Real Reason Sheamus Is Leaving WWE Revealed (WWE News)
More details on Sheamus' impending WWE exit.
Following the shocking news that Sheamus will be exiting WWE soon, there's now a little more information on the Celtic Warrior's impending departure.
For those who may have missed it, last night brought word that Sheamus' existing WWE deal is expiring soon, and the 48-year-old had turned down the offer of a "restructured" new deal.
Per Dave Meltzer over at the Wrestling Observer, this was a case of Sheamus being offered a pay cut and deciding to leave WWE rather than take that reduced salary. Meltzer describes that situation as being "identical" to that of Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods earlier this year, noting that WWE's parent company TKO is happy to pay "incredible" money to top stars who drive business, but is less keen to pay big money to talents who don't have any notable impact on business, highlighting Sheamus' age and the fact that he's been injured a lot in recent years. The Observer founder compared this approach to that of a real sports team.
Sheamus has been with WWE dating back to 2007, signed alongside Drew McIntyre and Wade Barrett after the trio impressed during a UK tryout. Since then, the Irish powerhouse has etched out a career that marks him out as arguably the most successful European wrestler in WWE history, being a four-time World Champion, a three-time United States Champion, a five-time Tag Team Champion, a Royal Rumble winner, a King of the Ring winner, and a Money in the Bank winner.