In the lead-up to the recent Survivor Series Pay-Per-View event, WWE were busy setting up a traditional 5 on 5 Elimination tag match between the heroic Team Cena and villainous Team Authority. Due to the current WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar working his reduced schedule with a limited number of appearances, WWE were pushing this Elimination match much harder than in previous years, billing it as a huge encounter that would change the company forever. It made perfect sense that Sheamus, one of the premier Superstars of recent times, would be positioned as an important member of Team Cena. Then, on an episode of Raw a few weeks before the PPV, Sheamus was beaten down and slammed through the announce table by Mark Henry, and unlike the other members of Team Cena that suffered similar attacks, was written out of the Survivor Series match. Ironically, he was replaced by Erick Rowan, or 'upside-down Sheamus' as the internet has amusingly taken to calling him. So, the question is, why was The Celtic Warrior removed from the match? There had been no word of a legitimate injury that would cause WWE to have to reshape their plans, and no rumours had leaked of the Irish brawler committing any backstage sin that would lead to him taking up residence in the company's 'doghouse'. Sheamus did go on to tweet a picture of himself in surgical garb, so he must have been undergoing some sort of surgery. While it is undeniably strange that WWE or the man himself haven't disclosed the nature of injury he has sustained, it does seem like the company wasn't overly concerned with having to remove him from the big match. Despite having a long run as United States Champion in 2014, Sheamus' stock has definitely dipped in the last few years, at least in the eyes of the fans. While he consistently put in excellent performances in all of his matches, the WWE Universe looked like it was struggling to care. The man who had exploded onto the scene in 2009 and bullied his way to the WWE Title after less than six months on the roster had become a lame joke spouting, cookie-cutter babyface and no amount of great in-ring work was going to make people connect with that character. Perhaps this time off will therefore be a blessing in disguise, and Sheamus can begin to lay the groundwork for resurrecting his career in 2015. The following are six methods for doing just that.
