At nearly 50 years old, Sheamus has no plans to change up his in-ring style.
Sheamus will attempt to finally accomplish his goal of winning the Intercontinental title when he challenges Bron Breakker at Saturday Night’s Main Event this weekend. Ahead of the show, Sheamus discussed his wrestling style in an interview with Collider. Sheamus said he knows delivering hard-hitting matches is what has always defined him as a performer. He believes having those types of matches benefits both himself and his opponent, especially younger talent who might not be able to be as physical with other veterans.
“In the beginning of my career, I was always stiff, all the time. Stiff like in the ring, as in just the hard-ass wrestler. ‘You’ve got to learn to loosen up.’ Absolutely no. Why would I do that now? It’s like, this is who I am. This is what makes me, me,” he told Collider.
“I’m sure there are people who don’t want to get in there with me because they don’t like the physical aspect that I bring, but I don’t give a sh*t because if you want to go in there with me, come in there with me. A lot of young talent will want to get in there, and they’ll know when they’re going to have a Sheamus match — a banger of a Sheamus match to walk away — and the crowd will give them that much more respect.”
Though his strikes are stiff, Sheamus says he’s never been someone who takes liberties in the ring. He loves the physical aspect of wrestling more than anything else.
“The thing about me is I’ve never been a guy to take liberties. I will hit you. I will hit you hard. I’m not going to break noses and stuff, but I’ll hit you. But I expect to be hit back just as hard, if not harder, and they know that. They’re relaxed there, and they can do that, and they can show a side of themselves that they probably wouldn’t be able to show with certain other talent or more experienced or veteran talent like me, and that’s just the way I like it,” Sheamus said.
“I just love that physical aspect. That’s the most important thing for me. I’ll never be a high flyer. I’ve got a technical aspect that I learned from being in the UK and Ireland, and the rest of them, which is a lot of groundwork and basics. But the people know — the fans know — once my music hits, they’re going to get a banger. They’re gonna get a real fight, and that’s what I’m proud of.”
Sheamus, who recently signed a new five-year contract with WWE, is turning 47 years old next week. He has no imminent plans to retire and wants to wrestle until the wheels fall off.
San Antonio is the location for Saturday Night’s Main Event this weekend (January 25). If Sheamus defeats Breakker, it will begin the first Intercontinental title reign of his career.
