14. Vs. Damien Sandow (Payback; June 16, 2013)
![WWE.com](https://cdn3.whatculture.com/images/2014/06/Sandow-vs.-Sheamus.jpg)
WWE.comSheamus floundered for most of 2013, bouncing around from feud to feud without any real direction. It wasn't until he engaged in a feud with The Rhodes Scholars in June that his matches finally began to find meaning. He and Damien Sandow had clashed in singles competition countless times in the past, but none of their prior matches were better than the one they contested at the Payback pay-per-view. On the Kickoff show of the event, Sheamus and Sandow ripped it up in front of a rabid Chicago crowd. Sandow had been portrayed as a midcard competitor for most of his run up to this point, but his strong showing in this match made fans take note and look at him in an all-new light afterward. Sheamus, on the other hand, somehow managed to win over the pro-Sandow crowd by the end of the match with his tremendous outing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ob9HRTW758 While the end result of the match was no different than that of any of their past bouts, Sandow still proved something to the WWE Universe as well as to management on that night. It was only one month later that Sandow won the World Heavyweight Championship Contract Money in the Bank Ladder match. Granted, that was the peak of his career, but still: Sheamus had a hand in elevating Sandow to the next level in WWE.
Graham Matthews
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Since 2008, Graham has been a diehard pro wrestling fan and, in 2010, he combined his passions for WWE and writing when he joined Bleacher Report. Equipped with a master's in journalism, Graham has contributed to WhatCulture, FanSided's Daily DDT, Sports Betting Dime, and GateHouse Media. Along the way, he has conducted interviews with wrestling superstars like Chris Jericho, Edge, Goldberg, Christian, Diamond Dallas Page, Jim Ross, Adam Cole, Tessa Blanchard, Ryback, and Nick Aldis among others.
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