Sheamus is the Right champion to weather the storm
Now that Roman Reigns has become WWE’s new version of Daniel Bryan in his battle with The Authority, how long will it be before Sheamus loses his WWE World Title? Another question that needs to be asked is how soon after he returns to action will John Cena take on the Roman Empire for said title and the crowning of a new champion and era begins?
There were plenty of other angles that would have worked Sunday night and the fact we are sitting here on Wednesday discussing the outcome of an ending at Survivor Series that was all but delivered to us before the show started shows me how far this company has fallen.
Hard Times, as Dusty Rhodes would have said.
Now that Triple H and his goons – meaning Sheamus and Rusev – are out to make life hell for Reigns and anyone else who might get in their way, the stage is set for another conquering hero to best Triple H in a quest to control the company.
This time, the challenger is bigger, stronger and less popular than the uber exciting Bryan.
I wonder if Wade Barrett joins his loosely associated mates for an unholy trinity of former jobbers. What the win for Sheamus did was twofold. He cashed in the Money in the Bank contract successfully, and it gave him instant credibility as a heel champion.
And it took him five minutes to cash in, not 18 seconds as he did at WrestleMania with Daniel Bryan.
Alfred Konuwa of Forbes.com has a point when he said in his most recent column that Sheamus has a chance to be an even better heel that Seth Rollins. While Rollins was every bit as good as advertised, I think the difference in the two lies in the face Rollins was a “cool” champion, a former shield member who was exciting in the ring, had legions of fans who still liked him from his days with The Shield.
And he, like John Cena and Reigns, has his detractors as well as supporters.
“If WWE was searching for Seth Rollins’ replacement, they found an upgrade. There’s nothing cute or ironic about Sheamus the antagonist. He’s just an undeserving bad guy who will increase the demand for a babyface to dethrone him,” he said.
Sheamus is the right choice to run with this title until Vince McMahon and Triple H can figure out what to do with Reigns simply because fans hate the idea right now of him carrying the company belt on his shoulder and proclaiming himself to be the best there is.
If that is the case, then I have two words for you and they start with a “B” and an “S”.
Because Reigns was still sitting on the fence with the fans over whether they would accept him as their leader, Sheamus comes in, steals the show and a dejected superstar has to dust himself off again and start over. It’s the perfect foil to a game plan gone astray.
Could it have been better? Yes. Could another ending made things easier to swallow? Yes, a Dean Ambrose heel turn would have been more logical. Logic, however, has nothing to do with ratings and falling attendance numbers, poor crowd support and a desire to get back to finding a true heel champion that a babyface like Reigns can dethrone, thus reclaiming the popularity vote.
Now, if Reigns fights Triple H and the henchmen, he wins the title and the glory and the fan base. And in this instance, a move to make Sheamus the world champion makes more sense because climbing the mountain once and achieving glory is good.
Climbing it a second time and winning everyone over makes Reigns the champion Vince McMahon wants him to be.