Will Sheamus ever be more than a transitional World Heavyweight champ?

Barnaby Read 15:50 25/11/2015
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  • When Sheamus became the latest Authority instrument of Roman Reigns’ woe by claiming the World Heavyweight title at Survivor Series it marked the start of the Irishman’s third stint with the gold around his waist.

    He will be hoping that it lasts longer than his two previous sittings upon the WWE throne, but it is more than likely it will not.

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    The Celtic Warrior has taken over from Seth Rollins, literally filling his void by shuffling in next to the Helmsley-McMahons and ensuring their brooding wings remained warm even after Rollins’ enforced break from the company due to injury.

    It carries on the trend of HHH & co. denying Reigns and says more about their investment in the Anoa'i Family member’s future more than it does Sheamus’.

    Reigns has now twice been denied by The Authority’s Money in the Bank madness, following on from last year’s WrestleMania, and his time will almost certainly come atop the mountain.

    For now, however, Sheamus is in the hotseat, aiming to improve on his longest title run of just three months when he won it for a second time five years ago.

    He has heat right now but it is hugely critical.

    Sheamus – real name Stephen Farrelly – is hated by WWE crowds.

    Not in a traditional sense of simply winding up audiences and allying himself with the ruling heels (as he has done), but also in that his in-ring work, character and sudden catapult to pay-per-view main event from the mid-card has infuriated many.

    No doubt Sheamus is a good worker, but is he good enough to cut it with the new breed of wrestlers who are pushing the boundaries of not just how they operate in the ring but also how we consume and interact with wrestling?

    Unfortunately, he probably isn’t.

    It will be interesting how The Authority plan to utilise him this time around; a TLC rematch with Reigns has already been announced and it will likely go one of two ways.

    One – Reigns finally earns that title and goes on the Road to WrestleMania to meet Brock Lesnar in a revisit of last year’s main event – Lesnar this time going as Royal Rumble winner and Reigns the champ.

    Two – Sheamus retains and goes to the Rumble as champion and beyond, looking to establish a viable run as champion until the return of Rollins.

    It’s hard to see Sheamus going to WrestleMania as champion or even in the main event.

    Either way, it doesn’t look like Sheamus is there for the long haul, maybe just a longer one.

    The alliance with HHH suggests the WWE are investing in him, but that may well be wide of the mark from Creative, ignoring yet another opportunity to reinvent their product on the back of its immense pool of talent.

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