Former World Heavyweight Champion expected to be back in WWE after nearly 5-month absence - Reports
As the 2024 Royal Rumble draws closer, WWE is going all out to generate buzz for the first stop on The Road to WrestleMania.
While the return of CM Punk and Randy Orton in recent months has bolstered the roster, quite a few names are still missing from TV. The most notable name among them is former World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus.
The Celtic Warrior was last seen on television when he lost to Edge (aka Adam Copeland) in his farewell match on the August 18 episode of SmackDown. Since then, he's said to be recuperating from a shoulder injury.
However, a new report has now shed light on the timeline of his return. According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Sheamus is "expected" to be back on television over the next few weeks.
The Irishman was previously speculated to reunite with Butch in his war against Pretty Deadly. However, that didn't happen as Butch and Tyler Bate reformed The British Strong Style on the New Year's Revolution edition of SmackDown.
Meanwhile, Sheamus isn't returning alone. Meltzer also learned the same return timeline for Xavier Woods, who has been out of action since the November 27 edition of Monday Night RAW.
Sheamus wants to achieve two things in WWE before calling it quits
Speaking on the Virgin Media Sports Stories, Sheamus revealed that he hopes to win the Intercontinental Championship and headline The Showcase of the Immortals before riding off into the sunset:
"The IC Title. That's it. I want to main event WrestleMania too. I want to main event WrestleMania as well, that's another one. The IC Title and main event WrestleMania [are] the two things I want to do. I should have main evented WrestleMania last year. It should have gone on last. It stole the show at WrestleMania. Nothing came close, match-wise, the match me, Gunther, and Drew had. I knew that was always going to be the case. I was so close (to capturing title) at 'Mania, and it just got taken away from me,"
With the WWE Royal Rumble on the horizon, it's almost a foregone conclusion that The Celtic Warrior could be one of the entrants in the 30-man match. Will he become a two-time Royal Rumble winner? Only time will tell.
Who do you want Sheamus to face upon his return to WWE? Sound off in the comments section below.