Real Reason Sheamus Is Leaving WWE Revealed (WWE News)

More details on Sheamus' impending WWE exit.

by Andrew Pollard
WWE Raw Sheamus Grayson Waller
WWE

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.

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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.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is a long-standing season ticket holder and an FSA Award-winner for his time co-hosting the Fearless in Devotion podcast.