"Dead in the water" - Sheamus disliked fellow WWE Superstar's character change
Sheamus has given his honest thoughts on the disappointing WWE storyline he was given upon his return in January 2020.
The 44-year-old suffered a concussion on the post-WrestleMania 35 episode of SmackDown in April 2019. He missed nine months of in-ring action before feuding with Chad Gable ahead of the 2020 Royal Rumble. Gable’s character at the time, Shorty G, revolved around rivals mocking him due to his height.
On Corey Graves’ “After The Bell” podcast, Sheamus recalled how Gable’s gimmick was never going to appeal to fans. He also felt that his televised return to in-ring competition should have been booked better:
“I felt I deserved to come back on the big stage after everything I’ve done in my career, so I came back and obviously then I’m in the Rumble, but then I’m wrestling Shorty G, an incredible talent,” Sheamus said. “He’s really running himself now, he’s being himself, he’s enjoying it, he’s got the shush thing, back to who Chad Gable really is. But that Shorty G thing was absolutely dead in the water before it even started.”
The #CelticWarrior @WWESheamus made an emphatic return to action on #RoyalRumble Kickoff by defeating @WWEGable. wwe.com/shows/royalrum… https://t.co/pu0aVmQj66
The former WWE Champion’s win over Shorty G was moved from the Royal Rumble main card to the kickoff show. To make matters worse, most fans missed the 12-minute match due to issues entering the Minute Maid Park stadium in Houston, Texas.
Sheamus also had a problem with his match against Andrade
A week before his televised in-ring return, Sheamus defeated Andrade at an event in London, England, to celebrate BT Sport’s new contract with WWE.
a shining example.. #letyoursoulglow #ibringyoulove https://t.co/NllZXNJRP5
The Celtic Warrior was initially pleased with his character’s presentation after he filmed vignettes to hype his comeback. However, he was left underwhelmed by his booking against Andrade and Shorty G:
“It [vignettes] created a lot of stir at the beginning but then it just faded out,” Sheamus stated. “Even before the time the Rumble came when I actually got back in the ring, the Shorty G thing, I was told to go over to BT and I had a match with Andrade in the BT arena because we just signed a deal with them. It was a complete, massive, massive letdown return.”
The WWE veteran recently turned babyface alongside his Brawling Brutes stablemates, Butch and Ridge Holland. The English duo will challenge The Usos for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship on Friday’s episode of SmackDown.
What did you make of the Irishman's return in 2020? Let us know in the comments section.
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