Sheamus is one of the best superstars in WWE today, providing a legitimacy to matches that few others can match.
He began his wrestling career in Ireland with Irish Whip Wrestling, where he was a two-time Heavyweight Champion, before branching out to UK promotions such as All Star Wrestling and British Championship Wrestling.
Signing with WWE in 2006, Sheamus spent a few years in development before making his main roster debut in 2009. Since then, he has established himself as one of the company’s most dependable superstars, capturing WWE, World Heavyweight, US and Tag Titles amongst other achievements.
He is currently enjoying a bit of a career renaissance as the leader of the Brawling Brutes, feuding with Gunther and Imperium. The two stables will meet in a “Good Old Fashioned Donnybrook” match at Extreme Rules this Saturday in what should be a bruising encounter.
With all of this in mind, there might still be a few things about “The Celtic Warrior” that fans remain unaware of, so GiveMeSport takes you through 10 things you didn’t know about Sheamus…
He is fluent in Irish
Growing up in Dublin, the real-life Stephen Farrelly attended two Irish language speaking schools. As a result, he is fluent in his native tongue, which only adds to his moniker of “The Celtic Warrior.”
He was a bodyguard for several celebrities
Given his size, it is not too surprising that Sheamus found shift work as a bouncer at a popular celebrity nightclub in Dublin. On occasion, he acted as a bodyguard for the likes of Bono and Larry Mullen Jr. of U2 and actor Denise Van Outen.
Sheamus and Drew McIntyre are wrestling soulmates
He played rugby in college
Attending the National College of Ireland, Sheamus played rugby union for the college team. He has credited playing the sport with developing his renowned toughness and compared it to US wrestlers playing American Football in their youth.
The origin of his ring name
Originally known as Sheamus O’Shaunessy on the Irish and UK wrestling scene, the ring name was picked to move away from the Irish stereotypes of lucky charms and leprechauns. Instead, he drew on Irish mythology to develop the character that has served him so well.
His history with Drew McIntyre
Sheamus and Drew McIntyre first wrestled in 2006 at Irish Whip Wrestling, where they were embroiled in a lengthy feud over the company’s heavyweight title. Drew eventually defeated Sheamus for the blet on the Irishman’s final appearance. They also wrestled in a WWE tryout that saw both signed.
Sheamus won the WWE Championship in 2009
His first appearance on WWE television
The night prior to that tryout match, Sheamus and Wade Barrett acted as local security in the Manchester Evening News Arena to eject DX from the arena. Sheamus would later receive a pedigree from Triple H, who was also later his first WrestleMania opponent.
His WWE title win in 2009 created history
Sheamus won the WWE title from John Cena in December 2009 at TLC, just 166 days into his main roster run, the second quickest to do so behind Brock Lesnar. It also made him the first Irish WWE Champion.
He is one of only three men to achieve this honour
Winning King of the Ring in 2010, the Royal Rumble in 2012 and Money in the Bank in 2015, Sheamus became just the second man after Edge to win all three of these marquee events. Brock Lesnar has since joined them in this very exclusive club.
He has won all of his tag titles with one partner
Sheamus was largely a singles competitor for the first half of his WWE career. In 2016, he and Cesaro were forced to team together after drawing a best-of-7 series. It led to the creation of The Bar and a hugely successful run that landed them five tag titles.
Sheamus and Gunther had a great match at Clash at the Castle
He featured in a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film
Sheamus made his big feature film debut in 2016 when he was cast as Rocksteady in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows.