The Ultimate Warrior: Interview with Sheamus (Issue 58; Sept 2010)

FSM: So, Sheamus, you’re over in the UK right now promoting SummerSlam - what memories do you have of it from the big events in the past?
Sheamus: I think everyone says that it’s part of big four WWE PPV’s but to me, SummerSlam is number two to WrestleMania. You know, we have the fan access this year like we do for WrestleMania so we really try and push SummerSlam. And yeah, I have a lot of good memories from the event; the one that sticks out was at Wembley Stadium which had Bret Hart and Davey Boy Smith. Then there was the one with the Mega Powers against Ted DiBiase and Andre the Giant… I like that one too. More recently, I really enjoyed the 1998 event with Undertaker and Austin too. I think this year, though, could be one the best SummerSlams, ‘cos for a while there it’s been a lot of the same matches and faces off. But with myself, Nexus, Kofi Kingston, Dolph Ziggler and others, there’s a lot of excitement for a lot of new guys – it’s making the product fresh.

You mentioned the 1992 event at Wembley… could you ever foresee another PPV talking place in the UK?
It’s a great idea; the only problem I can see is the time difference and how they would deal with that. It would be very popular though – we do TV tapings in London, plus we’re doing Manchester this November and the events are always sold out, as are the normal live events. The TVs over here are always special and I think people would be jumping over each other to get tickets for a PPV. I’d be well behind it though, if the time issue could be resolved…

Unbelievably, this is your first SummerSlam and yet you go in as two-time WWE Champion. Did you ever think you’d come so far in just a short space of time?
I always thought I’d be a WWE Champion and I knew that once I was given the opportunity, I’d take it. The opportunity definitely came quicker than I thought, but I’ve taken that and ran with it. A lot of things were said about my first reign, but now I’ve won it a second time I’ve been able to shove it down people’s throats and prove the doubters wrong. I came here to be successful and right now, I feel on top of the world.

Do you think your unique look has helped your progress? Were you at all concerned that you may need to change it to fit in on the American scene?
It’s without doubt one of the keys to me being noticed. I was trying to be like everyone else for a while, with the fake tan and a shaved head and just trying to be the same. But I realised all these lads were tanned-up with the same hairstyles and similar outfits, and I don’t naturally look like them. So I stopped trying and became myself, embraced my skintone and the red hair. It took me a while to cotton on, but now I have a look unlike anyone else and it’s worked in my favour.

You did a documentary about your red hair for Irish TV, didn’t you?
Yeah, I did a program with an independent studio in Ireland. It was all about the ginger gene and how it was dying out. It was a lot of fun. I did an interview on the Hill Of Tara, which is an old Celtic lookout. There’s a historic significance there: when the invaders were coming across, they’d have a clear view of Dublin for miles and miles.

And as a proud Irishman, how does it feel be the first ever Irish WWE Champion?
Not even Irish, but first European champion! It’s special, you know… you go out there and you have a dream and achieve it, and that’s what’s it all about. There’s so much competition right now coming through especially with the Nexus and guys like Kofi. I need to make sure I hold on to the title and stay the best.

How was the reaction from the Irish crowd on your last tour? Did you get a hero’s welcome?
It was pretty mixed, actually. There were a lot of die-hard fans there who support their own, but there were a lot of cheers for John Cena who I wrestled. It was a mixed reaction, but we had a good bout and knocked lumps out of each other and were pretty battered and bruised! It was great to go back home as the first ever Irish born champion though… really special, fella.

Was there ever a worry that with you being an star from Ireland, you'd have been given a gimmick similar to someone like Finlay?
I wanted to bring a different approach, Finlay was already doing the fighting Irishman gimmick with the shillelagh and he had Hornswoggle, which was great. It worked for him, and I just have tons of respect for Finlay for everything he’s achieved. I kind of look up to him. But in another way, I wanted something completely different; I wanted to get rid of the stereotypes and bring a more positive image, and back in the day the Celtic Warriors were the most feared warriors in Europe, which is the style I bring to WWE. It’s more like me. I think most successful WWE Superstars are just being themselves but with the volume turned up, letting loose a bit more in the ring. You just go a bit crazy, which I like to do. I’ve never tried to be something I’m not and I think that’s part of why I’m so successful. I’m not trying to be this character or that character – it’s just me, let loose and with no restrictions.

