The Irish Curse

The second part of my feature on Vince McMahon will be up here soon but, in the meantime, I thought I’d just say a few words about Sheamus. It seems to me that people are being very hard on the WWE’s decision to give Sheamus a shot at John Cena’s WWE Championship at TLC this month. Ever since Triple H let slip that he has been working out with the Irishman, people have been looking out for a conspiracy. What’s really baffling is that everyone has been in agreement for some time that the WWE need to be creating more stars, which means giving opportunities to new people. The moment they do just that with Sheamus, the same people instantly cry foul and say that WWE are elevating the wrong talent! Who’d want a job in WWE creative, eh? Talk about damned if you do and damned if you don’t!

I’ll admit, I’m prejudiced in favour of Sheamus. I’ve followed Sheamus O’Shaughnessy for years, ever since he was in Irish Whip Wrestling. I can well remember watching him wrestle a young Drew Galloway (now McIntyre) and thinking that these guys would one day be stars in the WWE. I followed Sheamus’ career through Florida, celebrated when he was called up to ECW and was ecstatic when he was moved to Raw.

Part of the problem, I suppose, is that Sheamus has got his opportunity so quickly that a lot of people don’t quite know what he is about yet. Obviously big and powerful, Sheamus is also very thoughtful about his role in the ring and his character. He can work as both babyface and heel although, like many, he seems to prefer the vicious bully villain character he currently has. You may have heard Michael Cole say on Raw last week that Sheamus “likes to pattern himself after the ancient Celtic warriors”. This was not just a throwaway line. On the British and Irish indie scene, Sheamus used to call himself the Irish Curse. He created a whole mythology, which you can read on his official website, about himself being an ancient Irish warrior, cursed to immortality and constantly battling an evil spirit creature called Bawn which was trying to possess him. I myself contributed a chapter to this story, in which Sheamus battled perhaps Ireland’s most famous hero, Cuchulain, the Hound of Ulster.

http://www.sosofficial.com/sosmyth02.shtml

The above link will take you straight to my chapter of the Sheamus myth, but I urge you to read chapter one if you’re interested as well. It should give you an idea of what Sheamus is all about. You can also listen to his old entrance music from Irish Whip Wrestling and find out lots about his earlier career. Now, bring on Cena. Altogether now, “Somebody’s gonna get punked out!”