SmackDown star says he received main roster call-up because John Cena needed a new WWE opponent

According to Sheamus, the conclusion of John Cena’s feud with Randy Orton is what led to his earlier-than-expected main roster call-up and WWE Championship victory.

The Celtic Warrior debuted on the October 26, 2009, episode of RAW after just four months on the ECW brand. Seven weeks later, he produced a huge upset by defeating Cena at TLC 2009 for the WWE Championship.

On Corey Graves’ “After The Bell” podcast, the 44-year-old recalled how WWE’s higher-ups decided the time was right for his promotion to the main stage:

“John and Randy were looking for new opponents,” Sheamus said. “Randy still a heel and John the top babyface in WWE. Everything else had been exhausted. It was a fresh opponent for John, someone that was a realistic opponent, someone that could push him to the limit, and that’s what happened.”

(12/13/09) On This Day 1️⃣2️⃣ years ago, Sheamus defeated John Cena in a Tables Match to win the #WWE Championship at TLC! 🎈🏆 https://t.co/IdkfSx2A3Q

Sheamus held the WWE Championship for 70 days before losing it back to John Cena at Elimination Chamber 2010. In addition to three overall WWE Championship victories, the Irishman went on to hold the World Heavyweight Championship once.

Sheamus’ win over John Cena led to some resentment from fans

Many WWE fans disliked the manner of Sheamus’ win over John Cena. While the title change created a memorable moment, some felt that his WWE Championship triumph came too early in his main roster career.

12/13/2009

Sheamus defeated John Cena in a Tables Match to win the WWE Championship at #TLC from the ATT Center in #WWESanAntonio, Texas.

#Sheamus #CelticWarrior #BrogueTown #BrogueKick #JohnCena #Cenation #HustleLoyaltyRespect #TheChampIsHere #WWE #WWETitle #WWEHistory https://t.co/oD6bHbCf61

The current SmackDown star knew that fans disliked his title success. However, given that he was a bad guy at the time, negative fan reactions were not necessarily a bad thing:

“If they don’t feel like they’re behind a push, especially as a babyface, and they’re not behind that and it’s forced, they’re gonna kick back against it,” Sheamus added. “When I was a heel, that was my job. I didn’t give a s**t. I wasn’t out there to win the crowd [over]. I was there for those people to hate me and make a name for myself and win as many championships as possible.”

Sheamus now performs as a babyface on SmackDown alongside his fellow Brawling Brutes, Butch and Ridge Holland. The Irish star recently received rave reviews for his performance against Gunther at Clash at the Castle.

What is your favorite WWE moment involving Sheamus? Let us know in the comments section.

Please credit “After The Bell” and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.