YMMV / Sheamus

• Awesome Music: Both of his themes.
  • "Written in My Face", mocking false lyrics aside.
  • "Hellfire", the hellacious mix of rock and Celtic music that also got used as the entrance music for The Bar and, later, The Brawling Brutes.
• Badass Decay:
  • He started out as an uber heel that murdered everyone, beat John Cena for the WWE Championship, "retired" Triple H and dominated most people he's been up against, as soon as he won the championship a second time he's really started to loose all the badass cred, Randy Orton punked him out whenever they faced each other (to this day Sheamus has never beaten Orton), he ran from The Nexus, hell, The Miz kicked his ass.
  • He fell into this again in 2015, which got even worse when he won the Money in the Bank briefcase. He was basically losing all his feuds, had no storyline direction, and was jobbing to midcard matches in some vein hope that the fans would forget about him to make his cash-in more shocking (instead, all it did was make them actively dread it, having seen this play one too many times). This was one of the main arguments the IWC made against Sheamus being champion in the first place, especially in comparison to Reigns, who's been booked like he's the second coming of John Cena. Sheamus has lost so much credibility that the fans have a hard time taking him as a serious threat to Reigns, while Reigns' character is bland and stale; there's effectively no reason to care about this feud at all.
• Base-Breaking Character: Half the IWC thinks he's a versatile power man who's good on the mic, and the other half thinks he's one-dimensional and boring. There is no middle ground.
• Creator's Pet:
  • Judged by his detractors to be one, due in large part to his well-known Real Life friendship with Triple H. It got worse after the Squash Match in which he got the title. Ironically, years later he got vindicated when Daniel Bryan revealed in his book that both of them hated the decision, having wanted to redeem themselves for getting kicked off the show the previous WM, and that in no way was Hunter responsible for what happened — it was rumored Dunn mucked around with the match to screw them both over.
  • Went away after dropping the World Heavyweight Championship in Hell in a Cell 2012, but returned with a vengeance after he won the 2015 Money in the Bank contract despite being, arguably, the least popular man in the match and the one with the least storyline direction (and no appropriate build up). With the title scene already rather packed with Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, and Brock Lesnar many feel Sheamus just does not belong in the title scene and the briefcase ensures he will be there for a long while (unless he pulls an early cash in attempt).
  • Then he won the Championship by beating Roman Reigns after the latter had went through an entire tournament to win it. Many fans were not pleased at all. In fact, many members of the IWC outright stated they would've preferred Reigns to have his big face win and foil his cash-in attempt, and Reigns hasn't been on the IWC's good side in a long time (though in regards to the performer, they've been more sympathetic). The cash-in, as many point out, rendered the entire tournament pointless other than trying to make us sorry for Reigns's character (the only thing they're sorry for is that Reigns got stuck with such a bad character in the first place). Others feel Sheamus should've never won the briefcase, as he has largely been regarded as irrelevant for years now, which his booking after the win reflected, in some desperate hope we'd forget about him to make his cash-in more shocking. The fans never did, actively dreading it since they wanted him to be champion even less than they wanted Reigns to be a (face) champion. A part of that was the fact that this was the third heel champion in a row (since Reigns' reign was so short it might as well have been nonexistent) and a face champion would have been a refreshing change of pace. The company had been pushing Reigns to win the title for practically the entire year, and many were willing to just stop fighting it and let him have the title and see how he'll do, hoping it would give him the chance spice up his bland face character or, for the most cynical, allow him to crash and burn on his own so that way the company could either turn him heel or move on to someone else. Sheamus winning it turned him into The Scrappy again, while the company's reputation worsened to the point that fans were outright demanding that Vince step down. The only silver lining anyone can find in this is that they finally got it over with so we no longer have to worry about it.
• Designated Hero:
  • If one really looks at his actions and attitude toward opponents since the buildup for his World Heavyweight Championship match against Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania started, continuing past the controversial way he won that title match all the way into his four months thus far as champion, one can't be blamed for seeing Sheamus's character as a monster heel being sold as a babyface through the power of Be a Star.
  • Many people also consider his face character to be this all-around. In any actual feuds, Sheamus usually isn't that much more morally right than his heel opponents, and will sometimes attack his opponents mostly or entirely unprovoked.
• Ensemble Dark Horse: While for the longest time either not really cared about or outright hated, he started to gain many more fans around 2021 during his feud with Drew McIntyre. The two of them would put on excellent match after excellent match, and many fans started to notice that not only was Sheamus actually able to put on a lot of great matches, but was also very safe and professional. This even got to the point that some fans said they wouldn't mind seeing him get one last world title run.
