10 WWE Number One Contenders Nobody Actually Thought Could Win

Sheamus is one of the most underrated performers of his generation, and that is a pro wrestling hill that I am willing to die on. The Celtic Warrior is one of the most consistent in-ring performers around, and he has shown that he can have bruising bouts with a wide variety of opponents. His list of accolades is entirely deserved.

But even the most enthusiastic of Sheamus supporters will agree that his rise to the top of WWE was, well, a little rushed. Sheamus went from a new face on WWECW TV to challenging John Cena for the WWE Championship in the blink of an eye, a path to the top that didn't really go through any roadblocks except Goldust. The Irishman won a battle royal for the right to challenge Cena, and the whole thing seemed entirely rushed. It felt for all the world like 'we need a challenger for this month, before we go back to Cena vs. Orton or something similar'.

Much like all the names on this list, fans didn't think that Sheamus had a chance of becoming WWE Champion. What makes Sheamus different to his contemporaries is that he actually did win, much to the shock of practically everyone involved. Cena went flying through a table as Sheamus skimmed one on the outside (it was a tables match), leading a section of fans to claim that this was a botch that led to title change.

Botch or not, the unthinkable had happened. Nobody thought that Sheamus had a chance, but he proved everyone wrong.