Every Original WWE NXT Black & Gold Roster Member - Where Are They Now?

32. Sheamus

sheamus alberto del rio 2012
WWE.com

What was he doing at the time?

Getting the sort of push that Vince McMahon never learned was far worse than simply not using a wrestler at all. Given a WWE Championship early into his main roster run as a heel, Sheamus had something of a busted flush/wasted push air about him by the time the company elected to strap him up as a babyface. He squashed Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania 28 in very possibly the most talked-about match result of the year. Guess which man got more over?

He was, at least, used here to try and draw a house for the benefit of the newbies on the undercard. He defended his gold against Alberto Del Rio in a dark main event. 

What is he doing now?

After years of feeling too close to the WWE machine to register as a wrestler fans could truly love, the company temporarily turned babyface and he did too. Time has been extremely kind to Sheamus' earlier years, and with that came the realisation of just how much he'd evolved. The window might have closed on him winning the Intercontinental Championship and completing the most unlikely of Grand Slams, but only definite, absolute retirement will ever categorically rule it out. 

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation for nearly 10 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 65,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has provided in-person coverage of some of the biggest pay-per-views and Premium Live Events in wrestling history, including WrestleMania, Survivor Series, All In & Double Or Nothing in destinations such as New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live.