Along with Drew McIntyre and Wade Barrett, you’re one of a trio of British and Irish stars who’ve broken out in WWE in the past year - what do you put that down to?
We’re determined and we know what we want, which is why we’ve succeeded. We’ve all been fans of WWE since we were young and we’re now we are living the dream of being part of it… it’s down to hard work and the desire to succeed. Not to say that there aren’t others like us in WWE, but maybe as UK stars we have a different mentality; we work hard and know what we want, I don’t want to generalise nationalities but maybe that’s had something to do with how successful we’ve been and so quickly.

We actually spoke to Wade Barrett a couple of months ago and said he’d love to bring the feuds he had with you and Drew in the UK into WWE. Would that be something you’d like to see in the future?
I think after a while, there’s a lot of different feuds and angles you can have in WWE and there’re only so many times you can face the same person. So yeah, it be great to face either Wade or Drew. Back when we were all part of All Star Wrestling, we were competing in front of crowds of 20 to 200 people so to do it in front of a WWE audience knowing we worked our backsides off to get here would be something. Whether it be Raw, Smackdown or at a pay-per-view, that would be a dream come true.

How about a triple-threat at WrestleMania?
[Smiles wide] Oh, it be special, but It wouldn’t be pretty! There’d be a lot of bruises coming out of that one! Scots, Irish and English… that would be fun! But they’ve both done really well, Drew’s been Intercontinental champion and Wade’s leading the Nexus against team Raw, so that’s massive for him. So be great to do something with them at some point down the road.

You all wrestled on the British scene – do you still keep up to date with what’s going on over here?
I try to. There’s a guy called Martin Stone who’s a friend of mine and he’s trying to break his way through and move up, so I try to keep up with him. But it’s hard – we are on the road and in the gym and then there’re the live events, so I don’t get as much time as I’d like. I get to call the family as much as I can, which is important. But don’t get me wrong; this is the best job in the world and wouldn’t change a thing.

Has wrestling been something you always wanted to do?
The ultimate goal was always being in WWE and become a WWE champion. That’s always been my dream since I was a kid, ever since I was watching on Sky1, which was a brand new channel back then. I grew up watching World Of Sport with Finlay, Regal, Doug Williams and those guys — and most of them went to the US. Then Sky1 came in and when WWE came in, it just blew me away. All these characters like Randy Savage, Ricky ‘The Dragon’ Steamboat, Million Dollar Man… it’s always what I wanted to do.

Now you’ve got your chance to do so, who’s been the toughest opponent so far in your WWE career?
John Cena and Triple H are tough. They’re top-notch, they’re people who I’ve feuded with already and they really are tough guys. I enjoyed wrestling Triple H. I had always grown up supporting the bad guys like Ted DiBiase and Mr Perfect, and Triple H was another bad guy I’ve admired for a long time - especially in the Nineties. He was aggressive and vicious and I loved how nasty he could be, so it was great to have a big feud with him.

It must have been special for you to then wrestle him at your first ever WrestleMania…
Yeah, it was off the chart. The buzz around WrestleMania is amazing, crazy and doesn’t hit you until you get there. In the weeks leading up to it, there is so much going on that there’s no time to think about it. You have media, fan access, the Hall Of Fame and you just go along for the ride. But once you walk out in front of 80,000 people, it’s unbelievable - I’m not ashamed to say my knees went a bit nobly at that point. It was the best experience of my life.

Away from wrestling, what do you like to get up to when you have some downtime?
There’s not much time, to be honest – usually, I’m just lying on the couch healing the wounds! But I do like to keep up do date with the sports in Ireland, like Rugby as I used to play…

Were you any good?
I was great, an amazing rugby player! I also like the Premier League, it’s exciting and I watched the World Cup.

What about getting into films? You did some acting before you were in WWE, so would you like to make a WWE film at some point like John Cena and Ted DiBiase?
Yeah! I’ve been in a few films back in Ireland, mainly small roles - the last one was called The Escapist – and they were a lot fun. Right now, WWE films is growing and they’re doing a lot more films, with different superstars, so I’ll be honest, it’d be great to do that sometime down the road. Right now though, all I’m concerned with is staying WWE Champion. But maybe somewhere along the road…

Finally then, what would you say is the best thing about being a WWE superstar?
Walking out at those live events in front of all those people, definitely. Just to be involved and listen to them boo me and bring their signs that say ‘Jar Of Mayonnaise’ or or ‘Ronald McDonald’! I can’t explain the feeling, knowing that your the focus of everyone in that arena… it’s special, really special. Now I just need to carry on and become the greatest superstar and greatest champion of all time - that’s the goal. Simple as that, fella.