  • This was brought up to 11 following his match with Gunther at Clash at the Castle, which was one of the most hard-hitting matches in recent memory. It was so beloved that after the match, the crowd gave Sheamus a standing ovation, and many fans realized that Sheamus was actually damn good.
• Fashion-Victim Villain: His return as a heel following WrestleMania 31: for some the large red mohawk and braided beard are too silly looking to be taken seriously as a threat, to the extent that the debut of the new look led to the crowd starting a "You look stupid!" chant that still continues as of late 2015.
• Fan Nickname:
  • "Lobster Head". His song goes "It's a shameful thing/You lost your head" (not "Lobster Head"). Although, given his hair color, this one was almost too easy.
  • Also, Beaker. Thanks for that, Edge.
  • Older Than They Think - Sheamus used the h in his name even in his native Ireland.
• Fridge Logic: The commentators regularly state that growing up, Sheamus was bullied for having pale skin and red hair. Aside from only stating this because he's now the face of the Be A Star anti-bullying campaign (which in itself is Fridge Logic because his character started out as a notorious bully and even as a face has the Hair-Trigger Temper to pass as one), Sheamus is from Ireland, with a great many Irish people having red hair and pale skin.
• Growing the Beard: It took a long time to happen, one which amusingly coincided with Sheamus becoming progressively beardier in the literal sense, but 2022 saw a literally five-star feud with Gunther finally bring the then 44-year-old Sheamus to his niche in the roster after almost fifteen years: an upper midcard to lower main event brawler with a prickly personality and a love for a good fight, an extremely limited but extremely impactful moveset, and most importantly a complete unwillingness to quit or back down.
• Heartwarming Moments:
  • While WWE was in Dublin, Sheamus' hometown, John Cena handed over the WWE Championship to him after praising him for coming a long way from being a security guard for WWE (one that got Pedigreed by Triple H, even). Sheamus promptly puts the WWE Championship down in the ring, and claims it's for everyone in Ireland. The crowd chanting "S.O.S." from Sheamus O'Shaunessy, the name he used in Irish Whip Wrestling just makes it even more special. Can be viewed here.
  • Cesaro said on the Talk is Jericho podcast that Sheamus stayed awake for 24 hours, having to had to go through a long plane ride from Ireland to the next PPV Extreme Rules, which he then had to make a long episode of Ride Along with his partner Cesaro after the show, meaning he had little to no time rest at all. Why did he go through this long day? He was not missing his sister's wedding in Ireland.
  • After his match with Gunther at Clash at the Castle, in which Sheamus was unsuccessful in winning the Intercontinental Championship, the crowd gave him a standing ovation for his efforts. The look in Sheamus' eyes showed how touched he was and thanked them for it. He would later state that this moment was his greatest moment in his 13 year career.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: On the 2011 WrestleMania Revenge Tour in Europe, Sheamus faced Daniel Bryan (for the US Championship) - and worked as a face for the Dublin show. Although A Hero to His Hometown would obviously come into play, the idea of Daniel Bryan getting X-Pac Heat against Sheamus is kind of hilarious. See next entry.
• Memetic Molester:
  • Sheamus will rip your head off and fuck your girlfriend.
  • He's just a shark circling an empty butt hole.
• Memetic Mutation

  "It's a shameful thing, lobster head! A careless man who died of bread! You share with friends like they're some kind of fries! Too many limes! Two men in lines!"

  • "You look stupid!"
  • "BANGER AFTER BANGER AFTER BANGER AFTER BANGER AFTER-" ^explanation Often yelled by the Brawling Brutes after their victories, and commonly tweeted by Sheamus himself. This quickly caught on not only due to the consistently high quality of their matches in 2022, but as a general phrase to describe anything cool or exciting, in wrestling or otherwise.
• Misblamed: He's been forced to endure some vicious booing for that booking decision in the week(s) directly following Wrestlemania - for a booking decision that wasn't his fault, natch. The whole incident came dangerously close to derailing his title run, but thankfully it's mostly gone after he faced Daniel Bryan at Extreme Rules in a two out of three falls rematch and worked his ass off, keeping up with Bryan in a well received match. He got further relieved from the blame years later when Bryan revealed in his book that both of them were pissed off with the decision, as they had wanted to redeem themselves from the previous WM where their match got kicked off the show. It also helps that many sources point this debacle to Kevin Dunn who, reportedly, dislikes both of them.
• Narm: When he debuted his new look in 2015, many fans were of the opinion that he looked ridiculous, and weren't shy about making it known on the night. Sheamus then acted like he was reveling in the fans' hatred of him, daring them to chant insults at him, you know, classic Heel maneuver. But this doesn't really work when the crowd is audibly screaming "YOU LOOK STUPID!" at you over and over.
