Interview: Sheamus, up close

FOX Cities did an interview with WWE Superstar Sheamus about life, superstars and fun, here are the excerpts:

DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA – JULY 08: The Celtic Warrior Sheamus during the WWE Smackdown Live Tour at Westridge Park Tennis Stadium on July 08, 2011 in Durban, South Africa.

When fans started to take him seriously: “It was the first couple of months. I won the Breakthrough Battle Royal (in 2009) and just thinking about it now, I think it was when I became WWE champion. There was no choice but to take me seriously because I also had that tables match with John Cena and I think people were like, he’s never going to beat Cena and when I did, everyone was like, what the hell? Everyone was just stunned. I think that’s when people realized this is going to be a major player here.”

Wrestlers who have helped his career: “The biggest match I had at that time in my career was against D-Lo Brown because he’s a former WWE superstar and that’s where I wanted to be, so that was a huge deal for me. I remember being pretty nervous. When I went to England, I started getting some great experience and a guy called Robbie Brookside, who used to be William Regal’s old tag partner, took me under his wing and kind of looked after me. He helped me along and it was just a great experience knowing him. Me and Drew McIntyre were also best mates. We wrestled a lot in Ireland, Scotland, Wales and after every match we had, we tried to make each one better and better. We’d change it up and it was just a great experience and we kept pushing each other.”

Which feud he’s enjoyed more – Daniel Bryan or The Big Show: “I really liked the Daniel Bryan feud. We’ve had so many matches. Don’t get me wrong, the feud I have with Big Show has been unbelievable and a lot of fun and each feud is special because you learn and you grow from each one. It’s like you never stop evolving, you never stop getting better and you’ve got to keep pushing yourself. They’re two completely different opponents. I guess I’ve kind of enjoyed them equally, but with Bryan, the way it sparked off was a great experience because we had the emotion from the crowd. It’s hard to pick, man. This one with Big Show has definitely been an experience for me. I’ve gotten knocked out a couple of times and I’ve lost my World Heavyweight Championship to him in that feud as well. He’s as physical as he’s ever been so it’s been great for both of us. Even though I lost, you can’t win them all.”

Most WWE superstars appear to go tanning and lather themselves with oil, but you don’t do that. Have you ever even tried tanning: “(laughs) I did when I was in Ireland. I shaved my head and tanned because I thought that’s what you were supposed to do to be a WWE superstar. Then I realized, why should I try to look like everybody else when I have a unique look myself. So I stopped doing that and just started being me. Using all that oil and that fake tan and all that stuff…It’s hard enough taking 20 minutes to get that hair of mine to stand up, so that would just really be too much for me. I’m glad I don’t have to tan and it definitely makes me stand out. It makes my character easily recognizable.”