It’s been a while, huh? Well it feels like it has. I couldn’t write anything last week, because of other stuff going on in my life (some of the same stuff that I’ll be taking June off for), so I apologise for that. But I’m here today, and that’s all that matters.
I was going to talk about Daniel Bryan’s injury, but I don’t think there’s much more to say. We’ll see how things play out in the coming weeks, but in terms of whether or not he should give up the title, I think it depends on how long he’s going to be gone for. All I’ll say is that it’s very unfortunate for Bryan, given that this is supposed to be his turn to lead the roster. I guess there really is no “happily ever after” in this Cinderella story.
One thing I wanted to discuss here is Sheamus, and his recently claimed United States Championship. There is a distinct hatred for Sheamus amongst many members of the Internet Wrestling Community, and quite frankly, I don’t know why. Personally, I love the guy. He can talk well enough (he’s no Rock, but who is?), he’s good in the ring and he, in my eyes, could be one of the guys at the very top of the pack in years to come.
Maybe he was booked to win a few too many matches in 2012, but who actually gives a shit? I know most of you are still hung up about the whole ’18 Seconds’ thing at WrestleMania 28, but was that his fault? I firmly believe that if that hadn’t gone the way it did, the “Yes!” chant wouldn’t have taken over Raw in the American Airlines Arena the next night, and Daniel Bryan likely wouldn’t have won the gold at WrestleMania this year. And as upset as I was for Bryan that night, I held my Irish flag up with pride in the Sun Life Stadium when Sheamus won the World Heavyweight Championship.
And he’s been lost in the shuffle ever since his return at the Royal Rumble, and people think his U.S. Title win is “taking a chance away from younger stars”? The guy’s only been in the WWE for 5 years. He’s a young fella himself!
I don’t see people getting mad about Bad News Barrett winning the Intercontinental Championship, even though he’s basically been on the main roster for the same period of time as Sheamus, give or take a year. Don’t get me wrong, Barrett is fantastic and deserves the gold without doubt, but the double standards among wrestling fans are laughable.
I bet if Sheamus had beaten Daniel Bryan for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship (again), there would’ve been all-out riots, so why not accept this, and let them build him back up with a title specifically made for that purpose? Dean Ambrose wasn’t exactly bringing prestige back to the belt, despite being the longest reigning U.S. Champ in WWE history, so right now I don’t think there’s a better spot on the card for the ‘Celtic Warrior’.
Sheamus as the Champion is a big change. A change that could revitalise his career, which has been somewhat stagnant as of late. It opens the door to many new mid-card rivalries, with Sheamus as either a face or a heel. I’ll be the first to admit, his countless matches with guys like Titus O’Neil, Alberto Del Rio and other guys just like himself do not benefit anyone. Sometimes it’s just a way to get him on Raw, but every time something happens before or after the match, it lacks direction and more importantly, continuity. He’s still having those matches regularly, but hopefully this is just to get him prepped for an actual storyline.
And I’ve heard a tonne of people going on about how Dean Ambrose was “buried” when he lost to Sheamus. You couldn’t be more wrong. Ambrose lost the belt one night after a vicious 6-man tag-team match, in which he defeated Evolution along with Rollins and Reigns. He outlasted everybody in the Battle Royal except for Sheamus, and you can easily pin his loss on ‘The Game’, so how exactly was he buried? The way I see it, the whole thing made him look better, considering he never got pinned to lose the Championship.
He may have been pinned in their rematch on Smackdown, but the match was very enjoyable and it took not one, but two Brogue Kicks to bring Ambrose down for a three-count. Dean is heavily involved in a main event-calibre rivalry with three of the most well-known names in WWE over the last decade, and having the United States Championship does not sway the storyline in any way. But losing it, however, gives Ambrose even more fire and aggression, leading to more motivation to rip Triple H’s head off of his shoulders at Payback.
One concept being thrown around is that, with Batista leaving the company for a while to fulfil obligations with Hollywood, it’ll leave an opening for a heavy in Evolution. And the guy being discussed to join Orton and Hunter is the Ginger Juggernaut himself, Sheamus.
That, to me, sounds like a perfect role for Sheamus. We’ve discussed it heavily here on SLTD Wrestling, how Evolution used to be known as the ‘Past, Present and Future’ of the WWE, and with Sheamus’ inclusion over Batista, that moniker could work again. Triple H is definitely playing the role of ‘past’ here, considering his one or two matches a year, and the fact that he’s taken more of a backstage role rather than as a performer.
Randy Orton, despite being a multi-time World Champion, could easily fit into the ‘present’. He was the first ever WWE World Heavyweight Champion last December, and only lost the straps a month or two ago at WrestleMania. It doesn’t look to me like, out of Orton, Batista and Triple H, ‘The Viper’ will be hanging up his boots any time soon.
Just look at the House Show line-ups for the UK tour underway at the moment. Batista’s resting up at home, Triple H is probably handling business, and Randy Orton is the one competing every night, because his body is physically capable of withstanding the performance schedule in the WWE. He may start winding down in a few years, but right now, Orton is as active as he’s ever been.
And then we have Sheamus. Like I said, the guy has only been in the WWE for 5 years, and while he’s held three World Titles already in that period, the guy is definitely going to be a major player down the road. That puts him firmly in the ‘future’ spot as a member of Evolution. While it would be strange having a new member on the team, with no sign of Flair or Batista (when he heads off for Guardians of the Galaxy), it will add some freshness to the rivalry with The Shield if they wanted to continue it all the way to Money in the Bank.
Sheamus is going to need a believable heel turn though. Apparently his Brogue Kick to Dean Ambrose on Raw to win the United States Championship was supposed to be him turning heel, but the characteristics weren’t present that night. He did what anyone would do. His career had hit a bump in the road, and he saw one opportunity to get back in the zone. Not only did he take it, but he kicked its head clean off, to win the Championship fair and square.
What, was he supposed to let Ambrose win just because it was an unfair match? If that happens, you lose all credibility as a pro wrestler. If you don’t do everything in your power to win, you don’t belong there. It’s like when John Cena gave up a WWE Title opportunity so Ryback could have it. To me, that severely lessened the importance of the WWE Championship. Cena just throws away an opportunity at the “greatest prize in Sports Entertainment” so a rookie could haveit? You would never see that in another sport.
If you say you wouldn’t have done the exact same thing that Sheamus did, you’re lying. Unless of course you’re one of Dean Ambrose’s many fangirls (and boys, I guess). Seriously, have you been on Tumblr lately? Those people are friggin’ nuts!
I think I’ll wrap up here before I get carried away. Sheamus is highly under-rated as a performer, and I encourage you all to look at him with an open mind from now on. Just like with any performer in the WWE, all he needs is the right opportunity and he can truly impress. And in my opinion, having him join Evolution would be the right opportunity. I know it was just a storyline in a video game, but in the ‘Road to WrestleMania’ mode in WWE ’12, there was a storyline where Sheamus was a member of a faction and I could really see that happening on WWE TV. I think it would be the perfect role.
If you agree or think I’m an idiot, don’t hesitate to let me know in the comments below! You can also do me a favour and share this article on Facebook and Twitter!
If you want, you can go ahead and follow me @AdamOB_SLTD, where we can talk wrestling, ‘Under the Spotlight’ or anything at all!
Finally, be sure to check out the latest edition of the MFX Podcast today, as well as the ‘Attitude Era’ edition of SLTD Wrestling from last Tuesday.
Thanks for reading!
Self-Professed Conversational Wizard.
Admin, Editor and Writer for SLTD Wrestling.
Creator of 'Under the Spotlight'.
Studying Computing in Games Development.
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