Incoming Irishman

We haven’t seen Sheamus for a while. The reason for this is that he’s been off healing up from surgery he received in November. It’s possible you haven’t missed him. It would be understandable. Sheamus did nothing of note in 2014. The closest he came to being interesting was winning the United States championship and teasing a heel turn against dean Ambrose, but even that wasn’t especially memorable. His reign was just as innocuous as every other reign has been with that belt in the last three years.

The likelihood is that Sheamus will soon be back on TV. From a character perspective the natural thing for him to do upon his return would be to target Rusev, the man who defeated him for the US title on November 3. Or possibly Mark Henry, who, along with Rusev, gave him the kicking that was credited with causing his absence in storylines.

In reality Sheamus will probably not do this. He’s been due a heel turn since 2013 and gunning for Rusev or Henry would only postpone that further. I think WWE will be keen to pull the trigger on ‘Great White’ going bad. They’re short on credible heels at the moment and Sheamus needs to turn. It’s an obvious thing to do and do quickly.

Even Sheamus looks bored by the idea of his comeback.

I’m not a fan of Sheamus. I don’t find him interesting to listen to or fun to watch. His signature moves are bland. The ten punch in the ropes spot is dull. White Noise is clunky to pull off. The Brogue kick is one of the most unspectacular finishes ever, although that it has least has been built up as a credible finish within WWE. The best thing you can say about Sheamus is that he does his best work against other hossy lads like Cesaro. But everyone does good work with Cesaro.

The heel turn is unlikely to change how I feel about ‘The Celtic Warrior’ but it might make him more bearable. It will allow him to make some much needed changes to his character and present him with a fresh list of opponents. A change in allegiance will also ensure he’s a priority of the creative team, meaning he’ll be given things to do and we’ll be given reasons to be interested in him. That should last at least a few weeks.

I’d be most interested in Sheamus taking a mid-card role and working with guys like Dolph Ziggler, Luke Harper, and the also soon-to-return Bad News Barrett to continue reinvigorating the Intercontinental championship. Failing that a team-up with fellow big boys The Ascension for a series of singles and tag matches with The New Day, leading to a climactic six man exchange, would play to Sheamus’s strengths.

Realistically I think ‘Great White’ will be closer to the top of the card, because he’s apparently popular with the right people in decision-making circles. Couple that with the fact that he’s one of the bigger names on the roster these days and you have a lethal combination that means he’s usually positioned pretty well in and around the Rumble to WrestleMania period.

A WrestleMania 31 match with Dean Ambrose or Dolph Ziggler doesn’t seem out of the question. The latter wouldn’t be too bad if ‘The Show Off’ won. The former would be terribly disheartening. After a year turning himself into one of the most interesting guys in WWE the last thing ‘The Lunatic Fringe’ needs is to be saddled with Sheamus for his first ‘Mania singles match.

Perhaps worse is the potential for a Sheamus versus Roman Reigns or Sheamus versus Daniel Bryan match at ‘The Granddaddy of Them All’. Reigns is not to everyone’s taste but he’s one of WWE’s best chances to make a new star. For that to happen he needs a lot of care an attention. A feud with Sheamus does not fall into that category after his poor 2014. And while Bryan and Sheamus have had very good matches in the past (like Cesaro, nobody has a bad match with D-Bry) the last thing the most popular man in the company needs right now is to be saddled with the returning ‘Irish Curse’.

A best case scenario would actually be for Sheamus’s return to be held off until after WrestleMania. That way he could be brought in to fill the void left by Brock Lesnar and any other departing part-timers, and he could be placed into a brand new feud with someone on one of the most watched RAWs of the year. But just you watch: he’ll return at the Royal Rumble and be booked strong to set up a WrestleMania match which is top of nobodies’ wish list.