Sheamus may be gone from WWE, but not everyone in the company was ready to let him walk.
WrestleVotes learned that an unnamed high-level member of the WWE office went to TKO and “went to bat” for Sheamus. That person pushed the value Sheamus still brings to WWE, and the argument was not limited to what he can do in the ring.
That is the real twist here. Sheamus’ exit has been tied to money, but this makes it clear that at least one powerful person inside WWE believed the company should still value him.
A person close to Sheamus also believes he would be open to competing for AEW, even on a short-term basis, as long as the right situation came along. That does not mean anything is locked in, but it does make the next chapter a lot more interesting.
Sheamus had been with WWE for nearly two decades. He became WWE Champion, won the Royal Rumble, King of the Ring, Money in the Bank, and carved out the kind of career very few wrestlers ever touch. That is why the idea of someone in WWE going to TKO on his behalf should not shock anyone.
The contract side was only part of the story. While speaking at a Self Made Session, Self Made Pro claimed Sheamus had already soured on WWE Creative after he believed a major Intercontinental Championship direction was slipping away.
“I was told that Sheamus gave up on WWE Creative when Mania 40 wasn’t him chasing the IC Title. He was of the belief that there was going to be something with him and Braun for Mania 41 IC belt, and they ended up doing that in early January and kind of moving past it.”
Self Made Pro also claimed Sheamus was taken off television despite being healthy, and that the frustration went beyond booking.
“He was kind of just taken off TV for no reason.”
The communication issue was said to be part of a bigger shift that other veterans noticed too. Self Made Pro claimed Sheamus, The New Day, and other longtime names saw a real change in how the office handled veteran talent.
“Him and The New Day and a number of other veterans realized that things had really changed significantly, not just in terms of their usage but also communication with the office. It became even harder to just get Triple H on hold for conversations.”
Sheamus was also said to have missed several TV tapings despite being healthy, with little explanation given.
“Sheamus was not called to a number of TVs that he was healthy for, which is very odd. And it was very minimal communication as to why. At that point, I was told that he knew, like, ‘All right, creative is just cooked. It is what it is.’”
Even then, the claim was that Sheamus was willing to ride things out if the money stayed right. That changed when WWE came to him with a reworked offer for less money.
“It wasn’t like one of those things where he knew that and went, ‘I want my release.’ It was just like, ‘Okay, I now mentally accept this is what it is now and creative sucks.’ For Sheamus, as long as the money wasn’t affected, he was going to just ride it out even though he knew things were bad. Obviously now the money was affected because they asked him to take a cut.”
That lines up with the larger belief that TKO is handling WWE contracts more like a sports franchise. Older talent on bigger deals may not automatically get the same money if the company no longer sees them as top-use talent.
Still, the fact that someone high up in WWE went to bat for Sheamus tells a different side of the story. He may have been phased down creatively, and he may have turned down less money, but at least one major voice in the office knew what he still meant to the company.
Do you think WWE made a mistake letting Sheamus walk, or is AEW the better move for him now? Drop your thoughts in the comments and let us know.