• Replacement Scrappy: During late 2015, he became this for all three former members of The Shield. Simultaneously. He's this for Seth Rollins as the new Authority-sponsored champion, as Rollins was not only more over, but also more entertaining, more interesting, and a better worker. He's this for Roman Reigns as everyone wanted him to be the new "corporate champion" instead thanks to the Reality Subtext that the company refuses to acknowledge, with everyone perfectly aware that Sheamus is a transitional champion who only has the title because Vince didn't want Reigns to get booed when he became the face of the company. And he's this for Dean Ambrose as it was Ambrose everyone wanted Reigns to feud with, especially after Rollins got injured and put a kibosh on the Rollins/Reigns feud, even if it meant Ambrose had to be the one to turn heel despite being the most over face on the roster not named Daniel Bryan. Sheamus isn't fighting a losing battle in trying to get over with the fans — the battle was lost before it even began.
  • An interesting example would be his theme song as of 2015, "Hellfire". While generally a well-liked theme, it does irk a lot of fans for replacing his popular "Written in my Face" theme.
• Rescued from the Scrappy Heap:
  • Started to get a bit more respect for his ring work around the time of his program with Triple H (though was still seen as something of a Creator's Pet). He really got more fans with his Heel–Face Turn in 2011.
  • His partnership with Cesaro rescued both of them (or at least Sheamus, as Cesaro was a longtime Ensemble Dark Horse).
  • While he wasn't at the level of decay like he was years before, and had stellar programs with Drew McIntyre, not many people were seeing Sheamus as serious as he once was by the fans. His match with Gunther at Clash at the Castle, however, all but rejuvenated his career and fan interest to the point he went from heel to face in one match, with the crowd fully getting behind him once again, all through his sheer grit.
• Ships That Pass in the Night: They've never interacted on camera, but, for obvious reasons, people seem to like to pair him off with Paige in a hypothetical "My gosh, how pale would their kids be" kind of way.
• Signature Scene: For better or worse, Sheamus may be remembered primarily for two points in his career:
  • For the worse: his 18-second Squash Match victory against Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania 28, a representation of everything wrong-headed about WWE's treatment of Bryan and transparent favoritism towards the far less over wrestler.
  • For the much better: His five-star face-off against GUNTHER for the Intercontinental Championship at Clash At The Castle 2022, considered by many to be the best match of his career, and a point where wrestling fans everywhere began giving him his due as one of the greats.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot:
  • Or name, rather. Considering Sheamus is referred to as "The Celtic Warrior" and his finisher is a Crucifix Powerbomb, it's a damn shame Finlay called his Finishing Move the Celtic Cross. Notably, no one seems to know what to call this move. Sometimes Cole will call it the "Celtic Cross". The next week, it'll be the "High Cross." Before either of those, the move was briefly called "Pale Justice", which arguably might fit better now than either of the first two, given Sheamus' later "Great White" Red Baron and his status as a Face. Afterwards the announcers seemed to be settling on "Celtic Cross". Ironically, after all that Sheamus added to his moveset the finisher that Finlay calls the "Celtic Cross." Only, for Sheamus, it's called "White Noise."
  • A more literal example of the trope: Sheamus got himself into one of those "your Finishing Move is banned" scenarios with a Rules Lawyer-ing Alberto Del Rio. Sheamus even began using a new submission finisher around this time to foreshadow and then 'sell' the ban. But when the time came for the match, perhaps finding out that Del Rio's sidekick was overselling the injuries to his neck, Booker T reinstated the Brogue Kick, rendering the whole plotline null and void.
• X-Pac Heat: Very much so after winning the world title at Survivor Series 2015. Most of the fanbase instantly were against the decision due to the fact that Sheamus has been pushed many times before and every single time he failed to get over enough to justify a world title reign. Granted the booking doesn't help but everybody on the roster has to contend with that and the reality of the situation is the nosedive in ratings following the event can be partially (but not entirely) linked to Sheamus as champion. Reigns, the guy he cashed in on, may have had a terrible character, but he was a fresh face and had proven he can get over organically if given decent enough booking and the right character, enough to justify him being champion. Sheamus, however, aside from a decent peak in popularity following his initial Heel–Face Turn, was often considered upper midcard, lower main event at best. The only title reigns Sheamus ever had that were noticeable were his first one due to how soon he got it after being on the main roster for at most six months and having just been drafted to RAW (it was a tables match, and he somehow managed to push John Cena through one), and his third world title due to the aftermath (the infamous 18-second squash match that led to Daniel Bryan and A.J. Lee's push, the formation of Team Hell No, and Bryan / AJ becoming the most popular male / female wrestler since Stone Cold and The Rock / Lita and Trish respectively).