For the past few weeks, WWE has been airing vignettes about how Sheamus will be returning soon to the active roster, although they have specifically not mentioned when this would happen.
There are plenty of different ways he can be reintroduced and come back, but the best case scenario for all parties involved in WWE is for The Celtic Warrior to return at Fastlane and turn heel.
When Sheamus was brought up to the main roster, he was quickly pushed hard and fast on the ECW brand before winning the WWE Championship from John Cena. Since then, WWE has spent a lot of time and effort investing in him, but his stock has never quite been as high as the brass wants it to be. Sure, Sheamus is far from a valueless waste of a paycheck, but it is obvious that WWE wishes him to be a top commodity and that the audience isn’t buying it.
Eventually, there came a time when something different was needed, so WWE turned Sheamus face, hoping he could be one of the big names the crowd could get behind. Just as before, they threw accolades his way to help boost his credibility in the eyes of the fans. It’s rather clear that the intention of his quick win over Daniel Bryan at the beginning of WrestleMania XXVIII was to make Sheamus look incredibly strong. Hopefully, after that, the audience would get behind him as a beast and revel in his destruction of the heels on the roster. Instead, it was an abysmal failure that would contribute greatly to Daniel Bryan’s rise to fame.
From that point going forward, there was no hope for Sheamus as a face no matter who he defeated, which matches he won, or what titles were to his name. His United States Championship reign was essentially pointless and the best part of it was when he lost to Rusev—which was met with a positive response from the crowd, despite Rusev being a heel who hates America. That’s saying quite a bit.
Now that Sheamus is going to return, WWE needs to shake things up again. He cannot return as a face for several different reasons, but the two main reasons are balance and esteem.
There are several big name faces on the roster right now with John Cena, Daniel Bryan, Roman Reigns, Dolph Ziggler, Dean Ambrose and more. This gets even more crowded when Randy Orton returns. Even people not as high up on the card such as Ryback and Damien Sandow are over enough with the crowd that they shouldn’t be ignored. Where would he fit? Is he really worth taking a spot away from one of those people and pushing them off the card?
Even if he were, who would he face? There aren’t a ton of heels in the company at the moment, particularly if WWE is planning on turning Big Show face soon as is being hinted at. Outside of Seth Rollins, Bad News Barrett and Kane, the heel list is scarce. Cesaro and Tyson Kidd are firmly in the tag team division. Curtis Axel is a jobber, as is Adam Rose. The Miz will be feuding with Mizdow for at least a little while longer. Titus O’Neil just turned face. Rusev is locked in with John Cena. Really, Luke Harper is the only person not doing anything, but you can’t have those two feud for months on end. Remember how long, tedious and boring the Sheamus vs. Alberto Del Rio feud was a few years ago?
Plus, if Sheamus wasn’t the biggest fan favorite of the babyfaces before his injury, what makes anyone think that people would care more this time around? Chances are he hasn’t improved drastically on the mic or will come back with better acting skills or a brand new character. Hasn’t the tough guy brawler from Ireland who tries to act like a goof but then craps all over the Be a Star anti-bullying campaign run its course?
How do you give life back to Sheamus while making sure he doesn’t take anything away from someone else who deserves their fair share of the pot?
The Authority is rather weak right now compared to what the group was a few months ago. Orton was removed, Big Show is feuding with Kane to an extent, Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury are jobbers and both Triple H and Stephanie McMahon aren’t regular roster members. They could use someone to help back Seth Rollins up, couldn’t they?
It makes sense for Sheamus to be in this group because of his connection to Triple H. It’s no secret that those two have supported each other in the past, having worked together at WrestleMania XXVI.
It’s also been reported numerous times over the past year that WWE wishes to do another match at WrestleMania between Sheamus and Daniel Bryan. This wouldn’t happen if both were faces and of course, there’s no way Bryan would be going in as the heel. If WWE plans on doing that this year, having not had a chance to do it last year, Fastlane is the perfect chance to get the ball rolling. All it takes to set up the feud is for Sheamus to interfere on behalf of The Authority and cost Bryan the match.
Too many faces on the roster means Sheamus gets lost in the shuffle, or someone else gets demoted. If Orton is tied up with Rollins and Bryan doesn’t get thrown into the title match, he’ll have nothing noteworthy to do, so Sheamus fills in that spot. Waiting until after Fastlane for The Celtic Warrior to return and start this feud means WWE will need to figure out another way for Bryan to lose without hurting Reigns or Bryan.
This is the simplest, easiest means to cover all of your bases and benefit the most amount of people not only for the biggest show of the year, but for the long run in 2015. Assuming Roman Reigns wins the championship from Brock Lesnar, he’ll need another heel to go up against in the coming months and Sheamus could fit that bill. There could also be future feuds between Sheamus and Randy Orton, Dean Ambrose, Dolph Ziggler, and Ryback, giving him more than enough to do this year.
What do you think will happen with Sheamus? Do you want to see him come back as a heel or a face? Who should he feud with upon his return?
Tell us your thoughts, predictions and fantasy booking ideas in the comments below!
