The Piledriver Report 09.02.10: I Was Wrong

Posted by Ronny Sarnecky on 09.02.2010

Most people like to voice their opinions throughout the internet on every subject imaginable. What you never see is a retraction when an internet writer is wrong. In this week’s “Piledriver Report,” I go against the grain, and do something that few on the world wide web rarely do. I admit that I was wrong. About what? You’ll see.

TAKING A LOOK AT THE PAST



You are about to read something that you don't normally read on the Internet. As an Internet writer, I must admit that I was wrong. In the December 16th edition of "The Piledriver Report," I wrote the following:

"Without question, Sheamus has got to be the worst performer to ever hold the WWE's top championship. While Sheamus has been wrestling professionally since 2002, the fans of the WWE were just introduced to him in June of this year when he debuted on "ECW" after a sixteen-month stint in the developmental Florida Championship Wrestling territory. Once arriving in ECW, Sheamus was nothing more then a mid-card performer. On October 26th, he debuted on RAW. In less then two months, he went from a mid-card RAW feud with Jamie Noble to the WWE World Championship.

While I'm all for the WWE pushing new stars into the main event level, I have an extremely hard time viewing Sheamus as the WWE World Champion. What has the WWE done to build up Sheamus? He beat up a mid-card wrestler, and an announcer. This isn't exactly Brock Lesnar beating Hulk Hogan to a bloody pulp in his ascension to the WWE World Championship. This has been a case of too fast, too soon.

We barely know Sheamus. It's not like we watched him as a main eventer in World Championship Wrestling for years, and the WWE signed him away from their rivals, and wanted to put the belt on him. In that scenario, we would have been familiar with Sheamus, and would already see him as a worthy contender.

Instead, we look at him as some guy who lucked into his spot. One question that needs to be asked is "why Sheamus?" Of all of the underutilized wrestlers in the WWE, why put the main championship on Sheamus? What does he have that the others don't? Is he a great worker? No. Does he cut killer promos? No. Does he have that special "it" factor that you can't teach? No. Is he insanely over or hated by the crowd? No. As a matter of fact, the WWE World title belt doesn't even look good around his waist. Right now, the only possible reason I can think of for putting the belt on Sheamus, as opposed to other talent that needs to be elevated, would be political. He is a workout partner of Triple H's. Sheamus is new. The WWE is looking to put a new guy on top. Why not Sheamus? As I'm sure Triple H gives him high marks, and he is one of the top power brokers in the company.

In five years, when I see the name "Sheamus" on the list of WWE World Champions, I may not blink. He may become one of the biggest names in the wrestling industry. However, until that time, the words "Sheamus: WWE World Champion" do not flow easily from my lips. Maybe, one day, they will. "


THE REALITY OF THE SITUATION

It didn't take five years for me to not blink upon seeing Sheamus on a list of WWE World Champions. In fact, it only took eight months. While I still stand by my opinion that the WWE gave Sheamus the belt too soon, it now has nothing to do with Sheamus not being ready or deserving of the spot. Looking back, I think the WWE should have given Sheamus a nice build to the title chase. Just look at the job the WWE is doing with The Miz. Each day that passes, I can't wait until The Miz cashes in the briefcase and wins the World title. Unfortunately, the WWE didn't take that path.

Instead, the WWE rushed the belt on Sheamus. Shocking to myself, the WWE knew exactly what they were doing. While Sheamus hasn't been in the WWE for a long period of time, that doesn't matter. As a professional, Sheamus has been plying his trade for over eight years. Surprisingly, he is thirty-two years old. Sheamus should be in the prime of his career. However, I do not see him in his prime. What I see is a wrestler who keeps getting better and better with every appearance.

At times, the WWE seems to be the land of cookie cutter wrestlers. Most have the same WWE haircut, and physique. Even the divas mostly all look the same. Then, we have Sheamus. The Irishman can't help but stand out. With Ivory snow skin, Sheamus sticks out from the tanning booth crowd that is the WWE roster. His appearance is unlike anything that we have ever seen in the WWF/E. I used to hate Sheamus' appearance. His pale skin, especially against the white ECW ropes was blinding. Now, it's a welcome site to me.

One of my criticisms regarding Sheamus was that he wasn't very good in the ring. Was I not paying attention to his matches in the past, or was the WWE holding Sheamus back? The reason I am asking this is because ever since Sheamus won his first WWE World championship, I can't remember when he had a bad match. Is Sheamus' more experienced opponents carrying him to have really good matches? Perhaps. Whether they are or aren't, Sheamus is more then holding his own against the mega-stars that the WWE has put in the ring with him. Just look back at his most recent match against Randy Orton at Summer Slam. That match had no business being good. Randy Orton is a weird babyface. At times, he has the crowd cheering his name. Other times, the crowd is silent when Randy Orton is in the ring, almost like the crowd doesn't know if they should boo or cheer him. After all, they have been booing Orton for years. Normally, heel vs. heel matches result in a dead crowd, because the fans aren't sure who to root for. That wasn't the only element that Orton and Sheamus had to possibly overcome in the match. The main obstacle was the match itself. Throughout most of the match, it felt like your standard Monday Night RAW contest. Then, all of a sudden, the Sheamus/Orton match turned out to be a really good match. This goes to show you just how far Sheamus has come in the past few months. A year ago, this match would have continued to feel like a RAW match, complete with the RAW ending. Instead, both men worked hard, and turned this into the second best match on the pay per view, despite the RAW ending.

Another negative I saw in Sheamus was his interview skills. This is probably the area where Sheamus has improved the most. His thick Irish accent could have been a deterent in the WWE. Before his latest run, it was a huge negative to me. I found his accent annoying, much like I currently do with Drew McIntyre's accent. However, Sheamus delivers his promos with such passion and strength. Every word out of his mouth seems extremely important. Today, I feel like if I miss a Sheamus promo, I have missed something important on the show. I love his intensity in his promos. You can truly believe that the character of "Sheamus" really believes in what lines that he is reciting. Sheamus' promos sound like a real old school tough guy wrestling promo. His promos are so much different when compared to most of the promos in the WWE. You have comedy promos from the likes of Santino, and the sometimes juvenline promos cut by Triple H and John Cena. Very few wrestlers in the WWE are given the opportunity to cut real wrestling promos. Sheamus cuts the type of promos that a champion and top star should cut. You don't hear Sheamus talk about another wrestler's "package." He never belittles other wrestlers to the point where it buries his opponents. When Sheamus talks, I now stop and listen.

MY BAD



After watching the last eight months of Sheamus' ascension to the main events, I believe he deserves his spot on the WWE food chain. He didn't get there, because he is workout buddies with Triple H. He got there through hard work, and constant improvement. It's a position he earn, and I recognize this. For not seeing that sooner, I must say "I'm sorry."