9 Irish wrestlers who have appeared in WWE

The Celtic Warrior, Sheamus from Dublin, Ireland

Sheamus has revitalized his career in 2021

Before Sheamus became a pro-wrestler and joined WWE, he had an interesting life. He is fluent in Irish Gaelic, participated in choir, played Gaelic Football and Rugby Union, was an IT technician, and worked as a Bodyguard for Bono, Larry Mullen, and Denise van Outen.

In April 2002, he began training at Larry Sharpe’s Monster Factory before going on to become a fan favorite upon his in-ring debut. His career was be side-lined for two years after suffering a serious neck injury. During this time, Sheamus developed the character we know him best for. He began portraying a Fianna; a type of mythical Irish warrior.

In 2004, he returned to the independent circuit making at the new Irish Whip Wrestling in Dublin. He won the IWW International Heavyweight Championship during a one-day tournament on 28th March 2005. He lost the title that May to D’Lo Brown but regained the championship in October.

His next big feud was against a young Drew Galloway. The two first met on January 28th 2006 and fed into the rivalry between Scottish football teams Rangers and Celtic. He held the championship until August 2006 before being beaten by Galloway.

On 13th November 2006, Sheamus appeared on WWE while they were in Manchester. The next day, him and Galloway got a try-out for the company. A second try-out was offered, with matches in Milan and London leading to developmental contact with WWE.

Upon joining WWE, Sheamus reported to the developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling [FCW]. While there, he held the Florida Heavyweight Championship, but was unsuccessful in gaining the tag-team title before leaving for the main roster.

On 30th June 2009, Sheamus made his main roster debut in ECW. He started a feud with Shelton Benjamin, but that was cut short. He was showcased in the Survivor Series five-on-five match and won number one contender Battle Royal for John Cena’s WWE World Championship. On 13th December 2009, Sheamus won his first major championship in WWE at TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs. He became the first Irish-born WWE Champion.

During his 13 years with WWE, Sheamus has held multiple championships. He's a three-time WWE Champion, one-time World Heavyweight Champion, and a three-time WWE United States Champion. He also won King of the Ring in 2010, the Royal Rumble in 2012, and the Money in the Bank ladder match in 2015.

Alongside his success as a singles competitor, he formed a tag-team with Swiss Superman Cesaro. This was fruitful for both of them, becoming one of the most dominant tag-teams in WWE. Together they won the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship four times, and the SmackDown Tag Team Championship once.