“Perhaps I am a dark, unpleasant creature. But I am my own creature. I am mine, my feet on the earth and the water in my soul and fire in my heart. And when all is taken from me I will still have my anger and my pain and they will feed me.” -Deirdre Sullivan from Savage Her Reply
One of my favorite mottos has always been: “It’s only a bad thing if you don’t learn anything from it.” I share this phrase often, either to friends, family, or to myself when I have made a grave error. This is a key lesson in life. It is okay to fail, and it is okay to be wrong. I tend to apologize…a lot. In my mind apologizing is not a trait of weakness, it is a trait of growth. It is an acknowledgement that you are taking responsibility for your wrongdoing, and are willing to highlight yourself as the one who needs to make a change. The people closest to me, especially my wife, can confirm that apologizing is a tool I take full advantage of, one that I even quite enjoy.
I apologize for not seeing greatness when it stood so visibly in front of my eyes.
When I started watching wrestling again in 2014 I had heard of Sheamus and seen pictures of him from clips on the internet. I always thought he looked extremely unique. Bright red hair, pasty white skin on top of an incredible build and somewhat lengthy body. It’s almost as if he was manufactured in a passionate fan’s CAW mode because it was all so unique that it nearly didn’t make sense. When I watched him wrestle I was always entertained, always intrigued by his move-set and his hard-hitting offense. I also found him quite charming on the microphone, as he could sell any match he was about to have.
Yet somehow I always forget about Sheamus. I forget that his career includes several world title reigns, a Royal Rumble victory, a Money In The Bank contract, and a number of other incredible moments. I forgot that his body of work is just as prestigious as his resume, and could easily get lost in the shuffle of the great workers and classic matches that seem to happen on a weekly basis.
But to quote the man himself…”BANGER AFTER BANGER AFTER BANGER.” With that in mind…here are my top three Sheamus matches.
SHEAMUS VS. CESARO BEST OF 7 SERIES AT CLASH OF CHAMPIONS 2016
At this point in 2016 Sheamus was engaged in a best of 7 series against Cesaro, one of the few competitors who could match the Celtic Warrior blow-for-blow and power for power. After taking a 3-0 lead Sheamus seemed destined to win the feud and move on to a title opportunity, but the Swiss-Superman didn’t go down so easily. He would tie the score with three straight victories, leading to a final match that occurred at Clash of Champions. Sheamus and Cesaro not only beat the piss out of each other, but expertly build their final encounter around the previous six matches they had. In a shocking turn of events…the bout would end in a no-contest, an unusual way to end a feud unless something else major was planned. Well what came next was one of the WWE’s top tag team combinations in recent memory, The Bar.
THE BAR VS. DEAN AMBROSE & SETH ROLLINS NO MERCY 2017
The Bar quickly rose to the top of the WWE tag team ranks. They would be the duo who would eventually dethrone the New Day after the latter broke the record for the longest tag team title reign in company history. Sheamus and Cesaro were perfect opponents for each other, so it made sense that their chemistry would work just as well as a team. One of their biggest wars was against a recently reunited Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins, who decided to put their Shield drama behind them so they could capture tag team glory. Rollins and Ambrose had just taken the Raw tag titles from The Bar at SummerSlam, but it was the rematch at No Mercy 2017 that truly stands out. It was this match that saw Cesaro get his front teeth smashed in, leaving the Swiss-Superman with a bloody mouth that only added to the intrigue of the contest. Typical WWE booking seemed to indicate that there was no chance in hell that the Bar were winning this one, but Cesaro, and especially Sheamus, put on a dominant performance that had the live crowd unsure if that trend would continue. Unfortunately for Sheamus, he would get caught with a Dirty Deeds and eat the losing pinfall for his team. Certainly not the last time he would be pinned, but easily a showing he could be proud of.
GUNTHER VS. SHEAMUS CLASH AT THE CASTLE 2022
Any man can lose a fight, but what does it say about him when he is showered with applause afterwards? This was the setting for Sheamus’ most recent classic against Gunther, formerly known as WALTER, at WWE’s Clash at the Castle special in Cardiff. Gunther is labeled the Ring General for a reason, each of his opponents being left with the scars and bruises from his chops that are as sharp as a knife. Sheamus ain’t no soft striker though. He matched the I.C. champion blow for blow, mirroring the same damage that he himself had endured. A White Noise nearly wins him the title, but Gunther remains resilient, as he always is on the big stage. In fact one could say that Gunther performs his best in big matches, especially during the final stretch. Sheamus outlasts a series of powerbombs from Gunther, ones that weaken his lower back. Later when he tries for the Brogue his back gives out, leaving him wide open for Gunther to end the dream with a devastating lariat. Once again…Sheamus had fallen short.
However, in my mind this felt like the biggest triumph of Sheamus’ career. The crowd, like myself, took the moment he was alone in the ring to recognize the greatness of the man’s career, one that seemed to slip by so quickly. There were reports that he was close to retiring years ago due to lingering injuries. I don’t think it would be a stretch to say that this would have cut short some of the best work of his career, a career that I feel bad it took me so long to acknowledge.
What are you favorite Sheamus matches?