Sheamus discusses his first WWE Championship.
In just his second appearance on a WWE pay-per-view, Sheamus defeated John Cena in a tables match to win the WWE Championship. Since that December night in 2009, Sheamus has been one of the top stars in WWE for the last decade, accomplishing nearly all there is to accomplish as a WWE superstar. But the early success came with a price in the locker room.
"The backlash I got over [winning the WWE Title] was insane," Sheamus said on the Edge & Christian Pod of Awesomeness. "So many of the boys at the time were so pissed off. I don't blame them. I started at the top and worked my way down. It was insane. I went into the match, Arn [Anderson] was producing and they're like, 'John [Cena] is retaining.' Okay, no worries. I'm in a WWE Title match in my second pay-per-view. It was a sink or swim type deal. At the end of the match, I was holding the WWE Championship. It was insane. You dream about getting to WWE your whole life, and you get there, and five months later, I went from ECW to Raw, had a match with Jamie Noble that management hated. All of a sudden, I'm in the breakthrough battle royal then in the ring with Jesse Ventura then beating John Cena for the title. It was insane."
Shortly after his WWE Title victory, Sheamus stepped in the ring with Christian, who was the ECW Champion at the time. Christian revealed that he was never angry over Sheamus' early success and Sheamus credited Christian for getting them through their Champion vs. Champion bout.
"We had a match on Raw, and I remember, there was so many people in my ear, and you trying to put the match together and me being difficult because I was so stressed out the whole time," said Sheamus. "I was a fuckin' fish out of water. You were trying to put it together, and I was like, 'I gotta protect my side.' I remember you being stressed out because I wasn't easy to put that match together [with]. At the beginning, I was brand new and there was a million people in my head.
"There was so many different things coming at me. My mind was a popcorn machine. It's all experience and learning. Eventually, you push out the noise and gravitate towards people you know. Fit Finlay was a big one for me as a producer. I sat in with Fit a lot more after that. It was an interesting couple of months to begin and a serious, awesome ride."
Sheamus held the WWE Title for just over two months, losing the title back to Cena at Elimination Chamber 2010. Sheamus would go on to regain the WWE Title multiple times and earn other accolades such as winning Money in the Bank and King of the Ring.
But one belt that Sheamus has yet to strap around his waist is the Intercontinental Championship. You can read his thoughts on wanting the IC Title by clicking here.
If you use any of the quotes above, please credit Edge & Christian Pod of Awesomeness with a h/t to Fightful.
