes me out of his matches much too often.

 

This. Even though he works stiff I don't buy into anything he does, which is a damning indictment.

[NintendoLogic]

I'm not seeing it. By my reckoning, he's had one really good year (2012) and a few solid but unspectacular ones while apparently producing nothing of note during his pre-WWE career.

[Johnny Sorrow]

I love the guy in the ring. He's fucking great. And I finally saw him live this past Summer against Del Rio in a street fight that was a fucking awesome match. He really feels to me like they're keeping him in a holding pattern for whatever reason and waiting for the time they want to plug him back into the top of the card. I say turn him heel and fued him with Ambrose after the Rollins stuff is done.

[Jimmy Redman]

I was so happy when I went to a house show a couple months ago and got to see Sheamus vs Cesaro live. Great, great shit.

 

I recently came across what I wrote about Sheamus' 2012, which I thought was a fantastic calendar year.

 

 

I love the trope of the babyface ace in wrestling, and I really love it when it is executed well. Sheamus’ run this year is one of those times. He just has an innate understanding of what his role is in the hierarchy, and how to effectively portray it while having the best matches possible. He knows how strong and tough to be whilst also selling just enough to show vulnerability and create sympathy. He looked, felt and wrestled exactly like a babyface world champion should.

 

On this point, I have to talk about his arm. Sheamus first injures his arm when Bryan destroys it in their matches. It never gets time to heal because he runs straight into Alberto who does the same thing. So Sheamus ends up with basically a chronic arm problem, which is a target for the guys who work arms and a useful opening for anyone in the ring with Sheamus, because you know if you hit it, it will hurt. Not only was it a totally fresh take on kayfabe injuries and long-term damage, but it also served as a genuine weakness in Sheamus’ armor that allowed opponents to get believable heat on such a tough guy. Total genius on all levels and I cannot express how much I loved it.

 

Anyway, the fastest way to my heart is to rack up a big ass tally of great matches, and in this, Sheamus has succeeded better than all but a few guys I’ve seen in a calendar year. Like I said it is not only the volume (if I added them up he probably had 50+ good matches on TV this year, pretty much one per week) but also the quality of the best stuff and the variety of different opponents. He worked limb work matches based around selling with Daniel Bryan and Alberto. TV workrate counter-a-thons with Dolph. A clash of the titans-style heavyweight prizefight with Big Show. Nasty ass brawls with Tensai and Wade Barrett. Ace vs Midcarder showcases with Sandow, Swagger, Cody Rhodes. Then in turn he played the young lion against Jericho, and was an equal against his ace predecessor Orton. So many different scenarios, and in all of them he plays his role to perfection, makes his opponent look great, and delivers good matches. I have just loved the hell out of Sheamus this year and think he’s easily been the best wrestler of the year.

[goc]

One of the worst cases of an extremely talented guy who people don't care about due to WWE not knowing how to use their talent. If people's immediate reaction to seeing Sheamus come out wasn't indifference then he'd be getting more credit based on the merit of having a bunch of REALLY good matches. Did I go into most of his 2012 matches with Del Rio or Big Show even half way interested? No, not really. But pretty much all of them ended up being good, a lot of the times they were the best matches on the PPV.

 

I could see him making my list, but it is hard because there are so many great nominees that I get EXCITED about researching and Sheamus is "just there" regardless of how good the matches end up being.

[BillThompson]

I've heard the argument made that Sheamus is a shitty worker because he can't work light. He has to work stiff, it's the only way he knows how to work apparently. I think it was rovert who was saying that the guys in the back don't think he's a good worker as a result of this. I don't really care what the guys in the back think, their opinions are no different than when a director comments on another director's film; great for debate but of little to no value. However, is Sheamus' supposed inability to work light a problem for some? Is it even a legitimate thing?

[Jimmy Redman]

Do people hold it against Stan that he didn't/couldn't work light?

[goc]

I don't care and it wouldn't affect my rating but I could see why that would be a problem in the locker room if someone is hurt and needs to work light.

[NintendoLogic]

Do people hold it against Stan that he didn't/couldn't work light?

 

Actually, yes. I've heard several people criticize the All Japan crew on the grounds that wrestling is supposed to be a work and it doesn't take any skill to hit someone full force.

[ohtani's jacket]

There's something to be said for the fact that he's probably not as good a worker as people think technically speaking, but I don't really see why anyone would care otherwise. Fans only care about the output not the input.

[The Chief]

I wouldn't rank Sheamus for the same reasons many wouldn't rank Marty Jannetty, I can't rank a guy based on what ifs. No doubt is Sheamus a great wrestler but he lacks so many other things that I look for. No real emotion in his work. No hatred, no sympathy. He's been programmed against so many guys but has never really had a feud. His matches are always good but they're almost always forgotten in a week. A lot of these things are the promotions fault and not his, but I can only rate him on his resume not potential.

[Dylan Waco]

I feel almost the exact opposite way in the sense that I think he's a guy who has far exceeded his potential.

[TRMD]

I wouldn't rank Sheamus for the same reasons many wouldn't rank Marty Jannetty, I can't rank a guy based on what ifs. No doubt is Sheamus a great wrestler but he lacks so many other things that I look for. No real emotion in his work. No hatred, no sympathy. He's been programmed against so many guys but has never really had a feud. His matches are always good but they're almost always forgotten in a week. A lot of these things are the promotions fault and not his, but I can only rate him on his resume not potential.

 

I think Sheamus is fantastic in-ring, but I agree with this. I think it's actually the case with 95% of the roster.

[Steenalized]

Sheamus has been the best worker in the WWE this year and I'd say he was pretty great and '13 and '12 too from what I recall. I get why people don't like him. His character ranges between grating and downright brutal as a face. WWE booking doesn't exactly give him a chance to shine in a meaningful way at this point. Yet Sheamus is putting on good to great matches every week.